SATA HD and Dual Core Processor

[Janet]

I am contemplating upgrading my system with a SATA HD (250 GB) and
Motherboard that supports dual core Processor. I will continue using XP
Professional SP2.

The question is: Would XP support my upgrades or do I need to download
drivers from Intel's website? If so, when are these drivers installed:
Are they installed at the time of installation of the Operating system
or can they be installed after the OS has already been installed once.

Thanks.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Before you purchase a motherboard, it would be wise to
visit the motherboard manufacturer's web site and download
the User's Guide which should explain the Windows XP installation procedure.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User

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

:

I am contemplating upgrading my system with a SATA HD (250 GB) and
Motherboard that supports dual core Processor. I will continue using XP
Professional SP2.

The question is: Would XP support my upgrades or do I need to download
drivers from Intel's website? If so, when are these drivers installed:
Are they installed at the time of installation of the Operating system
or can they be installed after the OS has already been installed once.

Thanks.

 

[dobey]

I am contemplating upgrading my system with a SATA HD (250 GB) and
Motherboard that supports dual core Processor. I will continue using XP
Professional SP2.

The question is: Would XP support my upgrades or do I need to download
drivers from Intel's website? If so, when are these drivers installed:
Are they installed at the time of installation of the Operating system
or can they be installed after the OS has already been installed once.

Thanks.

It depends on the SATA support offered.

Most, (if not all), newer chipsets offer native SATA support, so installing
won't be a problem. Best to use a slipstreamed copy of xp though.

Many motherboards offer either third party SATA controllers, or even extra
SATA controllers in addition to the natively supported ones.

Any third party controller will need drivers if you are installing XP to a
HDD attatched to that controller.
This is done just after you boot from the XP CD and a message will appear at
the bottom of the setup screen "Press F6 to specify additional controllers".
You push F6 and later in the setup you will be prompted to insert a floppy
disk with the drivers on it, (must be a floppy).

Having said that if you do the slipstream yourself, it is possible to
include the drivers in the slipstream disk you create. It depends on how
often you intend istalling to that machine.

As someone else suggested, when you decide on which motherboard, check out
the manual or website for further instructions.

 

[Guest]

Where do these response posts get thier info from...Youre new brd will/
would come with a users manual,youre new brd has its own SATA controller
on the brd,however SATA or RAID is disabled from the mfg,set to either in
the BIOS..Some SATA &/or RAID boards require the F6 option on installing
before xp install,if so,use the F6 option,use the floppy,intel has always
stated
that with only SATA,F6 is not required..Also,XP fully supports dual processor
& SATA,but installing intels chipset software,internet software,etc,still &
always
require user installation,you could almost toss the boards cd,as by the
time a brd
gets to a pc user,the drivers/software on the cd are already outdated.....

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I am contemplating upgrading my system with a SATA HD (250 GB) and
Motherboard that supports dual core Processor. I will continue using XP
Professional SP2.

The question is: Would XP support my upgrades

Changing motherboards? You must boot from the XP CD and do a repair
install, and if SATA drivers are needed, you add them (press F6) if they
were provided, at the start of the repair install.

The old install will not work properly, if at all, with the new hardware, so
you do the repair. Your data should be safe - but you do have backups,
yes?

or do I need to download
drivers from Intel's website?

Drivers needed will be installed in two places. First, if SATA drivers are
needed for the board, you add them at start of setup via floppy. Second,
as soon as the basic install is complete, there are a number of motherboard
chipset drivers you must install. These will be on CD that comes with the
motherboard.

If so, when are these drivers installed:
Are they installed at the time of installation of the Operating system
or can they be installed after the OS has already been installed once.

Both or after, depends on whether the SATA drivers are needed. You'll
want to have the manual on hand, because some boards don't require drivers,
but DO require specific settings to allow recognition of SATA at boot,
especially if a PATA drive is installed - like the CD/DVD.

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Where do these response posts get thier info from...Youre new brd will/
would come with a users manual,youre new brd has its own SATA controller
on the brd,however SATA or RAID is disabled from the mfg,set to either in
the BIOS..Some SATA &/or RAID boards require the F6 option on installing
before xp install,if so,use the F6 option,use the floppy,intel has always
stated
that with only SATA,F6 is not required..Also,XP fully supports dual
processor
& SATA,but installing intels chipset software,internet software,etc,still
&
always
require user installation,you could almost toss the boards cd,as by the
time a brd
gets to a pc user,the drivers/software on the cd are already outdated.....

Not necesarly the case. I find that they are often the same. Perhaps in
your area the shops carry only old stock.

Failing to install these drivers, which are frequently identical to what's
downloadable, usually prevents core hardware, like network, sound, video,
from working properly.

You may or may not have any need to update the drivers on the CD, but they
will work and are necessary to allow you to proceed.

HTH
-pk

 

[Anna]

I am contemplating upgrading my system with a SATA HD (250 GB) and
Motherboard that supports dual core Processor. I will continue using XP
Professional SP2.

The question is: Would XP support my upgrades or do I need to download
drivers from Intel's website? If so, when are these drivers installed:
Are they installed at the time of installation of the Operating system
or can they be installed after the OS has already been installed once.

Thanks.

Janet:
The responses that you've received to date are basically correct in terms of
the actions you will and/or may have to take and I trust they haven't been
too overwhelming or confusing to you as you undertake the project you're
contemplating.

Let me just add a few thoughts...

1. Understand that when you change your motherboard together with a change
of processors, for all *practical* purposes you're building a new computer.
I'm assuming you're going to undertake this process personally, i.e.,
without professional assistance.

2. I assume in doing so you have some familiarity with the *innards* of your
PC - perhaps you've added or changed a HDD or optical drive, or added RAM,
sound card, etc. I'm assuming you've never previously changed a motherboard
and/or a processor, however, the process itself is not particularly daunting
and you should have little difficulty in performing a successful
installation. But it *is* a major project and like similar undertakings in
this area it really would help if you had a friend/acquaintance who's had
some familiarity in doing so. But if not, you can surely go ahead on your
own with some degree of confidence. I'm sure I don't have to tell you to
read your motherboard's User Guide or Manual very carefully before & during
installation of that component.

3. It would have been better had you originally stated in your post the make
& model of motherboard you're intending to install. I'm going to assume it's
an Intel motherboard of recent vintage.

4. I'm also assuming that you're going to make a fresh install of the XP OS
w/SP2 onto that new 250 GB (SATA?) HDD.

5. After you've successfully installed the new motherboard, processor, and
the other PC components together with a successful installation of the OS,
i.e., you can boot to a Desktop without incident, you will use the
motherboard's installation CD to install the necessary drivers to support
the new motherboard. Naturally if you're installing a third-party graphics
card, sound card, etc., you'll install the drivers that are included on the
CD that comes with those components.

6. Although it's a possibility, there's probably little chance that you will
have to install auxiliary SATA controller drivers (the F6 process that has
been referred to in previous responses to your query) in connection with
that 250 GB HDD, again assuming it's even a SATA disk.
Anna