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Running XP Pro, now how do I upgrade my PC with new MOBO and Video Card? (RAID Driver Problem?)

W

whizbang

Senior member
I just bought a new mobo and video card and would like to upgrade my PC already running registered Windows XP Pro. Unfortunately, XP registers according to serial numbers on the graphics card and NIC, I believe. When I installed the new mobo and video card, keeping the same hard drive with XP on it, I get a blue stop screen (might as well call it a BSOD) that suggests that there may be a problem with one of the hardware drivers and XP cannot start. However, I cannot even boot into safe mode to install new drivers. I get the same stop screen.

The only thing I could find on MS's knowledgebase was that there is some way to backup your whole windows installation and move it to new hardware. That would be an exceptional pain in the arse if that is required just to upgrade a couple of components in my PC. Am I the only person who feels M$ has left a gaping whole in their anti-piracy war by grossly inconveniencing registered customers? I should be allowed to upgrade my hardware without having to re-format my hard drive. That's perfectly legal.

Good job, M$. We've gone from Plug & Pray to Plug and No Play.
_________________________________________________________
More Info:
New Mobo is a MSI K7T266 Pro2 RU (so, yes, it has a Promise RAID processor on it)
New Video Card is Visiontek GeForce3 TI-200 (thanks, BB Black Friday!)

My XP Installation is on a pair of 40GB drives in RAID 0 that were previously connected to a Promise Fasttrak100. So I've replaced the mobo and video card and removed the Fasttrak100 and plugged the drives into the IDE 3 & 4 slots on the mobo.

Since drivers were already installed for the Fasttrak100, I figured XP would be able to drive the on board Promise RAID controller. If not, how do I install the new drivers for the on board RAID? Should I try re-installing XP from my CD? I seem to remember it asking me if I want to install a 3rd party SCSI controller before it starts installation.



 
Taking a wild stab in the dark here as there is little info provided but does this new mobo now have some kind of secondary IDE/RAID controller that you have now plugged your hard drive into? What are your system specs (before and after)?
 
I don't think that your problem is with WP registration. Even WinNT and Win2K have problems migrating to new hardware and often require re-installation. Does the new motherboard require any speceific drivers, particularly for the hard drive controller? Video not likely a problem if you can't get into Safe Mode.
 
What you probably should have done, and may still be able to back up and do, is to uninstall the video card before upgrading. Sometimes the OS will become confused when it thinks it has one video card, but then has to deal with this whole new set of drivers for the new one.
My recommendation would be to back up to your last good step and if that means putting your machine back together with the old gear so be it. Then uninstall the video card. Then do the switch with the mainboard and video card. That should do it for you.
Computers are like their creators in a way. Change is bad! 🙂
 
There is nothing you can really do about it... XP is a NT OS and they have always been extremely uncooperative when installing a new System Board with a different chipset and/or HDD controller (be it IDE-RAID or simply a diffrent southbridge). Reinstallation is the easiest way around this.
 
I've updated my original post above to include system specs. As MCS implies, I suspect it's because I'm using RAID 0 and it can't find the driver. So how do I install the driver? (see above)
 
XP is expecting to boot from the Promise Fasttrak100. Your best bet is to install the card in the new motherboard and connect your drives up to it. XP should then boot up. Once it does, you need to install the drivers for the new onboard controller, shutdown, remove the card and then reconnect your drives to the onboard controller. It should then boot as it will have the correct driver. Good Luck!
 
I had the same problem. Had to do a repair. MS tech walked me thru it for free. You can boot from XP cd and install the Raid drivers for the MB. But to be honest I'm just not sure of the exact details on how to do it. It is a pain! there was a post on here about a month ago that explained it, maybe search for it. Wish I had written all the details down, sorry.
 
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