Motherboard replacement, will XP make a fuss ?

[Tod]

I'm using Win XP (OEM) with all updates.
My current motherboard (K7S5A PRO) uses the SIS chipset.
If I replace my motherboard with a board using VIA KT333 chipset
will XP just load the correct drivers ?
Or does Win XP (OEM) have a fit if there is too much
hardware being changed ?

 

[R. McCarty]

A motherboard replacement with a chipset switch over won't boot.
Reason being, the Mass Storage controller driver won't mate up.
It will try to start the SiS driver, and not a Via. A repair install is
the preferred way to correct this, by re-enumerating all devices.
There is a work around of changing to a default/generic IDE/ATAPI
driver before the switch. However, the Repair install is still best.

 

[Paul Smith]

I'm using Win XP (OEM) with all updates.
My current motherboard (K7S5A PRO) uses the SIS chipset.
If I replace my motherboard with a board using VIA KT333 chipset
will XP just load the correct drivers ?
Or does Win XP (OEM) have a fit if there is too much
hardware being changed ?

I've swapped motherboards, CPU and a graphics card, I think I went from a
K266A to whatever the chipset is in the KV8, they're both VIA and it
survived.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
http://windows.dasmirnov.net/ Windows XP Resource Site.

*Replace nospam with smirnov to reply by e-mail*

 

[Tod]

If I just upgrade to a motherboard with a later version
of the SIS chipset, Windows XP should be ok with that ?
(going from 735 to 746FX)

 

[R. McCarty]

Probably, since Chipset drivers are usually developed to be
used/compatible with many various versions of the vendors
product line. If you swap & on the 1st boot attempt a BSOD
appears you'll know the Mass Storage driver couldn't run with
the new SiS Chipset.

 

[Tod]

I've already updated to the latest SIS AGP driver.
And I've heard that the IDE driver that Win XP comes with is best to leave
alone.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

A warning:

You may have to do a repair install of XP to get everything correctly
recognized on the new mainboard. XP would have to be activated again.

I've not used an OEM license. I've have read that OEM license are not
tranferrable, unlike retail licenses. Of course, I doubt that Microsoft
would decline to give you a new activation code, if you had to resort to a
'phone activation. (You may do well to not volunteer too much information
about the "repair" that you are engaged in.) I don't know wheter the OEM
license are like the retail ones, where the activation database is cleared
after 120 days (permitting online activation again).

Good luck.

Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Michael Stevens]

I'm using Win XP (OEM) with all updates.
My current motherboard (K7S5A PRO) uses the SIS chipset.
If I replace my motherboard with a board using VIA KT333 chipset
will XP just load the correct drivers ?
Or does Win XP (OEM) have a fit if there is too much
hardware being changed ?

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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I'm using Win XP (OEM) with all updates.
My current motherboard (K7S5A PRO) uses the SIS chipset.
If I replace my motherboard with a board using VIA KT333 chipset
will XP just load the correct drivers ?
Or does Win XP (OEM) have a fit if there is too much
hardware being changed ?

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many branded 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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