Install new mobo without reformat C:\

[RobF]

Installed a SiS 741GX, socket A, mobo in a backup computer. Previous
(failed) board also SiS, obsolete SiS 73x.
Win 98 SE based. In an installation, where do the board/system devices come
from, the OS setup disk? Or are they supplied with software disk by board
manufacturer? I.e, Devices listed in devman as for instance PCI host CPU
bridge, bridge controller, etc.
The computer is working, no symptoms of probs, but I'm wondering if stuff
still in HDD related to former board are cluttering system and may
eventually result in a crash. Would appreciate your knowledgeable inputs,
info.

 

[Dave]

Installed a SiS 741GX, socket A, mobo in a backup computer. Previous
(failed) board also SiS, obsolete SiS 73x.
Win 98 SE based. In an installation, where do the board/system devices
come
from, the OS setup disk?

In most cases, all mainboard components should be automatically recognized
and "installed" with a generic set of drivers included on the OS install
disk. Note that this isn't an "ideal" situation, but does work OK, usually.

Or are they supplied with software disk by board
manufacturer?

Yes. Now it might sound like I'm contradicting myself, but it's not an
either/or situation. The Windows OS install disk has generic drivers for
MOST hardware, and you SHOULD also have drivers that came on CD or
something, supplied with the motherboard, by the motherboard manufacturer.
If so, then the drivers from the motherboard's disk should be better than
the OS generic drivers, but still not "ideal". The problem is, if a CD-Rom
(with drivers) shipped with the mainboard, then the drivers on that disk
were several generations OBSOLETE by the time that the CD-Rom was pressed.
So while they are slightly better than the Windows OS generic drivers, they
are not much better.

I.e, Devices listed in devman as for instance PCI host CPU
bridge, bridge controller, etc.

The ONLY place you should get drivers for your mainboard is to download them
from the web site of whoever manufactured your mainboard. Do this download
on THE SAME DAY that you install the drivers. That is, don't download the
drivers, then forget to install them for a few weeks, and then install the
(now obsolete) drivers.

The computer is working, no symptoms of probs, but I'm wondering if stuff
still in HDD related to former board are cluttering system and may
eventually result in a crash.

That's a real possibility, so you are right to worry about it. Since you
went from one SIS chipset to a slightly newer SIS chipset, it might not be
as much of a problem for your system as most. But at best, the drivers you
are using are terribly outdated. Check the following sources (in order) for
new drivers:
1) Web site of whoever manufactured your mainboard
2) Sis website

-Dave

 

[RobF]

|
| | > Installed a SiS 741GX, socket A, mobo in a backup computer. Previous
| > (failed) board also SiS, obsolete SiS 73x.
| > Win 98 SE based. In an installation, where do the board/system devices
| > come
| > from, the OS setup disk?
|
| In most cases, all mainboard components should be automatically recognized
| and "installed" with a generic set of drivers included on the OS install
| disk. Note that this isn't an "ideal" situation, but does work OK,
usually.
|
| >Or are they supplied with software disk by board
| > manufacturer?
|
| Yes. Now it might sound like I'm contradicting myself, but it's not an
| either/or situation. The Windows OS install disk has generic drivers for
| MOST hardware, and you SHOULD also have drivers that came on CD or
| something, supplied with the motherboard, by the motherboard manufacturer.
| If so, then the drivers from the motherboard's disk should be better than
| the OS generic drivers, but still not "ideal". The problem is, if a
CD-Rom
| (with drivers) shipped with the mainboard, then the drivers on that disk
| were several generations OBSOLETE by the time that the CD-Rom was pressed.
| So while they are slightly better than the Windows OS generic drivers,
they
| are not much better.
|
| > I.e, Devices listed in devman as for instance PCI host CPU
| > bridge, bridge controller, etc.
|
| The ONLY place you should get drivers for your mainboard is to download
them
| from the web site of whoever manufactured your mainboard. Do this
download
| on THE SAME DAY that you install the drivers. That is, don't download the
| drivers, then forget to install them for a few weeks, and then install the
| (now obsolete) drivers.
|
| > The computer is working, no symptoms of probs, but I'm wondering if
stuff
| > still in HDD related to former board are cluttering system and may
| > eventually result in a crash.
|
| That's a real possibility, so you are right to worry about it. Since you
| went from one SIS chipset to a slightly newer SIS chipset, it might not be
| as much of a problem for your system as most. But at best, the drivers
you
| are using are terribly outdated. Check the following sources (in order)
for
| new drivers:
| 1) Web site of whoever manufactured your mainboard
| 2) Sis website
|
| -Dave
|
|
| > Would appreciate your knowledgeable inputs,
| > info.


Many thanks, Dave. Have emailed manufacturer, received automatic response
recommending I contact vendor, Geeks dot com, whose web pages contain no
driver links except those of maker, ASRock.
The board came naked - no CD, no faceplate, cables, manual, whatever.
Economy route for this backup box. Asrock download drivers page devoid of
system files. Hadn't thought of looking into SiS's site, will do.
There is something in Add/Remove (I've closed down the newly built one for
the day) with name SiS, or PCI something. Guess I can take a chance and
remove that, if the new drivers ever come, then install them in sys
rops -->dev man -->update driver facility. I appreciate your thoughtful
response.

