Tell me it isn't true! New M/Board = Full Format?? HELP!

[CaptnRon]

I am upgrading from a P733 to an XP2400 and it requires
new Motherboard, Ram, and CPU.

Am having Difficulties in getting the old XP up and
running. It ran fine on the old M/B and *still does when I
switch it back in.*

My computer equipment supplier says I must reinstall XP
again (?) *AND* that it will reformat the HD which has
75Gb of data on a 120gb drive!!

Can this be true? It would certainly be a first for
Windows. I can understand having to rebuild drivers once
up and running on defaults but not reformatting.

Status: Plug in new M/B and system starts to boot, never
gets past the end of the Blue start up screen. Sometimes
it says partition error, sometimes other erros, typically
it says starting XP and hangs.

 

[Chris Lanier]

You dont need to do a clean install but you will need to do a repair install
and re-activate Windows XP

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Unless the new motherboard is virtually identical to the old one
(same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.), you'll
need to perform a repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at
the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also require re-activation. If it's been more than 120
days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.

Of course, if you have a factory OEM installation and didn't get
the replacement motherboard from the computer's manufacturer, all bets
are off. There's a good chance that your OEM CD will not work on a
different motherboard. Additionally, you've voided your warranty, and
neither the PC manufacturer nor Microsoft is obliged to provide any
help or support.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Ron Martell]

I am upgrading from a P733 to an XP2400 and it requires
new Motherboard, Ram, and CPU.

Am having Difficulties in getting the old XP up and
running. It ran fine on the old M/B and *still does when I
switch it back in.*

My computer equipment supplier says I must reinstall XP
again (?) *AND* that it will reformat the HD which has
75Gb of data on a 120gb drive!!

Can this be true? It would certainly be a first for
Windows. I can understand having to rebuild drivers once
up and running on defaults but not reformatting.

Status: Plug in new M/B and system starts to boot, never
gets past the end of the Blue start up screen. Sometimes
it says partition error, sometimes other erros, typically
it says starting XP and hangs.

You need to do a Repair Install as per the instructions at
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

If you cannot do a Repair Install (if, for example, your Windows XP is
an OEM version with a System Recovery CD rather than a true Windows XP
Install CD) then try booting into Safe Mode and deleting everything
from Control Panel - System - Device Manager. That may or may not
work.

Second solution. Buy another hard drive and install Windows XP clean
onto that hard drive from your System Recovery CD. 40 gb 7200 RPM hard
drives are getting very very cheap. Leave the existing hard drive
disconnected (for safety) during this part of the process. Then
connect up your second hard drive as well. Your data will now be
accessible on the second hard drive. However your applications will
have to be reinstalled.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."