WinXP / New Mobo

[brettjrob]

I'm currently running WinXP Home on an AMD760-based mobo w/ an XP 2000+. I'm thinking of upgrading to an 865PE w/ an Intel P4 3.0Ghz, but would obviously prefer to avoid the hassle of formatting and reinstalling. Based on your experiences, how likely am I to run into major problems by swapping mobos but leaving the existing install XP?

 

[moonshinemadness]

99.9% i would say, i have heard people saying you do not have to reinstall but i have never managed it i always end up with some problems to deal with.

 

[NogginBoink]

You'll almost certainly get a STOP 0x7B blue screen. (Inaccessible boot device.)

Proper way to do this is to do a full backup, install the drive in the new computer, reformat and reinstall, then restore.

 

[EeyoreX]

You could use the methods mentioned above, but personally, if I were going to a radically different CPU/chipset I would reinstall Windows. Any version. You likely have drivers optimized for the mainboard in your system now. Even doing a restore maybe put these useless drivers back, which may lead to errors (I say may because each system is different, and you may have problems, or you may not). I did do an upgrade of a similar nature on a family members computer, she didn't want to reformat/reinstall (didn't want to lose all her settings, she is not exceptionally computer savvy), so I ghosted, installed the new mobo/CPU, then restored the ghosted image. I had a large variety of errors, and had to just retrieve the data from another PC and reformat/reinstall anyhow. Your results may vary.

\Dan

 

[NogginBoink]

Ghosting will indeed give you these errors.

Doing a backup/restore won't. (At least, it shouldn't.) The system state restore does not do a flat-out restore. It does an intelligent merge of the registry to not restore those useless drivers.

 

[RaymondY]

Based on personal experience, I would recommend u reformat and start from scratch. Anything else will leave u very unhappy.

 

[brettjrob]

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I'll be picking up a new spindle of CD-R's prior to putting the new system together. Let's just hope the dictators at Microsoft allow me to re-install XP again since I just had to do it (got a new hard drive) about two months ago.

 

[xSauronx]

may be possible to put the new mobo in...then boot from the windows cd
do a windows install OVER your version of windows, like a repair install
might redetect hardware, recopy system files, but leave data, programs, preferences and the like mostly intact...works fine when reinstalling over my own copy of windows, may work on a new mobo...id give it a shot after you back up for the hell of it if it was me, bah