Windows XP SP2 failed to load after hardware upgrade

[xfile]

Hi:

Appreciate if anyone can help me on this.

Previous system state is perfectly ok after installing SP2 and other updates
and so on.

Thinking to add additional power to the system, so I sent it to change a new
motherboard, CPU, and DRAM.

Now the system is failed during Windows loading, and it kept coming back to
the same screen saying, the previous loading is unsuccessful and sorry for
the inconvenience...

I tried each option and none of them worked.

However, during the safe mode, I could just barely to catch a short message
(as it went by too fast) that is associated with something related to
"peripheral has been detected" then it went back to the reboot screen.

So my questions are:

(1) Does it sound like a hardware related problem? If I put everything back
to the original, will it resolve the problem?

(2) What if I wish to retain the new hardware configuration and avoid
reformat and re-install Windows and applications, what choices do I have?

I know that I can try KB307545 - How to recover from a corrupted registry
file..., and any other solutions?


Thanks in advance.

PS: Also posted on hardware section since don't know which one is more
appropriate.

 

[Nak]

Hi there,

Thinking to add additional power to the system, so I sent it to change a
new
motherboard, CPU, and DRAM.

From my experience of XP you will need to reinstall after the
motherboard change. I'ts quite a big leap and I have had 2 computers do
exactly as you have stated by changing the motherboard.

Now the system is failed during Windows loading, and it kept coming back
to
the same screen saying, the previous loading is unsuccessful and sorry for
the inconvenience...

Did it ever work with the new hardware? Or has it just stopped? One
thing I have noticed recently is that if you have removable flash storage,
such as an SD card reader, by having a card in the slot Windows will
actually attempt to boot from it, make sure you haven't got anything like
that going on. Though it might sound stupid, I have been caught by this
one.

(1) Does it sound like a hardware related problem? If I put everything
back
to the original, will it resolve the problem?

Try re-installing windows, that's what I would do.

(2) What if I wish to retain the new hardware configuration and avoid
reformat and re-install Windows and applications, what choices do I have?

This depends whats happened. Did XP ever work with your new hardware or
did it stop instantly? If so you will need to reinstall, and possibly
expect the need to acquire an unlock key from Microsoft depending on your
recent hardware changes. If Windows just suddenly stopped working you can
attempt to repair the installation by booting from the CD as if you are
going to re-install and taking it from there.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Nick.

 

[xfile]

Hi Nak:

Thanks for your kind suggestions.

To answer your question, it has never succeeded on the new system.

The very first new boot got an error message that it cannot find OS, so I
went to check BIOS and it was set to boot from the floppy drive.

Ever since, the system has never succeeded on Windows startup and just do
exactly what I described.

When you mentioned re-install, does it mean to install into the same
directory? Will it give me an option to keep the original setting or will
eventually wipe out everything and do a new installation?

Activation will be a phone call away and it won't be a problem (although I
don't like it).

Thanks for your reply again. I just want to make sure before I insert the
CD again.

 

[Nak]

Hi xfile,

To answer your question, it has never succeeded on the new system.

Okay, then as bad as this sounds, thats a "good" thing. We know what
the problem is.

The very first new boot got an error message that it cannot find OS, so I
went to check BIOS and it was set to boot from the floppy drive.

Okay, the BIOS should really have been setup to boot in the following
order,

1) Floppy
2) CD ROM
3) Hard drive

When you mentioned re-install, does it mean to install into the same
directory? Will it give me an option to keep the original setting or will
eventually wipe out everything and do a new installation?

If you set the boot order as described above, insert your Windows XP CD
and follow on screen instructions. It should boot from your CD into the
installation where you want to do a fresh install, you will be prompted on
what partition you wish to install. You can install over to top of your
current one or delete the partition and create a new NTFS one (which is what
I would do if you have no data on that partition that you wish to keep).

Activation will be a phone call away and it won't be a problem (although I
don't like it).

Cool It's irritating, I have to do it myself as I have modified my
PC so much now, every time I reinstall I need a new unlock code. :-(

Thanks for your reply again. I just want to make sure before I insert the
CD again.

No problems, glad I could help, good luck with your install

Nick.

 

[Rock]

Hi:

Appreciate if anyone can help me on this.

Previous system state is perfectly ok after installing SP2 and other updates
and so on.

Thinking to add additional power to the system, so I sent it to change a new
motherboard, CPU, and DRAM.

Now the system is failed during Windows loading, and it kept coming back to
the same screen saying, the previous loading is unsuccessful and sorry for
the inconvenience...

I tried each option and none of them worked.

However, during the safe mode, I could just barely to catch a short message
(as it went by too fast) that is associated with something related to
"peripheral has been detected" then it went back to the reboot screen.

So my questions are:

(1) Does it sound like a hardware related problem? If I put everything back
to the original, will it resolve the problem?

