New motherboard?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nigel M
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Nigel M

I desperately need to do a fresh install of XP, I want to get rid of
some clutter. I've ordered a new motherboard and I've got a new HD, but
the motherboard is going to take a couple of weeks to arrive.

How tolerant is XP (with SP2) on changing a motherboard? Will the
devices get recognised properly, or should I wait?
 
Nigel M said:
I desperately need to do a fresh install of XP, I want to get rid of
some clutter. I've ordered a new motherboard and I've got a new HD, but
the motherboard is going to take a couple of weeks to arrive.

How tolerant is XP (with SP2) on changing a motherboard? Will the
devices get recognised properly, or should I wait?
Click to expand...

it can be done, but it's messy, if the new board is completely different
(chipset) from the old one (else, why would you be upgrading, right) a
Repair Install may have to be performed to get XP to *properly* re-enumerate
the hardware and the new board.

if it were my system, i would definitely WAIT till it's completely built
 
and the even worse news is; that if an OEM version of winxp some suppliers
tie the install to the origonally installed hardware.
 
DL said:
and the even worse news is; that if an OEM version of
winxp some suppliers
tie the install to the origonally installed hardware.
Click to expand...

ALL OEM suppliers tie the install to the originally
installed hardware. That's the definition of OEM. (Or was
anyhow.) The question is "What's the originally installed
hardware?".
 
DL said:
and the even worse news is; that if an OEM version of winxp some suppliers
tie the install to the origonally installed hardware.
Click to expand...

yes, this is true, usually in the form of a 'Restore Disc' that the OEM
supplies with the machine, which also dumps all the 3rd party software
(junk) back on the customer's computer. there are ways to circumvent that
though, that is, the XP setup files can sometimes be extracted from the
Restore Disc and burned to a cdrom with the microsoft bootable image file.

nigel hasn't said though if he's reinstalling XP from an OEM Restore Disc or
retail version of XP
 
Don't confuse OEM suppliers with OEM versions of Windows available from
vendors (like newegg.com.) Most big OEM's like HP & Dell offer recovery CD's
that are tied to hardware. OEM versions of Windows (bundled in the MS
packaging) are usable on any type of hardware. Installing it will be easy.
Activating it will be another thing. . .
 
Rube said:
Don't confuse OEM suppliers with OEM versions of Windows available from
vendors (like newegg.com.) Most big OEM's like HP & Dell offer recovery
CD's
that are tied to hardware. OEM versions of Windows (bundled in the MS
packaging) are usable on any type of hardware. Installing it will be easy.
Activating it will be another thing. . .
Click to expand...

true, except that the Microsoft supplied OEM discs (for system builders,
like myself), *each* come with a separate COA (certificate of authenticity)
and a unique activation code. there are no problems using that code to
install XP on any hardware, *except* if/when the activation code has been
previously used on a different system. the activation procedure does an
analysis of the hardware it's being installed on (cpu serial number, etc),
hashes all that data together, sends it off to microsoft's activation
database, where it is stored for futre re-activations. if a re-activation
is attempted on different hardware (machine), strictly speaking, the
activation process is supposed to fail, BUT i've also seen it work on
completely different hardware too. now, microsoft must have learned early
on that 'power-users' (what a joke phrase that is), routinely upgrade their
hardware and re-install the OS, so that may explain the re-activation
anomaly where it works on completely different hardware.

i suspect nigel will have no problems re-activating XP if it's a microsoft
supplied OEM disc, but even if there is an issue, he can contact a microsoft
agent on an 800 number, and request his activation code be reset or obtain a
new one. yes, they will do that, but they may ask for verification of
identity and/or proof of purchase.
 
oh yes, even if the activation process fails, nigel still has 30 days to
contact microsoft to fix the activation problem, the system will run
normally for 30 days before it requires activation.
 
Is it 30 days for OEM and retail? Mine always say 60 days, but that is
because they are MSDN versions (which really helps with how many
hardware configs I go through in testing).
 
Greetings --

Personally, I'd wait. But the choice is yours.

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

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also 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
 
Yeah, the grace periods are longer because even though I am allowed to
activate each version of Windows on up to 10 computers, Microsoft wants
to make it easy to fully test developed software on many many different
hardware configurations without having to force activation before the
development of the software is complete.

Thanks for the link too. That was unexpected :D
 
In said:
if it were my system, i would definitely WAIT till it's completely built
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the advice, I'll wait.

For the record, it's a retail version.

FWIW I believe Dell versions of XP can be installed on any system
(although some might argue that they may not be).
 
Nigel M said:
Thanks for all the advice, I'll wait.

For the record, it's a retail version.

FWIW I believe Dell versions of XP can be installed on any system
(although some might argue that they may not be).
Click to expand...

true, many OEMs are now including the microsoft supplied Windows XP cdrom
separately with their systems, simply because that's what most of their
customers want. dell may have moved in that direction now too.
 
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