Do I need to reformat when upgrading processors?

[whattaguy]

Thinking about going from a P4 2.4B to P4 3.06 w/ HT

 

[Nyati13]

I don't think a reformat is necessary, but you might need to go through your hardware manager, and delete the CPU from the list, and then shut down, replace the old CPU with the new one, and then let it find that one on the boot up.

Jeremy

 

[Childs]

No need to reformat.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: Nyati13

I don't think a reformat is necessary, but you might need to go through your hardware manager, and delete the CPU from the list, and then shut down, replace the old CPU with the new one, and then let it find that one on the boot up.

Jeremy

 

[Brian23]

What about if you change motherboards? Like P4 to A64 or AXP to A64?

 

[JohnAn2112]

Originally posted by: Brian23
What about if you change motherboards? Like P4 to A64 or AXP to A64?

Yes, it's a good idea to format when switching motherboards. You don't want potential conflicts with chipset drivers.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Brian23
What about if you change motherboards? Like P4 to A64 or AXP to A64?

I would format just in case cause of the major archectural differences. I have gotten away with "AXP Via KT266A -> AXP Nforce2" without reformatting and with no problems. Windows just finds all of the onboard stuff except SATA.

 

[nOObBooB]

Originally posted by: whattaguy
Thinking about going from a P4 2.4B to P4 3.06 w/ HT

That p4 i think is only fsb of 533 spend teh money towards a 3.0C fsb800. Dont get the presscot core since it runs alot hotter than the northwood. And it gives about the same performance. The northwood is better for oc than teh prescott becuase of northwood's lower temp

 

[SimsFreak]

I would guess install the new proc, run in safe mode and remove all drivers?

 

[charloscarlies]

Originally posted by: nOObBooB

Originally posted by: whattaguy
Thinking about going from a P4 2.4B to P4 3.06 w/ HT

That p4 i think is only fsb of 533 spend teh money towards a 3.0C fsb800. Dont get the presscot core since it runs alot hotter than the northwood. And it gives about the same performance. The northwood is better for oc than teh prescott becuase of northwood's lower temp

Only if his board supports an 800 fsb chip...otherwise he's going to get a very underclocked chip. Prescott does run warmer...but not a lot hotter. I'd still go with Northwood if you have the choice.

What board do you have whataguy?

 

[cbehnken]

You should not have to reinstall Windows, but it will probably ask you to re-activate. I switched from P4 to A64 and had no problems. Windows detects your new hardware and you are prompted to install the drivers for it. Windows will automatically remove the old drivers, that's what plug and play is designed to do. Any such "driver conflicts" are usually some other problem appearing to be caused by switching hardware. Try it first and then reinstall if you have to, this may save you a lot of time and trouble.

 

[JBT]

You don't need to do anything on a Proc change.

For a mobo change I think a format is in order. It might not be require and may boot with out a hitch but I bet you wouldn't be operating at 100% of performance either.

 

[cbehnken]

the losing performance issue has been beat to death. If your drivers are installed and the old ones removed you cannot loose performance this way. Unless you believe in voodoo and magic.

 

[whattaguy]

Originally posted by: charloscarlies

Originally posted by: nOObBooB

Originally posted by: whattaguy
Thinking about going from a P4 2.4B to P4 3.06 w/ HT

That p4 i think is only fsb of 533 spend teh money towards a 3.0C fsb800. Dont get the presscot core since it runs alot hotter than the northwood. And it gives about the same performance. The northwood is better for oc than teh prescott becuase of northwood's lower temp

Only if his board supports an 800 fsb chip...otherwise he's going to get a very underclocked chip. Prescott does run warmer...but not a lot hotter. I'd still go with Northwood if you have the choice.

What board do you have whataguy?

Asus P4T533-C it only runs 533fsb max.

 

[JBT]

Originally posted by: cbehnken
the losing performance issue has been beat to death. If your drivers are installed and the old ones removed you cannot loose performance this way. Unless you believe in voodoo and magic.

Have you ever installed video drivers before? Many people have problems because of the uninstillation process not removing all the parts of the drivers esspecially in the registry.

 

[cbehnken]

Uh, yes I've installed video drivers hundreds of times. That's why they make driver cleanes. He's installing a mobo, btw not a graphics card.

Also, I've never seen documented proof that uninstalling video drivers and adding a new card can cause your benchmarks to be low or some other nonsense like that. With drivers your system is either going to be working or not, nothing in between.


If people are so worry about it do this:

1. Go to device manager.
2. Click View hidden devices.
3. If there still are no yellow or red flags your drivers are okay.

 

[PsharkJF]

Yes, his board is a 533 FSB board.

To OP: Shouldn't need to reformat, that's usually only with motherboard changes.

 

[goshdarnindie]

Yep, only reformat during a mobo change. Let BIOS take care of the chip.

 

[effee]

I'd always recommend a format after any hardware change...you can tell i have tons of data backed up to CDs because of this

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: effee
I'd always recommend a format after any hardware change...you can tell i have tons of data backed up to CDs because of this

it is 100% not necessary just to upgrade a CPU if you are keeping everything else the same.

also things like network cards, no need to format if you swap something as simple as that.

 

[logear1]

I've never had to while running in the same processor family, never even installed new drivers. BIOS and OS have automatically recognized SLot A Athlons, Athlon XPs, and Xeons without even a hiccup.