(2) What if I wish to retain the new hardware configuration and avoid
reformat and re-install Windows and applications, what choices do I have?

I know that I can try KB307545 - How to recover from a corrupted registry
file..., and any other solutions?


Thanks in advance.

PS: Also posted on hardware section since don't know which one is more
appropriate.

Do a repair install:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[xfile]

Hi:

Thanks for the advises from you all.

I am doing the repair installation already :-(

But I think I missed one step. There is an article says that I should not
choose Repair Installation, rather to choose installation to the same
directory, and then installation will detect the current Windows and asks me
if I wish to repair the current one and then do the repair installation from
there.

Anyway, what is done is done. Currently, it is not activated yet and the
desktop looks "familiar" as the old one, but there are many drivers conflict
and the onboard LAN is dead (which is why I did not activate yet).

What I will do is have the system checked by technician again (they only
know the cable and jumpers stuffs), and make sure the hardware is indeed in
good condition.

Upon the LAN is back, I will activate and put on SP2 and see what will
happen from there.

Funny thing is that it is the same for the Windows Server 2003. I upgraded
both systems in hope to boost up my home network environment to a really
powerful one. But I guess I would never have thought changing motherboard,
CPU and DRAM would be like this.

This is something I really hate Windows (although there are good things),
and that is a simple task can become so complicated and unnecessarily
resources wasting.

I guess it will take some time before I can enjoy my nice home network
again.

PS: I also found this site is informative and links to other useful
information about installation due to motherboard and other hardware
changes. Just to share:

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/


Again, thanks for your help. Will let you know the end results.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi:

Appreciate if anyone can help me on this.

Previous system state is perfectly ok after installing SP2 and other
updates and so on.

Thinking to add additional power to the system, so I sent it to
change a new motherboard, CPU, and DRAM.

Now the system is failed during Windows loading, and it kept coming
back to the same screen saying, the previous loading is unsuccessful
and sorry for the inconvenience...

I tried each option and none of them worked.

However, during the safe mode, I could just barely to catch a short
message (as it went by too fast) that is associated with something
related to "peripheral has been detected" then it went back to the
reboot screen.
So my questions are:

(1) Does it sound like a hardware related problem? If I put
everything back to the original, will it resolve the problem?

(2) What if I wish to retain the new hardware configuration and
avoid
reformat and re-install Windows and applications, what choices do I
have?

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations
and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours
before starting), unless the new motherboard is virtually identical
(same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the
one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, 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

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this
point. You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the
OS. (If you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as
picking up a Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch
style foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K
before it, is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to
accepting any old hardware configuration you throw at it. On
installation it "tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This
is one of the reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much
more stable than the Win9x group.

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

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. 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.

--

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

 

[xfile]

Hi:


Thanks for the kind explanations, which for the first time, I've learned
"why" does it behave as it is (aside from the activation part).

But I think it could be alternative ways, if possible. Why not let users
logged into the system first and work from there to solve configuration
changes and activation issue, instead of a total boot failure.

Although it sounds naive, but Windows can still function using generic
drivers and basic configurations and profile settings (similar to in the
safe mode), right?

I am far from a professional software developer, and I only speak as a user
experience and a wish

Thanks for your kind explanations, again.

 

[Jeff]

Hi,

Its strange how some people has problems when they change
hardware on their XP systems. I changed my cousin`s
motherboard on her computer and it started up with no
problem. Maker was different yet windows started up like
nothing happened. All I had to do was install the chipset
drivers and onboard audio drivers.

Jeff

 

[xfile]

Hi:

I did not read through all posts on the site I shared previously, but it
happened sometime.

Some people said, simple swapping motherboard will not cause any problems,
while doing several things will. Others (all at that site) said
differently.

But many of them all complained one thing that MS did not give more detailed
instructions about the possible causes and instructions of Windows regarding
motherboard changes.

Bottom line is, I guess their logics and detection mechanisms are too
sophisticated for me, as a normal user, to comprehend, ha ha ha.

 

[xfile]

Hi:

After a costly $500 experiment for improving some unknown performance and
experienced a few days of nightmare, my desktop is finally back to the old
working stage.

Everything seems working fine, and my second installation of SP2 also went
through smoothly even without the two minor problems experienced on the
first time.

Windows XP, Office XP, Office 2003, and NIS 2004 all need a reactivation but
settings are remained.

Glad that all IE favorites are still there (don't know stored passwords yet)
and OE seems ok for stored emails, address book, and newsgroups are all
there.

Tested some applications including Ad-Aware and Search & Destroy, all
function well at this point and some more testing will be done

Thanks for the help and advises from all of you.

Will work on the Windows Server 2003 on this weekend

If Microsoft can make this - reinstallation even more friendly, it will not
cause such panic for us.

Thanks again.