Question on installing a new Motherboard

[Jim]

The motherboard & processor failed on one of my XP Pro computers. When I
install a new MB (different brand), will my system boot or will I have to
reinstall the OS?

TIA

Jim

 

[Bruce Chambers]

The motherboard & processor failed on one of my XP Pro computers. When I
install a new MB (different brand), will my system boot or will I have to
reinstall the OS?

TIA

Jim

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific motherboard chipset and
therefore 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

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

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:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Jim]

Thank you Bruce for such a detailed answer - will follow your links.

This is a retail version of XP Pro. I also have the computer backed up on my
Windows Home Server system so I'm not certain what will happen if I try to
do a restore using the WHS "recovery" boot disk.

Jim

 

[Jim]

Follow up question for Bruce or anyone.

Recently when I attempted to do a XP "repair" for a friend of mine using his
slipscreening disk, the procedure would not expand the DL_ files and we
wound up doing a complete reinstall.

I'm hoping I will not have this same problem when I replace my MB!!

Jim

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Follow up question for Bruce or anyone.

Recently when I attempted to do a XP "repair" for a friend of mine using his
slipscreening disk, the procedure would not expand the DL_ files and we
wound up doing a complete reinstall.

I'm hoping I will not have this same problem when I replace my MB!!

That could have been caused by a bad "burn" of the slip-streamed CD, as
much as anything.

Otherwise, Problems copying files or corrupted files during
installation (even a Repair installation) are most often caused by
defective, incompatible, or sub-standard hardware; in order of
likelihood, either RAM, the hard drive, or the motherboard. On very
rare occasions the CD drive or installation CD is the problem.

Why was a repair installation deemed necessary? It may be that the
same problem that led you to that action might also have caused the
problem with the repair. Start with testing the RAM. You might try
MemTest86: http://www.memtest86.com/ It's free. Then you can download
and use the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility to test the
hard drive. If both RAM and hard drive test out clean, check with the
motherboard manufacturer for any diagnostic utilities.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[milleron]

Thank you Bruce for such a detailed answer - will follow your links.

This is a retail version of XP Pro. I also have the computer backed up on my
Windows Home Server system so I'm not certain what will happen if I try to
do a restore using the WHS "recovery" boot disk.

Jim

Well, that will not work. The restore would try to put back the same
drivers, HAL, etc. That's not really worth trying.

Follow the instructions on the Michael Stevens Web site that Bruce
Chambers referenced.

PRINT OUT the instructions there. Do not use the usual "Repair
install," but be sure you find the instructions for doing a repair
install after switching motherboards. (The link provided leads you
straight to that section. Just make sure that you don't get to the
other one when browsing the site.) Read and reread those instructions
before starting and make sure you pay attention to every detail. If
you do, you'll have a good chance of revovering the XP installation on
your HD.

 

[Jim]

Thanks again Bruce, will dl the memory test program for future use.

Various programs on my friends PC, including Windows Media Play, just would
not run anymore. That's when we decided to do the "repair" and discovered
the DL_ files would not load. However the same slipscreen disk did the clean
install successfully.

Jim