How to: Upgrade your motherboard without reinstalling Windows.

[bob4432]

i tried the repair option and now i am getting the bsod stop 07 screen....bummer. any chance of a salvage on this or should i just do a fresh install?

 

[dclive]

Can you verify thru a quick install that the HAL is the same on both?

I don't understand "PnP is not turned on" - what gives you that impression?

If you can boot in safe mode, you can remove what's stopping you from booting.... is that the case?

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: dclive
Can you verify thru a quick install that the HAL is the same on both?

I don't understand "PnP is not turned on" - what gives you that impression?

If you can boot in safe mode, you can remove what's stopping you from booting.... is that the case?

to do a quick re-install i will need to go pick up a new hdd, which i can't do tonight but probably will find a hot deal over the weekend.

it appears that when i created the image with acronis i had ht turned on on my p4. according to this hal page on m$, it states that You can deploy a Sysprep image created on a computer that uses an ACPI Uniprocessor PC, ACPI APIC UP HAL (Halaacpi.dll) to a computer that uses the following HAL types:
? ACPI Uniprocessor PC, ACPI APIC UP HAL (Halaacpi.dll)
? ACPI Multiprocessor PC, ACPI APIC MP HAL (Halmacpi.dll)

You can deploy a Sysprep image created on a computer that uses an ACPI Multiprocessor PC, ACPI APIC MP HAL (Halmacpi.dll) to a computer that uses the following HAL types:
? ACPI Multiprocessor PC, ACPI APIC MP HAL (Halmacpi.dll)
? ACPI Uniprocessor PC, ACPI APIC UP HAL (Halaacpi.dll)

on my p4 is stated in the dm acpi multiprocessor pc but when i clicked on the driver information, all that is referenced is hal.dll. i did this with my xp2000 machine and also my p-4m laptop, both of which are obviously single processors, the dm states acpi uniprocessor, and according to the info i read above from the m$ site that either way should not be a problem. is there a way to actually see what hal.dll is being used?

as far as the pnp is not turned on that was under the system devices in the dm, which had the yellow exclamation point. i tried to update the driver with the xp disc but to no avail. i uninstalled it and scanned for hardware changes, again no luck. when i rebooted the machine back into safe mode it did not come back.

for some reason i could boot into safe mode, but no matter what i did i could not do a regular boot. it is weird, like the machine is not referencing the new hardware because even in the dm when you click on processor, it would say "processor" with no information. since i have the good image, i tried to run sysrep within safe mode, but it will start to boot, then reboot asking me if i would like to reboot into safe mode, then i get a window stating that the setup was not complete and could not be finshed in safe mode, thus continuing the loop.

since the repair did not work, i am putting the image back on....any ideas as to what else to try tonight?

also, i have used the same scsi controller, hdd and cable. i have tried this even unplugging and disabling the ide/sata controllers with the same results.

the stop 07 blue screen is new only after my xp pro disc was used to try to repair, which does not have xp2 slipstreamed into it. my xp disc that i have sp2 slipstreamed doesn't give me a repair option, it just wants to install the complete os, not repair it

thanks in advance

 

[bob4432]

do you think i am asking too much going from my i865p3/p4 rig to a nf3/opteron rig without a full, new install? regardless of what i do i can only boot into safe mode. it is to the point that the dm shows everything ok, but still no regular boot. does amd have some kind of driver i need?

thanks in advance,
bob

 

[bob4432]

i just said f*ck it and did a new install. i didn't wipe the old data, just a new install. this way i will know all the programs that were installed. the old install was ~1.7yrs old anyway, so i guess a new install was due. thanks for the assistance

 

[dyndragon]

Great topic! I'm getting ready to upgrade to the new D975X Intel motherboard from the D925XECV2. I am using Intel SATA RAID, and I know for a fact that you can move Intel RAID arrays around from motherboard to motherboard with no problem. However, I need some help getting sysprep to make my move work, because the D975X has a new SATA RAID controller.