 

[Dave]

Many thanks, Dave. Have emailed manufacturer, received automatic response

recommending I contact vendor, Geeks dot com, whose web pages contain no
driver links except those of maker, ASRock.
The board came naked - no CD, no faceplate, cables, manual, whatever.

I wasn't aware that anybody sold naked mainboards. Was this a used board?

Economy route for this backup box. Asrock download drivers page devoid of
system files. Hadn't thought of looking into SiS's site, will do.

Yeah, what happens is, chipset is created (by Sis, for example) and then
offered to mainboard manufacturers to be used to produce mainboards.
Sometimes the chipset manufacturer will produce a reference mainboard BASED
on that chipset. But, the individual mainboard makers are free to vary from
the reference design. That's why you find drivers from the mainboard
manufacturer, first. If that fails, look to the chipset manufacturer.

There is something in Add/Remove (I've closed down the newly built one for
the day) with name SiS, or PCI something. Guess I can take a chance and
remove that, if the new drivers ever come, then install them in sys
rops -->dev man -->update driver facility. I appreciate your thoughtful
response.

You shouldn't have to "remove" anything. Just run the install program to
install the new drivers. -Dave

 

[RobF]

Thanks again, Dave. You give good info, unavailable to me. (I hope
top-posting is sometimes allowed in this group.)
It is not a used board, but refurbished. Geeks.com seems to be an OK vendor.
I knew it was "mainboard only", but could not imagine that some setup
programs, LAN, VGA, sound, USB, AGP would present themselves, but system
setup be hidden. The board is of fairly recent manufacture, well, somewhat
recent. Not antique. But SiS web no longer lists the 741GX chipset.
Computer doing well, for now, with the Win 98 SE drivers.
Still waiting for ASrock to give me an email, not from a robot.
--
RobF
Address anti-spammed




|> Many thanks, Dave. Have emailed manufacturer, received automatic response
| > recommending I contact vendor, Geeks dot com, whose web pages contain no
| > driver links except those of maker, ASRock.
| > The board came naked - no CD, no faceplate, cables, manual, whatever.
|
| I wasn't aware that anybody sold naked mainboards. Was this a used board?
|
| > Economy route for this backup box. Asrock download drivers page devoid
of
| > system files. Hadn't thought of looking into SiS's site, will do.
|
| Yeah, what happens is, chipset is created (by Sis, for example) and then
| offered to mainboard manufacturers to be used to produce mainboards.
| Sometimes the chipset manufacturer will produce a reference mainboard
BASED
| on that chipset. But, the individual mainboard makers are free to vary
from
| the reference design. That's why you find drivers from the mainboard
| manufacturer, first. If that fails, look to the chipset manufacturer.
|
| > There is something in Add/Remove (I've closed down the newly built one
for
| > the day) with name SiS, or PCI something. Guess I can take a chance and
| > remove that, if the new drivers ever come, then install them in sys
| > rops -->dev man -->update driver facility. I appreciate your thoughtful
| > response.
|
| You shouldn't have to "remove" anything. Just run the install program to
| install the new drivers. -Dave
|

 

[Bill]

Installed a SiS 741GX, socket A, mobo in a backup computer. Previous
(failed) board also SiS, obsolete SiS 73x.
Win 98 SE based. In an installation, where do the board/system devices come
from, the OS setup disk? Or are they supplied with software disk by board
manufacturer? I.e, Devices listed in devman as for instance PCI host CPU
bridge, bridge controller, etc.
The computer is working, no symptoms of probs, but I'm wondering if stuff
still in HDD related to former board are cluttering system and may
eventually result in a crash. Would appreciate your knowledgeable inputs,
info.

Once again, instructions for moving HDD w/ operatinf system here:

http://www.mostlycreativeworkshop.com/article11.html

Works well with Win2K and XP. Don't know aboput Vista.

HTH
Bill

 

[letterman]

Installed a SiS 741GX, socket A, mobo in a backup computer. Previous
(failed) board also SiS, obsolete SiS 73x.
Win 98 SE based. In an installation, where do the board/system devices come
from, the OS setup disk? Or are they supplied with software disk by board
manufacturer? I.e, Devices listed in devman as for instance PCI host CPU
bridge, bridge controller, etc.
The computer is working, no symptoms of probs, but I'm wondering if stuff
still in HDD related to former board are cluttering system and may
eventually result in a crash. Would appreciate your knowledgeable inputs,
info.

What OS are you running?

I have Win98SE installed. I have swapped the same installation and/or
harddrive to at least 6 different computers and everything works fine.
I cloned the harddrive a few times in the process to get a larger
drive. This is the same installation I installed in 1998. Each time
I change computers, drivers are installed to match the mobo. (I have
had to download some of them). While you CAN do this with Win98,
probably Win95 and ME, I tried to do this with XP, and it did not
work. I assume Win2k would also will not work since it's much the
same as XP.

