What if I switch a harddrive to a different motherboard?

  • Thread starter Thread starter David D
  • Start date Start date
D

David D

I can't get my SATA drive to work, so I am going to use it as a slave
and switch my 80gig drive with WinXP over to the new system. My
question is this - my 80gig drive is currently running on a AOPEN
board, but the new system has a ASUS board - if I make the switch and
it doesn't work, can I switch back or am I going to run into alot of
troubles?
 
You cannot run a win installation on different hw without at least doing a
repair installation of win.
And if your win installation is an OEM installation it may not work on other
hw anyway.
So yes you are going to run into a lot of probs/agravation.

So what *exactly* is meant by 'can't get my sata drive to work'?
 
Switching to a new motherboard will require a repair install of xp as it has
loaded drivers for the current MB
you shouldn't switch back and forth, as you will have to re-activate each
time you do the repair install.
possibly not if you have the full version of xp pro, just be advised.
 
I posted this already - SATA with ASUS P5P800 SE motherboard, doesn't
recognize it, but sees it in the bios. Not sure what to do, so I was
going to take another OS hard drive and use that instead...
 
David D said:
I can't get my SATA drive to work, so I am going to use it as a slave
and switch my 80gig drive with WinXP over to the new system. My
question is this - my 80gig drive is currently running on a AOPEN
board, but the new system has a ASUS board - if I make the switch and
it doesn't work, can I switch back or am I going to run into alot of
troubles?
Click to expand...

Change to a different motherboard requires that you do a Repair
Install of Windows XP as per the instructions at
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Note that if your Windows XP is an OEM version that moving it to a
different computer is a contravention of the terms of the End User
Licensing Agreement. Also many OEM versions are BIOS Locked and
cannot be activated unless they are used on a motherboard from that
specific OEM.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
Change to a different motherboard requires that you do a Repair
Install of Windows XP as per the instructions at
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Note that if your Windows XP is an OEM version that moving it to a
different computer is a contravention of the terms of the End User
Licensing Agreement. Also many OEM versions are BIOS Locked and
cannot be activated unless they are used on a motherboard from that
specific OEM.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
Click to expand...

Well, I tried it and got a weird result :

I put my WinXP 80gig HD in the new system. This and the SATA drive are
the only things in there (as far as HD go). I got this error :

NTLDR is missing

It doesn't even boot to windows.

So, I figured it was because of the defunct SATA drive with partial XP
installation on it. So I unplug the SATA drive and try to boot again
with the 80gig WinXP HD. But again, the same error :

NTLDR is missing.

I am not sure why this is happening with only one hard drive on the
system?
 
NTLDR is missing.

I am not sure why this is happening with only one hard drive on the
system?
Click to expand...

windows first uses bios to boot the hard drive, then at some point
switches over to it's intenal SATA controller drivers. I think "NTLDR
is missing" is the error message you get when NT switches over but then
can't see the hard drive due to missing drivers. This would happen if
your SATA chipset on the new MB is different from the chipset on the
old MB.

In IDE world, i was successful switching MB's without a repair install
by first forcing the IDE controller driver to "Standard IDE driver" in
device manager. This allowed the driver to see the new IDE controller
on the new MB and boot up. I could then let windows change it to the
appropriate contoller once the system started up.

I doubt something similar exists in SATA world. You may be able to
visually identify the SATA chipset on the new MB, and force install the
drivers on the old motherboard prior to moving the HD over.

-MVL
 
windows first uses bios to boot the hard drive, then at some point
switches over to it's intenal SATA controller drivers. I think "NTLDR
is missing" is the error message you get when NT switches over but then
can't see the hard drive due to missing drivers. This would happen if
your SATA chipset on the new MB is different from the chipset on the
old MB.

In IDE world, i was successful switching MB's without a repair install
by first forcing the IDE controller driver to "Standard IDE driver" in
device manager. This allowed the driver to see the new IDE controller
on the new MB and boot up. I could then let windows change it to the
appropriate contoller once the system started up.

I doubt something similar exists in SATA world. You may be able to
visually identify the SATA chipset on the new MB, and force install the
drivers on the old motherboard prior to moving the HD over.

-MVL
Click to expand...

Well, Ihave 2 IDE drives that I would like to make the switch with - so
how do I force the ID controller when it won't let me boot because of
the NTLDR?

The SATA drive is brand new, so it shouldn't have any old drivers.

So, I am stuck now because even when the SATA is unplugged, I can't put
the XP IDE drive on the system. I even went and defaulted the BIOS,
but for some reason my 80gig IDE drive will not boot with this new
mother board....

Any idea after hearing this? I am really frustrated by this...
 
David said:
Well, Ihave 2 IDE drives that I would like to make the switch with - so
how do I force the ID controller when it won't let me boot because of
the NTLDR?

The SATA drive is brand new, so it shouldn't have any old drivers.

So, I am stuck now because even when the SATA is unplugged, I can't put
the XP IDE drive on the system. I even went and defaulted the BIOS,
but for some reason my 80gig IDE drive will not boot with this new
mother board....