Also of special note is the mass storage controller. If you are using a non-naitive drive controller on the new motherboard, you will need to add these OEM driver to the sysprep.inf. Anything that requires a floppy driver disk and using F2 during the normal windows setup requires a mass storage controller. See the links below for adding OEM drivers. The section of sysprep.inf you'll need to look at is [SysprepMassStorage] and the -bmsd switch on sysprep.exe.

Can someone give me a bit of help doing this? I understand that I will need to add the -bmsd switch to the sysprep.exe command. What I can't find is what exact syntax needs to go under the [SysprepMassStorage] in the Sysprep.inf file.

Also, if I understand some of the later replies in this thread, I could just "preinstall" the new Intel RAID driver, and be ok? How exactly does that work, just copy the driver files into the system32 directory? Right click on the driver .inf file and click install? Or update the driver for my existing SATA RAID controller and manually choose the new controller driver--then shutdown, install the new motherboard, and boot up hoping it works?

I hope someone can help me with this. Thanks so much in advance!

--Hans

 

[deathfalls]

Since there seem to be some Sysprep knowledgeable people here, I am trying to use sysprep to deploy images to PCs with different hardware, and have run into the 0x0000007B Inaccessible_boot_device BSOD after imaging a machine. For the record, I am using Windows 2000.

Is there a way to change the IDE controller drivers on that machine, from the recovery console perhaps? Also, does the OemPnPDriversPath tag in the sysprep.inf also work for IDE controller drivers (the examples I have seen for this are mostly for video and/or NIC drivers)?

Would it be recommended to set the IDE controller drivers on the master machine I make an image from to "Standard IDE controller", would that eliminate the 0x0000007B errors?

I saw a guide that details a process using Windows XP. They say to add

[SysPrep]
BuildMassStorageSection=Yes

[SysprepMassStorage]

to the end of sysprep.inf, I assume this is only for the version of Sysprep included with Windows XP? Is there any option like this to use with Windows 2000?

Thanks.

 

[Phoenix86]

Sorry folks, I was sick as dog last week and havn't had a chance to reply in detail.

dyndragon,
Text

deathfalls,

IIRC you need to add the buildmassstorage to 2K as well, it's been a while since I was working on 2K.

If that doesn't solve the issue your controller's driver isn't in windows and you will need to supply it like in the link above.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: deathfalls
Since there seem to be some Sysprep knowledgeable people here, I am trying to use sysprep to deploy images to PCs with different hardware, and have run into the 0x0000007B Inaccessible_boot_device BSOD after imaging a machine. For the record, I am using Windows 2000.

Is there a way to change the IDE controller drivers on that machine, from the recovery console perhaps? Also, does the OemPnPDriversPath tag in the sysprep.inf also work for IDE controller drivers (the examples I have seen for this are mostly for video and/or NIC drivers)?

Would it be recommended to set the IDE controller drivers on the master machine I make an image from to "Standard IDE controller", would that eliminate the 0x0000007B errors?

I saw a guide that details a process using Windows XP. They say to add

[SysPrep]
BuildMassStorageSection=Yes

[SysprepMassStorage]

to the end of sysprep.inf, I assume this is only for the version of Sysprep included with Windows XP? Is there any option like this to use with Windows 2000?

Thanks.

OEMPnPDriversPath is for GUI mode hardware detection and PnPing. Your process is dying long before then.

Change the standard controller to PCI IDE Standard Controller or somesuch; any machine that can boot with XP and a plain IDE controller should be fine; then just use sysprep -bmsd (on a fully set up machine) to generate the appropriate sysprep .inf file (with all the mass storage information present) and use that .inf file for sysprepping (the sysprep -bmsd step doesn't actually sysprep - the only thing that command does is generate the .inf file for a later sysprep, when you run it a second time.)

 

[bob4432]

phoenix86 or dclive, any idea why my move didn't go smoothly? just for learning purposes? i didn't lose any data, just had to move stuff around and reinstall the programs as i re-installed the os over the old install.

