replacing MB&Processor with XP Pro.

  • Thread starter Thread starter mwebsurfer
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mwebsurfer

I would like to replace my MB and processor and memory with a new board,
Core Duo processor and faster ram. Can I do this without a complete
reinstall of XP Pro and all my installed programs? I'm not familiar with
using administrator rights etc. Can anyone advise as to whether this is
possible and how to do it step by step. Any advise or help will be
appreciated.
 
You will need to do a repair install of XP. You will not have to reinstall
software but you will need to let Windows Update bring the system back up to
date. Make sure that your XP cd is at the same service pack level as the
installed XP or repair install will not work. If your XP cd is old and does
not have SP2 then you should make a slipstreamed XP cd that integrates your
original cd and SP2. There are extensive discussions of slipstreaming in
other threads on this ng within the past few days. Those threads contain
links to slipstreaming programs and instructions.

There is always a small risk of something going wrong when you move a hard
drive from one mobo to another so make sure you have backed up the system.
 
I would like to replace my MB and processor and memory with a new board,
Core Duo processor and faster ram. Can I do this without a complete
reinstall of XP Pro and all my installed programs?
Click to expand...


Maybe.

At the very least, you will have to do a repair installation of
Windows XP. See "How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install" at
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Rarely, but occasionally, a repair installation isn't sufficient, and
you will have to do a clean reinstallation, and also reinstall all
your programs and restore all your data from your backups. You should
be aware of that possibility and be prepared for it if it becomes
necessary, so before changing any hardware, make sure you have all
your software installation media and a current backup of all the data
you need.
 
mwebsurfer said:
I would like to replace my MB and processor and memory with a new board,
Core Duo processor and faster ram. Can I do this without a complete
reinstall of XP Pro and all my installed programs? I'm not familiar with
using administrator rights etc. Can anyone advise as to whether this is
possible and how to do it step by step. Any advise or help will be
appreciated.
Click to expand...


mwebsurfer:
It's a near (but not *absolute*) certainty that you will have to undertake a
Repair install of the XP OS following the installation of the components
that you've indicated. It's possible, but unlikely, that following your
installation of those components the system will boot straightaway to your
Desktop and then you can use your motherboard's installation CD to install
whatever drivers are necessary or there may be a need to install auxiliary
drivers for your sound card and/or graphics card, etc.

We're assuming here that you're working with a non-branded OEM machine and
that you have the XP Pro installation CD that was used to install the OS
presently on your HDD. That's right, isn't it?

Undertaking a Repair install of the OS is a relatively straightforward
process. It would be roughly akin to making a fresh install of the OS, but
in nearly every case your existing programs & user-created data on your HDD
would be retained. Notice I said "nearly". While it would be a rather rare
situation where data would be lost or corrupted as a result of the Repair
install, and as unlikely as it may be, it *could* happen.

So if there are any programs and/or other data on your present drive that
are absolutely crucial to you and you could not tolerate their loss, then I
would strongly suggest that before undertaking this Repair install operation
that you first either make a "clone" of your existing HDD (using a disk
imaging program) or, if that's not practical, install the HDD in another
machine as a secondary HDD so that you can pull off whatever data you want
onto some removable media, e.g., flash drive, CD, etc.

Again, while it's a relatively rare event that a loss or corruption of data
will occur even should the Repair install be unsuccessful (as sometimes
happen), it *can* happen. So I want you to be aware of this.

There are a number of websites that contain step-by-step instructions for
undertaking a Repair install. Let me assure you that it's not a difficult
process and not terribly time-consuming. It's roughly similar to making a
fresh install of the XP OS. If you do a Google search on "XP repair
install", you'll be pointed to many of these sites. Here are a few...
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winxppro/installxpcdrepair/indexfullpage.htm

Assuming the Repair install is successful, you should use your A-V program
to immediately check out your PC for any virus infestation. Also, you will
need to download/install *all* the MS critical updates since SP2. (I'm
assuming that if you undertake this Repair install of the XP OS, you will be
doing so with a XP installation CD that contains SP2). That, of course, is
one of the downsides re undertaking a Repair install in that it's usually an
onerous task to download all the Critical Updates from MS especially if you
have a dialup phone connection rather than broadband.

Again, it's possible you will "luck out" and a Repair install of the XP OS
will prove unnecessary in that the system will successfully boot after
you've installed the new motherboard, processor, & RAM. But this would be
the rare exception rather than the more common "rule".
Anna
 
mwebsurfer said:
I would like to replace my MB and processor and memory with a new board,
Core Duo processor and faster ram. Can I do this without a complete
reinstall of XP Pro and all my installed programs? I'm not familiar with
using administrator rights etc. Can anyone advise as to whether this is
possible and how to do it step by step. Any advise or help will be
appreciated.
Click to expand...


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

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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

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killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
The key is whether or not a different hal.dll file is needed for the changed
hardware. Going from a single core cpu to a multicore guarantees a repair
install will be needed.
 
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