Any idea after hearing this? I am really frustrated by this...
Click to expand...

David, time to start over from ground zero. Let's keep things
as simple as possible. Forget about S-ATA drives. Start with a
blank IDE HD. Attach this HD as Master (or single) to the IDE
cable to the Primary IDE controller. Attach an optical drive
as Master (or single) to the IDE cable to the Secondary IDE
controller. Put the Windows XP cdrom into the optical drive and
boot the computer; it will start from the cdrom drive. Run setup.
It should be pretty "automatic" for an ASUS motherboard. The
P5P800SE's is a "snap" compared to the ASUS P5WD2-E Premiums,
where builders are compelled to connect HD's to S-ATA ports and
SATA-EIDE ports.
 
David, time to start over from ground zero. Let's keep things
as simple as possible. Forget about S-ATA drives. Start with a
blank IDE HD. Attach this HD as Master (or single) to the IDE
cable to the Primary IDE controller. Attach an optical drive
as Master (or single) to the IDE cable to the Secondary IDE
controller. Put the Windows XP cdrom into the optical drive and
boot the computer; it will start from the cdrom drive. Run setup.
It should be pretty "automatic" for an ASUS motherboard. The
P5P800SE's is a "snap" compared to the ASUS P5WD2-E Premiums,
where builders are compelled to connect HD's to S-ATA ports and
SATA-EIDE ports.
Click to expand...

It has been done already. I have an old Quantum Fireball 3.2 gig
harddrive that I did just what you said with. I now have a computer
that runs an old slow HD with XP.

At least I know the Mother board isn't maybe the problem. But that
still leaves me with a brand new320 gig SATA drive and another IDE 80
gig drive from another system (the 80 gig IDE already has XP and my
programs on it) that I want to port over as well...

So I tried to run the 3.2 gig IDE fireball with the 80gig IDE along
side and I got that famous error NTLDR...I am not sure why.

Woe is me.
 
DL said:
Way to go, forget about the old installation and start from scratch
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
Click to expand...

Ok, I went to the site and did what you said. It looks good except the
it can't find my SATA drive to install the XP onto.
When I went into the BIOS it says the SATA is a IDE drive - do I need
to change this to ARMD or something else because it is not
autodetecting it as a SATA drive, only as an IDE (or maybe it should be
this, I am not sure),.
 
David said:
I can't get my SATA drive to work, so I am going to use it as a slave
and switch my 80gig drive with WinXP over to the new system. My
question is this - my 80gig drive is currently running on a AOPEN
board, but the new system has a ASUS board - if I make the switch and
it doesn't work, can I switch back or am I going to run into alot of
troubles?
Click to expand...


Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed 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

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:



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. -Bertrum Russell
 
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:
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Bruce.
A question : I have seen that a hard drive image is a good idea - what
is that exactly? It is backing up everything on the harddrive or
something different?
 
David said:
Thanks for that Bruce.
Click to expand...


You're welcome.

A question : I have seen that a hard drive image is a good idea - what
is that exactly? It is backing up everything on the harddrive or
something different?
Click to expand...

A hard drive "image" is an exact copy, or clone, of the hard drive,
sector by sector. Whereas a backup normally only entails data files.

From http://whatis.techtarget.com/ :

"Ghost *imaging* is the copying of the contents of a computer's hard
disk into a single compressed file or set of files (referred to as an
image) so that the contents of the hard disk, including configuration
information and applications, can be copied to the hard disk of other
computers or onto an optical disc for temporary storage.

"An example of ghost imaging software is Norton Ghost, a product from
Symantec. Using this product, you can clone (copy) the entire contents
of a hard disk to a portable medium such as a writeable CD or to a
server. The portable image can then be used to set up each hard disk in
other computers, automatically formatting and partitioning each target
disk. Ghost imaging is useful where one system is to be replicated on a
number of computers in a classroom or for a team of notebook computer
users who all need the same system and applications. On personal
computers, ghost imaging is used to back up everything on the hard disk,
often while reinstalling an operating system."


"*Backup* is the activity of copying files or databases so that they
will be preserved in case of equipment failure or other catastrophe.
Backup is usually a routine part of the operation of large businesses
with mainframes as well as the administrators of smaller business
computers. For personal computer users, backup is also necessary but
often neglected. The retrieval of files you backed up is called
restoring them.

"Personal computer users can consider both local backup and Internet
backup."


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



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. -Bertrum Russell
 
David said:
Ok, I went to the site and did what you said. It looks good except the
it can't find my SATA drive to install the XP onto.
When I went into the BIOS it says the SATA is a IDE drive - do I need
to change this to ARMD or something else because it is not
autodetecting it as a SATA drive, only as an IDE (or maybe it should be
this, I am not sure),.
Click to expand...

David, venture over to this newsgroup site:

alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus.

Ask you question about the P5P800SE and S-ATA drives in this
newsgroup. There are some very good people who will take the
time to help you.

