Upgrading motherboard

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I was wondering if anyone could please tell me if I could upgrade my
motherboard without having to re-install windows and other software. I would
appreciate any advice in this matter. Thank you.
 
secforce said:
I was wondering if anyone could please tell me if I could upgrade my
motherboard without having to re-install windows and other software.
I would appreciate any advice in this matter. Thank you.
Click to expand...

You will probably have to do a Repair Install of Windows.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

You will almost certainly have to re-activate Windows but that shouldn't be
a problem.

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secforce said:
I was wondering if anyone could please tell me if I could upgrade my
motherboard without having to re-install windows and other software. I would
appreciate any advice in this matter. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Yes, do a repair install. However, it would be prudent to back up any
data you have just in case.
 
Thank you very much for you information. I am relieved to find that I should
be able to accomplish this task without having to go through a complete
re-install.
 
secforce said:
I was wondering if anyone could please tell me if I could upgrade my
motherboard without having to re-install windows and other software.
I would appreciate any advice in this matter. Thank you.
Click to expand...


You will almost certainly have to do at least a repair installation. See
"How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install" at
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

That usually works, but be aware that it's possible that that won't be
sufficient, and you'll have to start all over again with a clean
reinstallation and reinstallation of all your software.
 
In
secforce said:
I was wondering if anyone could please tell me if I could upgrade my
motherboard without having to re-install windows and other software.
I would appreciate any advice in this matter. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Move XP to new hardware.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

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Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
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secforce said:
I was wondering if anyone could please tell me if I could upgrade my
motherboard without having to re-install windows and other software. I would
appreciate any advice in this matter. Thank you.
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.


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Bruce Chambers

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