Is it REALLY necessary to reformat after a mobo swap?

[GoldenBear]

I'm thinking of upgrading my Celeron set up here for an Athlon type of combo, and was wondering if it's REALLY necessary to have to reformat everything?

If so, that will really hinder my decision

 

[dennilfloss]

I am switching from Mendocino to Duron and I am doing just that because I am due for a clean install anyway. Someone mentioned in the mobo forum that you can also simply delete your enum key in your registry and let Windows find your devices and load the new drivers. You might want to do a search there for that idea.

 

[GoldenBear]

OMG How would one do that?

I can't seem to find the ENUM key.

 

[dennilfloss]

It's in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. I'll try and find the thread in the mobo forum. Don't delete it until I do or someone else confirms that this works.

 

[GoldenBear]

Continue..I'm using Win2k here, so it might be different..

 

[dennilfloss]

Mmm. All the tips I find are for Windows 9x. Like this one:

From Bob Croninger:

"On deleting the ENUM key in the registry: I would caution some users in doing this. It may work for some, or even most, but in other cases not all devices will be detected properly by simply removing this key - especially those with proprietary hardware. Another way to update your hardware in Windows was built-in by Microsoft (one of the few things they've done that's actually helpful). You can try deleting the ENUM key first, but if that gives you problems, you can try this:

Boot into Safe Mode Command Prompt Only (CTRL-F5 from the "Starting Windows 9x" message).
From the root of C:, remove the file attributes from the SYSTEM.1ST file located there:
attrib -r -s -h system.1st
Then change to the C:\WINDOWS folder and remove the file attributes from the SYSTEM.DAT file:
attrib -r -s -h system.dat
Rename the SYSTEM.DAT file to SYSTEM.OLD or something similar.
Copy the SYSTEM.1ST to the C:\WINDOWS folder and rename it SYSTEM.DAT.
Re-apply the attributes to the SYSTEM.1ST file in the root directory:
attrib +r +s +h system.1st
6. Reboot
Notes:
It is not necessary to re-apply the attributes to the SYSTEM.DAT file because Windows will do this when it updates your hardware configuration.
Do not MOVE the SYSTEM.1ST file into your WINDOWS folder, just copy it. This way, you will always have that file if you need to do this again.
This is a procedure Microsoft has set in place for all versions of Windows 9x. I realize that this is more complex than just deleting the ENUM key, but it's also easily reversed if you screw up. You can always just restore the SYSTEM.OLD to SYSTEM.DAT and continue as if nothing had happened.
As was mentioned, you will need every driver for your hardware, so have them handy. Just wanted to throw some other possibilities out there, rather than just deleting registry keys."

Sincerely,

This thread was also for someone with w98 but may contain some tip that can also be used in w2k or at least some reassurance.

You should wait for more feedback before doing anything.

 

[Modus]

Take it from me, what you're planning is extremely problematic. There's no guarantee it'll work. Sometimes the smallest change in core hardware (chipset, IDE controller, etc.) and Windows will go nuts.

Only do it as a last resort. Formatting and installing fresh is the way to go. You'll have a nice, clean, virgin Windows registry with no legacy crap from your old machine (orphaned programs, missing files, etc.) Some people complain that they loose all those little tweaks they've made, but this just motivates them to make less tweaks, install less programs, do less customization -- in other words, be a minimalist. And really, there are no easy tweaks left that will significantly improve the performance of MS operating systems.

If you are forced into a situation where you don't have time for a fresh install, this procedure might help you:

1) Boot into Safe Mode.

2) Delete the WINDOWS/INF/OTHER folder.

3) Go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and remove anything to do with the hardware in the current system -- video drivers, modem drivers, digital camera stuff, scanner TWAIN stuff, etc.

4) Run REGEDIT.

5) Delete the entire Enum branch of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

6) Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and RunServices, look for anything hardware-related and remove it.

7) Shut down and install the new motherboard.

That's my procedure when I've had to do it in the past, but the success rate is still not terrific

Modus

 

[subhuman]

Really good ideas and advice here already, but my suggestion is to reformat, it's the best way to have a clean, solid, stable, working system. Burn off your important stuff to CD and start reinstalling, it only takes an hour or 2 after you do it 1305492835029358 times. Suggestion, you may want to keep important stuff on a separate partion from your OS/apps so that you can easily do this without having to burn off stuff or copy to another computer on your network.

My hardrive is still full of gigabytes of my roommates crap from when they reformatted...

 

[Lore]

My hardrive is still full of gigabytes of my roommates crap from when they reformatted...



Seriously, I know how that feels. I still have gigs of stuff from Win98 - and I haven't run Win98 since about April!

 

[dennilfloss]

"My hardrive is still full of gigabytes of my roommates crap from when they reformatted..."

Hehe. Didn't want to erase them precious jpegs, eh?

 

[Antisocial Virge]

I tried to swap a KT7 raid for a KT7. Everything seemed fine but my 3dmark dropped from 7000 to just above 2000. I decided to format and make another ghost file.

 

[AfterBurn]

Quick giude for (usually) troublefree mobo upgrades with W2K:

1) Powerdown and install your new motherboard
2) Powerup and check all your BIOS settings so they are set ok
3) Do NOT boot into W2K! (this can be pretty crucial! (Not always, but I know of several people where skipping this caused the current W2K install to be damaged beyond possibility of repair))
4) Boot from your W2K CD
5) When asked to repair/install, choose for install
6) Setup will search your harddisk and AGAIN ask you to repair or install, this time choose install
7) Setup will completely reinstall your system, while keeping your original software settings.
8) After setup completes and reboots, boot into W2K and have fun.

This procedure usually works just fine, however that is no garantee that it will work on your system; as always your mileage may vary. However, if it doesnt, there is always time enough to start thinking about reformats and clean installs.

Good luck!

 

[Taz4158]

Fot top performance and stability always reformat when installing a new motherboard. Saving a couple of hours should never be an option. You're probably due for a reinstall anyway.

 

[subhuman]

Me: My hardrive is still full of gigabytes of my roommates crap from when they reformatted..."

Dentil: Hehe. Didn't want to erase them precious jpegs, eh?


DOH how do you know this? Seriously, do you read minds? Just kidding. BTW, my mom's 366@550 was having lots of problems due to the highpoint (HTP366) chip, and hasn't been cracking for a few weeks (in fact, it hasn't been *turning on* until I came home and wired it up to a standard IDE port...) But, it'll be back on TeamCube's fleet before I leave (it's working perfectly without the highpoint (HTP366) in the equation..) Sorry, off topic...

 

[A2KLAU]

I choose to format my hard drive so that I can start afresh and have everything compatable with my new settings and hardware.

Good Luck,

SKY.

 

[PCAddict]

I upgraded from a BX chipset board to an i815 chipset board without reformatting. All I did was clear everything out related to the MB in device manager, load the Intel drivers, and let it redetect everything through about 10 reboots.

 

[randypj]

AfterBurn--Thanks for the W2K tip. I was wondering what I was gonna do.

For W9x, deleting the ENUM works fine. I've done it on 3 mobos, 2 of which were from VIA to BX chipsets. I've never had a problem. Just make sure you have current drivers, if they are not in the W9x cabs.

Also, a tip I have followed since W98 came out....don't know if it helps or not, but, I've not had a problem. This was mentioned way back when people were having problems overinstalling Win95 with W98: I always do a hard shut down, not just a reboot, whenever I have the chance on an overinstall. I also do this when I'm just deleting the ENUM, and W9x has to re-find everything.
--Randy