 

[dclive]

Well, safe mode worked but normal mode didn't, so obviously a system service or filter driver was starting that shouldn't. A quick check comparing HKLM/system/ccs/control/safeboot/minimal and hklm/system/controlset001 (or the normal control set) would probably be the first place to look.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: dclive
Well, safe mode worked but normal mode didn't, so obviously a system service or filter driver was starting that shouldn't. A quick check comparing HKLM/system/ccs/control/safeboot/minimal and hklm/system/controlset001 (or the normal control set) would probably be the first place to look.

thanks for future reference

 

[bluemax]

Why isn't this stickied?? :thumbsup:

 

[spyordie007]

I've heard a lot of people with concerns about changing the HAL and just thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

First off the HAL can be changed; it's just something that should be done carefully. Right before you pull it off the old motherboard from the device manager under computer do an update driver and select the new HAL that you want. Just be careful because if you select the wrong one it wont be able to boot (I'm not certain because I've never tried it but last-known good might get you out of a mess here). I've personally only ever done this to go from ACPI Uniprocessor to ACPI Multiprocessor; but should work for other HAL types also (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=309283)

Sysprep is a good method in some cases because it's easy to add multiple driver sets; possibly making your life easier so you aren?t left with a system that boots but has a lot of non-functional devices...
On the other hand as dclive has stated Sysprep is not always necessary.
My suggestion would be if you are unsure to do the Sysprep method; but for the most part you can get away without it. I also suggest you keep the old motherboard around until you know the move worked okay; that way if you get something like an Inaccessible boot device error you can switch back.

Also thought it was important to note that AFAIK NONE of these steps are "supported by Microsoft"; I'm pretty sure that for motherboard changes on existing installs they still suggest a reinstall (as would I in their case, I wouldn?t want to try walking someone who is technically inept through these steps)

And for everyone that is doing the processes described here I also figured I would suggest performing a backup of data first, just in case. But than again you already have good backups right?

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: bluemax
Why isn't this stickied?? :thumbsup:

There is already an official method or whatever in the AT FAQ. I'm fine with that, if it's popular enough, it'll just get linked to and bumped like it is.

BTW, I'd like to thank those who participated in the disucssions. It's helped the thread quite a bit.

 

[aceeagle]

Hello all

I'm new here and the only reason I joined up was so I could add to this thread.

The reason I found it was because I've been googling to the point where my eyes have become totally googled and my brain was on the verge of meltdown.

I have a system I was upgrading for my daughter, and I needed to put her hard drive into the new system. However, when I did this and tried to boot up, the dreaded BSOD greeted me and I had the insideous task of having to tell a 10 year old fiery red head that I may not be able to recover her files. I did assure her that I would do everything I could to retain or recover the hard drive, but the onslaught was frightening. Her PC has been down for about three weeks now and even worse, her 9 year old brother has had his system up the whole time. IT'S JUST NOT FAIR!!

Anyway, tonight I went on one last search before doing a new install and giving up on the old drive. IS IT READY YET? IS IT READY YET? "NO! Go to bed and I'll see what I can find!"

I've been downloading all sorts of programs and reading copius amounts of information to try and solve this problem and nothing has come close to solving my problem.....until tonight!

I stumbled across this thread and started reading. I had already read up on the MS Sysprep tool and was considering using it but when I went to the MS site and read the instructions, it might just as well have been a "step by step" for building an atomic reactor. Way too intense for my point and click brain to contemplate.

But then I read dclive's trick and thought "that sounds like it's something that even I could do", so I tried it. And you know what? 2 minutes later I was up and running. dclive, you are a god! That trick does much more than get a system up and running, it also has the ability to remove little red haired monkeys off your back. I bow down before you. I cannot believe how easy it was. I just renamed the driver to the Standard, shut down the PC, removed the hard drive and put it in the new system, booted and voila! No lost hard drive. No mucking around. In fact, it was almost too easy, if that's possible.

As for those that insist on using Sysprep for a single swap such as I was faced with, good luck to you. Personally, I hate learning curves when in all probability I would need to do this maybe once every year or two. dclive's solution is quick and easy, does not involve a learning curve and it works! What more could you ask for?

