changing motherboard

  • Thread starter Thread starter badgolferman
  • Start date Start date
B

badgolferman

I will be changing my motherboard from a 800 MHz AMD based Gigabyte to
a P4 2.0 GHz Intel based Biostar motherboard. I would like to keep my
settings and all that good stuff. I have found instructions on how to
do this and actually practiced on some systems at work.

My question really has to do with restoring an image. I plan to make
an image using Powerquest Drive Image 2002 to a second hard drive just
in case something goes wrong. If I need to restore the image will
there be any problems with making the hard disk bootable again? In
other words, is a backed up image a reliable way to restore the whole
thing, even to a completely different type of drive?

Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated.
 
badgolferman said:
I will be changing my motherboard from a 800 MHz AMD based Gigabyte to
a P4 2.0 GHz Intel based Biostar motherboard. I would like to keep my
settings and all that good stuff. I have found instructions on how to
do this and actually practiced on some systems at work.

My question really has to do with restoring an image. I plan to make
an image using Powerquest Drive Image 2002 to a second hard drive just
in case something goes wrong. If I need to restore the image will
there be any problems with making the hard disk bootable again? In
other words, is a backed up image a reliable way to restore the whole
thing, even to a completely different type of drive?

Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
The image you make will be of the operating system on your old hardware.
It will probably not be useful on the new hardware. It isn't so much
the different hard drive as the different motherboard.

Malke
 
Malke said:
The image you make will be of the operating system on your old
hardware. It will probably not be useful on the new hardware. It
isn't so much the different hard drive as the different motherboard.

Malke
Click to expand...

Yes I understand that. I want to make an image of the old system just
in case the new motherboard has hardware problems or I mess up the
whole thing. That way I can revert to the old system. So, will the
image restore perfectly and remain bootable?
 
badgolferman said:
I will be changing my motherboard from a 800 MHz AMD based Gigabyte to
a P4 2.0 GHz Intel based Biostar motherboard. I would like to keep my
settings and all that good stuff. I have found instructions on how to
do this and actually practiced on some systems at work.

My question really has to do with restoring an image. I plan to make
an image using Powerquest Drive Image 2002 to a second hard drive just
in case something goes wrong. If I need to restore the image will
there be any problems with making the hard disk bootable again? In
other words, is a backed up image a reliable way to restore the whole
thing, even to a completely different type of drive?

Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

If you change to a different motherboard you *must* do a repair
install of your Windows XP as per the instructions at
http://michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

And if your Windows XP is an OEM version that came preinstalled on
your computer and did not require activation (this is what is referred
to as a "BIOS locked OEM version") then your Windows XP will not be
usable on the new motherboard as it will not be activated. Microsoft
has changed the procedures as of March 1st this year and if a BIOS
locked version is used with a different brand of motherboard then the
activation will not go through unless the motherboard is a warranty
replacement provided by the original computer manufacturer/assembler.

Good luck


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

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
Ron said:
If you change to a different motherboard you *must* do a repair
install of your Windows XP as per the instructions at
http://michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

And if your Windows XP is an OEM version that came preinstalled on
your computer and did not require activation (this is what is referred
to as a "BIOS locked OEM version") then your Windows XP will not be
usable on the new motherboard as it will not be activated. Microsoft
has changed the procedures as of March 1st this year and if a BIOS
locked version is used with a different brand of motherboard then the
activation will not go through unless the motherboard is a warranty
replacement provided by the original computer manufacturer/assembler.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
Click to expand...

But yes, if the OP is talking about making an image of his current
installation on the old board with the idea of sticking that drive back
into the old system, that should work. It probably won't be necessary,
though. The repair install on the new board should work just fine as
long as he installs the new motherboard drivers afterwards.

Malke
 
badgolferman said:
I will be changing my motherboard from a 800 MHz AMD based Gigabyte to
a P4 2.0 GHz Intel based Biostar motherboard. I would like to keep my
settings and all that good stuff. I have found instructions on how to
do this and actually practiced on some systems at work.

My question really has to do with restoring an image. I plan to make
an image using Powerquest Drive Image 2002 to a second hard drive just
in case something goes wrong. If I need to restore the image will
there be any problems with making the hard disk bootable again? In
other words, is a backed up image a reliable way to restore the whole
thing, even to a completely different type of drive?

Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated.
Click to expand...


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

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
badgolferman said:
Yes I understand that. I want to make an image of the old system just
in case the new motherboard has hardware problems or I mess up the
whole thing. That way I can revert to the old system. So, will the
image restore perfectly and remain bootable?
Click to expand...


When you change motherboards it's likely that you will have to perform a
Repair install following the change. It's not a certainty. There's a chance
that the system will boot following the motherboard change. But in all
likelihood you *will* have to perform a Repair install. When you say "I have
found instructions on how to do this...", I assume that's what you're
talking about.

As to creating a disk image of your "old" system to a second HD, i.e.,
cloning the contents of your working HD to another HD, you can do this if
you feel uncomfortable about the motherboard change and you would want the
option of reverting to your system with the old motherboard should something
go awry with the new motherboard installation. Using a disk imaging program,
such as the ones I'm familiar with, i.e., Ghost or Acronis True Image, you
could clone back the contents of that second drive to your original drive
(if that's what you wanted to do), and the drive would be bootable after you
reinstalled the old motherboard. It's been a long time since I worked with
Drive Image, so I won't comment on using that particular program.

In my experience the Repair install (should it be needed) goes without
incident following a motherboard change. This, of course, assumes that
you're not experiencing any problems with other components/devices. I assume
you're aware that you'll need to install whatever drivers the new
motherboard needs that XP doesn't pick up.
Anna
 
badgolferman said:
I will be changing my motherboard from a 800 MHz AMD based Gigabyte to
a P4 2.0 GHz Intel based Biostar motherboard. I would like to keep my
settings and all that good stuff. I have found instructions on how to
do this and actually practiced on some systems at work.

My question really has to do with restoring an image. I plan to make
an image using Powerquest Drive Image 2002 to a second hard drive just
in case something goes wrong. If I need to restore the image will
there be any problems with making the hard disk bootable again? In
other words, is a backed up image a reliable way to restore the whole
thing, even to a completely different type of drive?

Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
[snipped]

Disregard this message. It was in my Send queue from a few weeks ago
and I didn't realize it.
 
Back
Top