Moving hard drive with winXP to new motherboard - whats the best way?

[camara120]

my friend has a computer with a bad motherboard. Im going to be taking the hard drive out and moving it to a computer with a new motherboard that has a different chipset. Are there any registry keys I can delete while in safe mode so everything can be redetected when I boot it up in regular mode?

Or would it be easier to just install XP on top of itself?

 

[leftyman]

from anandtech faq:

Reportedly, Windows 2000 and XP can be tricked into doing this stuff for you. The procedure is this: Shut down, install your new hardware, power on, and enter your system BIOS. Make sure your First Boot Device is set to CDROM. Insert the Windows 2000/XP setup CD and boot from this disk. (You may have to "press a key to boot from CD" as the prompt says.) Skip the initial prompt asking to repair your existing installation. Then proceed to the screen where you select a partition, and choose your existing Windows partition. Setup will detect your existing installation and ask you to repair. Say yes. When Windows Setup is complete, you should have a fully working installation with all your old user and application profiles. Everything should be intact, except your hardware and driver settings, leaving it fresh for your new motherboard

i tried it and it works although i am going to back everything up and reformat this weekend but its a nifty little way to get yourself out of a jam if you dont back up your stuff