A clue to your question: Don't worry about the fact that the
S-ATA drive is seen as an IDE drive. That is exactly what it is
when it is connected to the S-ATA port. Windows XP will also see
it natively and install to it (because the bios told XP that it
exists). But given the P5P800SE, I'd install XP normally to the
primary IDE connector and use the S-ATA drive as an added drive.

Good luck.
 
Bruce,
Here is the situation, I am hoping you can help me with it.

I followed your advice and I am looking at the website :
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

I backed up my XP 80gig drive and I want to move it.

A little background :
I have two drives in my OLD computer - dual boot, WinME 80gig and XP
80gig.
My original boot is WinME and when I installed XP on the other 80gig, I
got dual boot for my OLD system.

My concern is this : I think the 80gig with XP installed on it (OLD
SYSTEM) won't boot correctly when I port the 80gig XP drive to the NEW
system because when I hooked it up to the NEW computer, I got the NTLDR
missing error. So, here is my question : when going through the
webstie listed above, which choice do it take?

1) Changing the motherboard on a computer currently running XP or
2) Moving a hard drive with a currently running XP installed to
another computer.

3) Will it make a difference if I screw up?

Thanks

David
 
David said:
Bruce,
Here is the situation, I am hoping you can help me with it.

I followed your advice and I am looking at the website :
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

I backed up my XP 80gig drive and I want to move it.

A little background :
I have two drives in my OLD computer - dual boot, WinME 80gig and XP
80gig.
My original boot is WinME and when I installed XP on the other 80gig, I
got dual boot for my OLD system.

My concern is this : I think the 80gig with XP installed on it (OLD
SYSTEM) won't boot correctly when I port the 80gig XP drive to the NEW
system because when I hooked it up to the NEW computer, I got the NTLDR
missing error. So, here is my question : when going through the
webstie listed above, which choice do it take?

1) Changing the motherboard on a computer currently running XP or
2) Moving a hard drive with a currently running XP installed to
another computer.

3) Will it make a difference if I screw up?
Click to expand...


You're correct in that the hard drive won't initially boot when you
place it in the new computer. Whether or not it can be made bootable
depends on the type of partition you created when you first installed
WinXP. If it's a Primary partition, than it can be marked "Active" and
the necessary systems files added by the repair action. However, if you
have an Extended partition, it cannot be made bootable; your only option
would be to delete the partition, create and format a new partition, and
perform a clean installation.

Assuming a Primary partition, option 2 is probably more likely to have
the additional instructions for installing the other drivers, in
addition to just those required by a motherboard change.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



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. -Bertrum Russell
 
Assuming a Primary partition, option 2 is probably more likely to have
the additional instructions for installing the other drivers, in
addition to just those required by a motherboard change.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



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. -Bertrum Russell
Click to expand...


WEll, I don;'t know how I did it, but I took the 80gig drive with XP on
it and installed XP on it again in the new computer - so here is the
problem :

Instead of it 'upgrading' my XP, it told me that it would delete all of
my existing windows data unless I gave it a new file name. I called it
Winxp. Fine enough. Now, it boots fine - and even formatted my 320gig
SATA drive, but the problem is all of my OLD windows XP stuff won't
work anymore. It is still there, and listed under WINDOWS, but the
computer boots from WINXP instead ( the file name I called it). So I
thought this might not be the end of the world because of Bootit NG.
So I tried to run BOOTit NG and found out that it doesn't find the two
OS's on the system, just the one.
So my new question is whether I can salvage and run either OS - the old
c:/Windows AND/OR the new c:\WinXP OS?
 
David said:
WEll, I don;'t know how I did it, but I took the 80gig drive with XP on
it and installed XP on it again in the new computer - so here is the
problem :

Instead of it 'upgrading' my XP, it told me that it would delete all of
my existing windows data unless I gave it a new file name. I called it
Winxp. Fine enough. Now, it boots fine - and even formatted my 320gig
SATA drive, but the problem is all of my OLD windows XP stuff won't
work anymore. It is still there, and listed under WINDOWS, but the
computer boots from WINXP instead ( the file name I called it). So I
thought this might not be the end of the world because of Bootit NG.
So I tried to run BOOTit NG and found out that it doesn't find the two
OS's on the system, just the one.
So my new question is whether I can salvage and run either OS - the old
c:/Windows AND/OR the new c:\WinXP OS?
Click to expand...


You created a parallel installation, rather than a repair installation.
At this point, I don't know if you can recover, or not. You might try
the information in this KB Article to see if you can clean up the
parallel installation (even though it was written for WinNT, it mostly
still applies). Essentially, you'll be pointing the newly created
BOOT.INI back to the older installation, and then deleting the C:\Winxp
folder:

System Cleanup After a Parallel Installation of Windows NT 4.0
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q244378

If that doesn't enable you to boot into your original WinXP
installation, you'll probably have to reformat and start from scratch.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



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. -Bertrum Russell
 
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