Moving from an intel 2.8 to AMD, WinXP

[dma550]

Hi all

My home machine is getting a boost, I am moving it from an intel 2.8 (OC to 3.2) with an X800 to an AMD 3800 and a 7800GTX asap, just in time for some good games coming out

Anyhow, I've normally done the "fresh install" route, but I hate it. I just did this machine late 2003, and I hate reinstalling SW - I do have a lot on there. I know a lot of the MMORPG's like EQ, WOW will just "copy" ok (I can back them onto a couple of DVD's) but I would rather skip this if possible.

I read about a person advocating sysprep, and using the "repair" method. Can anyone suggest a way to do this cutover most efficiently, with little or no data loss/reinstallation required? Thanks!

 

[Canterwood]

I'd remove as many drivers as I could and then uninstall some components like Video, Lan, sound, chipset etc in Device manager first and make the old install as bare as possible.
Then switch off, install new components and boot from the XP cd and do a repair instalation.
It shouldn't lose any data or apps and will detect the new hardware properly.
If its an old XP cd, the repair will wipe any newer service packs or security patches you have installed, so remember to reapply them afterwards.

Edit: I'd check for spyware and viruses beforehand too, as those can wreck your repair install.