WinXP won't boot after new motherboard, CPU, and video card

[Andrew Connell]

I had a WinXP Pro SP1 running just fine (P3 700, Voodoo3 video, and
128x3 RAM). Tonight, I installed a new motherboard, P4 2.4ghz, new
nVidia video card, and pulled one of the 128 DIMMS out so it now has
128x2 RAM. When it turns on, it recognizes the new video card, it
sees 256MB RAM, and it sees the hyperthreaded CPU, but once it starts
to boot into WinXP (XP black-boot screen), I see a blue screen flash
and then it reboots itself. I've tried booting in safemode (which
always seems to hang on the driver 'mup.sys' and then reboot) but it
reboots itself, I've tried last known hardware config... but nothing
works.

I'd ~like~ to get this running WITHOUT having to reinstall the OS and
all the programs, but at this point I'm not seeing any other options
(thankfully I use roaming profiles so my settings and such will be
preserved). Any ideas?

-AC

 

[G.M.]

(e-mail address removed) (Andrew Connell) wrote in

I had a WinXP Pro SP1 running just fine (P3 700, Voodoo3 video, and
128x3 RAM). Tonight, I installed a new motherboard, P4 2.4ghz, new
nVidia video card, and pulled one of the 128 DIMMS out so it now has
128x2 RAM. When it turns on, it recognizes the new video card, it
sees 256MB RAM, and it sees the hyperthreaded CPU, but once it starts
to boot into WinXP (XP black-boot screen), I see a blue screen flash
and then it reboots itself. I've tried booting in safemode (which
always seems to hang on the driver 'mup.sys' and then reboot) but it
reboots itself, I've tried last known hardware config... but nothing
works.

I'd ~like~ to get this running WITHOUT having to reinstall the OS and
all the programs, but at this point I'm not seeing any other options
(thankfully I use roaming profiles so my settings and such will be
preserved). Any ideas?

-AC

Because the new motherboard is not an exact match for the old hardware
you will need to do a repair install. Boot the XP cd (do not choose the
first repair option you see, instead choose the second one presented) Of
course you will have to reinstall all service packs and patches.

 

[David]

I just did this the other day. New mother board in one
computer, old motherboard moved to different system. Both
did as you discribed. Here is the fix:
Reboot to your XP cdrom disk. It will go through to where
it says to repair or install windows. Choose install and
then it will stop again and ask if you want to repair or
do a clean install. Choose repair. It will continue
loading like it is a new install but all your previous
setting will be intact. Again, choose repair the second
time it ask and you will get your system repaired.
It seem XP does not like these major changes without
rewriting the system files around the new motherboard.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[Pete Baker]

Andrew

During the initial installation XP configures itself to suit the hardware in
order to provide a more stable system. Because of this a major change in
hardware can cause problems.

**** If you have a XP installation CD ****

You should always back up any important files in advance of a hardware
change.

Many users, myself included, prefer to do a full clean install after major
hardware changes as you describe.

The alternative, and equally valid option, is the repair install (also known
as an In-Place Upgrade).

*However, it is not designed to be a time-saving option.*

See following Knowledge Base article for details. Pay careful attention to
the possible loss of data links in the MS article and read all instructions
carefully.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q315341

After doing this you may need to re-activate your installation of XP. If it
has been more than 120 days since you last re-activated you should be able
to activate over the internet, otherwise it will require a short phonecall.

After the repair install you will need to re-install any XP service packs
and updates that are not included on your XP Installation CD, but you will
not need to re-install any applications.

Hope that helps
Pete

 

[Jon Mitchell]

I know this won't help you new, Andrew, but I thought I might just mention
it. The problem that you describe is a wel know "feature" of Windows XP.
But I think I have a way around it. When upgrading a MotherBoard, chose one
that has the same Chipset as the Motherboard you already have.

I did this when upgrading the motherboard of my Windows XP system. My old
MoBo had a VIA chipset and so I chose a MoBo which aslo had a VIA chipset to
replace it. I did have a blue screen of death, but I only had to reistall
my VIA drivers, and not Windowx XP istelf, to resolve the issue. I didn't
even have to re-activate Windows XP afterwards.

I can't guarantee that this will work all the time for everyone. But it
worked for me.