So, if you have Win98 or earlier, this is not a problem. But XP could
be a problem.

Yes, there will be some unused (old) drivers left over, but they are
just wasting (as small amount) of drive space and doing little more.

 

[John Doe]

So, if you have Win98 or earlier, this is not a problem. But XP
could be a problem.

That's the reverse of my experience. Reinstalling Windows is better,
but being able to swap a mainboard/motherboard out from under the
operating system has gotten easier with newer releases of Windows
(I don't know about Vista).

 

[letterman]

That's the reverse of my experience. Reinstalling Windows is better,
but being able to swap a mainboard/motherboard out from under the
operating system has gotten easier with newer releases of Windows
(I don't know about Vista).

Hmmmmmmm
I had an installation of XP that came with a computer. I cant stand
XP, but rather than wipe out the installation, I just changed the hard
drive. (It was too small anyhow). Months later I bought another used
computer which I intended to sell. I figured it would sell better
with XP. I put that XP hard drive in that computer and it attempted
to install drivers, began complaining about registration, then it
completely failed, and would not even boot. It worked perfectly in
the original computer. I reinstalled it, and then it worked.

I never had any problems swapping Win98 drives, other than finding the
drivers I need.

 

[Conor]

That's the reverse of my experience. Reinstalling Windows is better,
but being able to swap a mainboard/motherboard out from under the
operating system has gotten easier with newer releases of Windows
(I don't know about Vista).

Vista works fine doing it. Went from SiS chipset to nForce4 without any
problem.

 

[david]

Hmmmmmmm
I had an installation of XP that came with a computer. I cant stand XP,
but rather than wipe out the installation, I just changed the hard
drive. (It was too small anyhow). Months later I bought another used
computer which I intended to sell. I figured it would sell better with
XP. I put that XP hard drive in that computer and it attempted to
install drivers, began complaining about registration, then it
completely failed, and would not even boot. It worked perfectly in the
original computer. I reinstalled it, and then it worked.

I never had any problems swapping Win98 drives, other than finding the
drivers I need.

Yep, you can thank Billy boy for that. XP looks at your hardware,
determines that it's not running on the same computer on which it was
registered, and complains. You can, however, call Microshit and re-
register your copy of XP to the new hardware. What you can't do,
according to the EULA, is have two copies of it running on two different
computers *at the same time*.

 

[RobF]

Thanks Bill. Good link you gave. Will attend to it.
--
RobF
Address anti-spammed

|
| >Installed a SiS 741GX, socket A, mobo in a backup computer. Previous
| >(failed) board also SiS, obsolete SiS 73x.
| >Win 98 SE based. In an installation, where do the board/system devices
come
| >from, the OS setup disk? Or are they supplied with software disk by board
| >manufacturer? I.e, Devices listed in devman as for instance PCI host CPU
| >bridge, bridge controller, etc.
| >The computer is working, no symptoms of probs, but I'm wondering if stuff
| >still in HDD related to former board are cluttering system and may
| >eventually result in a crash. Would appreciate your knowledgeable inputs,
| >info.
|
| Once again, instructions for moving HDD w/ operatinf system here:
|
| http://www.mostlycreativeworkshop.com/article11.html
|
| Works well with Win2K and XP. Don't know aboput Vista.
|
| HTH
| Bill

 

[RobF]

Thanks for your response, letterman. Win 98 SE. All's well so far. Running
on SE drivers, 1999 vintage. Board is about 2003 manufacture. Will slog on.
--
RobF
Address anti-spammed

|
| >Installed a SiS 741GX, socket A, mobo in a backup computer. Previous
| >(failed) board also SiS, obsolete SiS 73x.
| >Win 98 SE based. In an installation, where do the board/system devices
come
| >from, the OS setup disk? Or are they supplied with software disk by board
| >manufacturer? I.e, Devices listed in devman as for instance PCI host CPU
| >bridge, bridge controller, etc.
| >The computer is working, no symptoms of probs, but I'm wondering if stuff
| >still in HDD related to former board are cluttering system and may
| >eventually result in a crash. Would appreciate your knowledgeable inputs,
| >info.
|
| What OS are you running?
|
| I have Win98SE installed. I have swapped the same installation and/or
| harddrive to at least 6 different computers and everything works fine.
| I cloned the harddrive a few times in the process to get a larger
| drive. This is the same installation I installed in 1998. Each time
| I change computers, drivers are installed to match the mobo. (I have
| had to download some of them). While you CAN do this with Win98,
| probably Win95 and ME, I tried to do this with XP, and it did not
| work. I assume Win2k would also will not work since it's much the
| same as XP.
|
| So, if you have Win98 or earlier, this is not a problem. But XP could
| be a problem.
|
| Yes, there will be some unused (old) drivers left over, but they are
| just wasting (as small amount) of drive space and doing little more.