Thanks again to everyone for the great information. I'll be back.

 

[dclive]

Glad it worked!

 

[Oyeve]

Well, I was stupid enough to try the sysprep.exe but chose no options. There was no cancel or quit utility so I stopped the process. I booted up today and some screen came up (forget exactly what it said) and now its asking me to activate windows! I enter my key (corporate key) and it doesnt activate. Everytime I reboot sysprep starts. I X out but windows still needs to be activated. I cant use any restore points because apparently sysprep deactivates it. So now I am forced to do a reinstall but I will do it when I swap the mobo and proc in a few days.

 

[dclive]

Sysprep is NOT the appropriate product to use for one-off installs. A simple move of the install, as long as the HAL is the same, typically works. If the IDE controller is different, simply installing it prior to the move, or going to a "PCI Standard IDE Controller" will typically resolve the STOP 7B bootup issue.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: dclive
Sysprep is NOT the appropriate product to use for one-off installs. A simple move of the install, as long as the HAL is the same, typically works. If the IDE controller is different, simply installing it prior to the move, or going to a "PCI Standard IDE Controller" will typically resolve the STOP 7B bootup issue.

I just ran sysprep, stopped it n task manager as there was no cancel and now it prompts xp activation, i input the right key but xp says its wrong. Now on every reboot sysprep runs with some option window asking about factory this, disable that. Its fubared. I am backing up everything and will swap my mobo and proc and do an install. Then reinstall all my crap back.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: Oyeve

Originally posted by: dclive
Sysprep is NOT the appropriate product to use for one-off installs. A simple move of the install, as long as the HAL is the same, typically works. If the IDE controller is different, simply installing it prior to the move, or going to a "PCI Standard IDE Controller" will typically resolve the STOP 7B bootup issue.

I just ran sysprep, stopped it n task manager as there was no cancel and now it prompts xp activation, i input the right key but xp says its wrong. Now on every reboot sysprep runs with some option window asking about factory this, disable that. Its fubared. I am backing up everything and will swap my mobo and proc and do an install. Then reinstall all my crap back.

D'oh!

Don't reinstall!!!! Just Shift-F10 in the middle of mini setup then knock yourself out of mini setup mode with regedit. Should be a KB on what registry keys to alter.

edit:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287506/en-us

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: Smilin


D'oh!

Don't reinstall!!!! Just Shift-F10 in the middle of mini setup then knock yourself out of mini setup mode with regedit. Should be a KB on what registry keys to alter.

edit:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287506/en-us

That KB refers to Win2k, will it work for XP Pro? Thanks BTW.

 

[SlimHarpo]

I'm thinking about upgrading my Athlon XP to an A64 or Opteron on a socket 939 board (probably an Asrock 939dual so I can hold on to my AGP card for a while). My current HAL is a simple "ACPI PC" one. Is that likely to need to be a "ACPI Uniprocessor PC" for a (single core) A64/Opteron?

If so, what is the best way to do an upgrade, preferably without losing my settings? If neither sysprep or the IDE driver trick will work, will the cd-rom bootup repair install be able to replace the HAL? That repair install option wipes out existing registry (program installs and stuff), right?

 

[LTOwnalot]

Originally posted by: dclive

Originally posted by: birdpup

Originally posted by: dclive
...
I suggest not using Sysprep and simply using the "Standard PCI IDE Controller" trick, and you'll be fine. ...

What "Standard PCI IDE Controller" trick are you talking about?
I am not familiar with this.

Put the HDD in the old machine, change the HDD controller to "Standard PCI IDE Controller", and then immediately shut the PC down and move it to the new PC. As long as the HAL is the same, the PC will boot. Be ready with driver CDs or floppies, and you're all set.

Can I have more details on how to do that?

I assume I need to do that from Device manager, but I don't see any option of changing it

 

[dclive]

Go into DM, pick your IDE controller (the top one, over the pri/sec choices), select Update, and pick the standard IDE choice when presented in the lists. (Select all the bottom 'non-automatic' options to get there.)

Ghost or make other image-based backups first.