Best way to upgrade motherboard

  • Thread starter Thread starter Torrey Lauer
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Torrey Lauer

I have a PC running Windows XP that is several years old. I'd like to
upgrade motherboard and processor.

I want to use the existing harddrive and just move it to the new
motherboard. My question is how do I do move the harddrive to the new
motherboard and have the PC boot up correctly?
 
The biggest issue that occurs is the "Mass Storage Controller" driver.
IDE/ATAPI controllers are chipset based. So if your current MB uses
an Intel Chipset and you move to a Via or nVidia based chipset, then
XP won't boot because the wrong IDE driver will load.
The simplest solution is move the hardware, then run a repair install.
This will keep your apps/settings in place, but strip out the entire device
tree and re-detect your new hardware. Newer motherboards will have
significantly different system devices than your original one.
 
Torrey said:
I have a PC running Windows XP that is several years old. I'd like to
upgrade motherboard and processor.

I want to use the existing harddrive and just move it to the new
motherboard. My question is how do I do move the harddrive to the new
motherboard and have the PC boot up correctly?
Click to expand...


You don't. You would need to perform a repair installation at the very
least. Please bear in mind that, if the licence is OEM, you may *NOT* move
it, as it is tied to the original system and, if it's a system-branded OEM,
it won't boot on any other motherboard, other than the one in the original
system.

If it's OEM you will need to purchase a new full licence (unless you have a
qualifying product, obviously, and then an upgrade licence would suffice -
you will need Windows 95, 98, ME for Home and 95, 98, 2000, Home for Pro -
please note that Windows 2000 to XP Home is *not* supported).

Only a retail licence may be moved.
 
Back up all your necessary data and go for a clean install.New
motherboard-new hardwares won't allow you to boot up correctly.And there
is activation question also.

regards,
ssg MS-MVP
 
S.Sengupta said:
Back up all your necessary data and go for a clean install.New
motherboard-new hardwares won't allow you to boot up correctly.And
there is activation question also.

regards,
ssg MS-MVP
Click to expand...

With respect to Mr. Sengupta, my experience tallies with that of Mr.
McCarty - at the most you will have to do a Repair Install. Yes, you
may have to reactivate, but that is no big deal.

If the new motherboard is the same chipset, there is an off chance you
may not need a Repair Install, but I've only had this happen twice
(just the other day, actually when I replaced one MSI board with
another MSI of the same age but a different model). Since you are
replacing an older m/b, it is probable that you'll need to do the
Repair Install.

I wouldn't do a clean install for replacing a motherboard. However, it
is always wise to back up your data before a big change just in case.

Malke
 
Torrey said:
I have a PC running Windows XP that is several years old. I'd like to
upgrade motherboard and processor.

I want to use the existing harddrive and just move it to the new
motherboard. My question is how do I do move the harddrive to the new
motherboard and have the PC boot up correctly?
Click to expand...

Click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into the address box
if using the web based newsgroup.
Move XP to new hardware.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm
 
Torrey said:
I have a PC running Windows XP that is several years old. I'd like to
upgrade motherboard and processor.

I want to use the existing harddrive and just move it to the new
motherboard. My question is how do I do move the harddrive to the new
motherboard and have the PC boot up correctly?
Click to expand...


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

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