replaced motherboard and processor and now xp wont boot

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Irecently upgraded my motherboard and processor and now my computer will not
boot up. Since i bought my computer with windows already installed, I don't
have a windows xp home cd. how can I still use my existing harddrive and not
have to buy windows xp copy? i'm really confused. Please help!
 
You can't unless you put the old moptherboard in. If you don't your copy of XP is expired.
 
A preinstalled OEM version of Windows XP cannot be used
with a different type of motherboard. The license is tied to
a specific motherboard model and BIOS and cannot be transferred.

All you can do is to purchase a conventional "Full Version" of
Windows XP and proceed with a "Repair Install".

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.­com/XPrepairinstall.htm

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

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I recently upgraded my motherboard and processor and now my computer will not
| boot up. Since i bought my computer with windows already installed, I don't
| have a windows xp home cd. how can I still use my existing harddrive and not
| have to buy windows xp copy? i'm really confused. Please help!
 
replaced said:
Irecently upgraded my motherboard and processor and now my computer will not
boot up. Since i bought my computer with windows already installed, I don't
have a windows xp home cd. how can I still use my existing harddrive and not
have to buy windows xp copy? i'm really confused. Please help!
Click to expand...


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

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
If you can locate the sticker with the product key, which should be on the
case somewhere, then have a friend burn a copy of Windows xp or what ever os
you are running. Put the cd in and turn on computer. It should boot up to
the windows install program. You can then try the repair function. If it
doesn't work then you will have to do a fresh install of windows. This is
perfectly legal as long as you have a valid Product Key.
 
Bob said:
If you can locate the sticker with the product key, which should be on the
case somewhere, then have a friend burn a copy of Windows xp or what ever os
you are running. Put the cd in and turn on computer. It should boot up to
the windows install program. You can then try the repair function. If it
doesn't work then you will have to do a fresh install of windows. This is
perfectly legal as long as you have a valid Product Key.
Click to expand...

But it won't work unless the CD being copied is a generic OEM CD, or an
OEM Recovery CD for the exact make/model of the computer in question.

Product Keys are bound to the specific type and language of CD/license
(OEM, Volume, retail, full, or Upgrade) with which they are purchased.
For example, a WinXP Home OEM Product Key won't work for any retail
version of WinXP Home, or for any version of WinXP Pro, and vice versa.
An upgrade's Product Key cannot be used with a full version CD, and
vice versa. An OEM Product Key will not work to install a retail
product. An Italian Product Key will not work with an English CD.
Bottom line: Product Keys and CD types cannot be mixed & matched.


--

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
 
All I can say is I have done this serveral times and have never had a
problem. Just recently a friends computer (Compaq Presario) which originally
came with windows xp installed, but no CD. The entire windows os was somehow
corrupted and would not boot. I booted with a floppy with fdisk and format
utilities and deleted the partitions and created a new one and formated the
drive. I put MY windows xp home edition (Retail Box) in the drive and bingo.
Using my friends product key, was able to successfully load windows xp.

I don't know what else to say, it works for me.
 
Back
Top