Question about upgrading motherboard, CPU

[Scott]

I have Windows XP. I soon will need to upgrade to new
motherboard and CPU. I have heared horror stories about
people upgrading their PCs and then Windows XP stops dead
in it tracks. My question is, will XP refuse to work after
I upgrade, and what do I do if it does.

Thankyou.

 

[R. McCarty]

Create a "Verified" image backup of the PC before
starting work.

Drive Image, Ghost, Bing, TrueImage,etc....

Each has similar functions, Most offer trial downloads so
you can find one that meets your needs.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Scott.

I wouldn't call them "horror stories", but there's more involved than most
people think about at first.

The motherboard and CPU are the heart and brain of a computer, and switching
to a new set is much like a heart and brain transplant for a human - except
that the body of the computer can survive.

But when the computer is powered up again, WinXP can't find its hard drive,
its RAM, or anything else. When it was installed originally, Setup detected
the hardware configuration and customized YOUR copy of WinXP to fit that
configuration. Now that you've made such a fundamental change in the
hardware, you need to let it detect the new environment so that it knows
that the gearshift is now on the steering column, rather than on the floor,
to use an automobile analogy.

Unfortunately, unless your new mobo/CPU are almost identical to your old set
(and you wouldn't upgrade if there weren't some significant differences,
right?), you will need to run Setup again - which means to reinstall WinXP
from scratch. At least, you can preserve your installed applications and
data and most of your tweaks by doing an "in-place upgrade", as described by
Microsoft here:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q315341

This will take about as long as a clean install, and you will need to visit
Windows Update - as soon as you get your firewall and antivirus in place and
get back online - to get the latest Service Pack and later fixes. Even with
broadband, the whole process (including SP1) took me half a day the last
time I had to do it.

But I wouldn't call it a horror story - so long as you know what to expect.
It's just another step in the mobo upgrade process.

RC

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM licenses are not
transferable to a new motherboard), unless your motherboard is
virtually identical (same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS
version, etc.) to the one on which the other 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

--
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[Alex Nichol]

I have Windows XP. I soon will need to upgrade to new
motherboard and CPU. I have heared horror stories about
people upgrading their PCs and then Windows XP stops dead
in it tracks. My question is, will XP refuse to work after
I upgrade, and what do I do if it does.

When you make such a major change you should do a repair reinstall so as
to match the system correctly to the new hardware. Start at Power on by
entering BIOS setup to set the date and time; make sure that the hard
disk is correctly detected, and set the boot order to boot CD before
Hard disk,

Put the XP CD in the drive, Exit BIOS setup, saving settings, so as to
boot the XP CD. Start Setup (do not take 'Repair' at this stage), then
after the license agreement take 'Repair Installation'. This will
retain your existing software installations and most settings. But
Updates will have to be run again, especially SP1 unless that is
included on the CD.

It is important to activate the basic XP Firewall before you ever
connect to the net to get the patches, so as to be protected against
things like the BLAST worm.

You may find you have made so many changes in hardware that you need to
activate again by phoning in, but that is not a big deal provided you
expect it. You would only be able to boot to Safe Mode, there go to
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Activate Windows,
take the option to activate by phone, and call the toll free number
given - expect about 10 minutes,

Always back up essential data before doing any major system operation
like this, if you are still in a position to do so