Change MB without reloadinf WinXP?

[KG]

I soon will be changing this systems mother board from an MSI Turbo 2 (VIA) to a ABIT Abit nf7 v2
( NVIDIA nForce2 Based ). I don't wish to do a full reinstall of Win XP home, due to the
software presently installed, TSR's AutoCad etc. What is the procedures for doing so under Win XP
home?
*****************
Thank You (e-mail address removed)

A true believer in compassionate liberal anarchy.

To reply to this email please remove the AT
after the kgs in the reply to address as shown above.

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Boot from CD, run setup, wait till after the EULA agreement, accept a 'repair'. It will correct for your changed hardware. Some
hardware changes, if before 120 days, require a 'phone in' activation, (a free call)


..

 

[Jerry]

I recently had to change my Main Board <not the same, but a similar board>
and XP continues to amaze me. After the board was changed, the first boot
was to bios where I set the bios up like I wanted. I then let Win XP boot
normally. XP grumbled and moaned about 10 minutes while it was finding
things. After that time, I got a message saying that XP had found
everything it needed and I should reboot.
I have never looked back and XP has never hesitated since. It worked
beautifully.

Hope yours goes as well.
Good luck

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I soon will be changing this systems mother board from an MSI Turbo 2 (VIA) to a ABIT Abit nf7 v2
( NVIDIA nForce2 Based ). I don't wish to do a full reinstall of Win XP home, due to the
software presently installed, TSR's AutoCad etc. What is the procedures for doing so under Win XP
home?
*****************
Thank You (e-mail address removed)

A true believer in compassionate liberal anarchy.

To reply to this email please remove the AT
after the kgs in the reply to address as shown above.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations 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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