Is this right? Computer upgrade question...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fab4ever
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Fab4ever

Fab4ever

Getting better
Hello computer experts!

So I'm upgrading, meaning I am replacing my mobo with a new Asus and a chip P4 2.8 gig cpu. I'm keeping the same hard drives.... My shop tells me I MUST reinstall Win XP on my apps drive, meaning I lose all my programs and data in the reformat.

Is that right?

Does Win XP require a clean reinstall every time you upgrade the mobo?

I know, I know - I should reformat regularly anyway. But it's such a... hassle. Errr.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Im not sure if thats fact.
I do know you will need to load new drivers for the board and USB config, etc... which will come with the ASUS board.
Although a reformat is always good and recommended.
If you have a CDR drive, do a backup to disc. of the stuff you wanna keep.
 
I have seen (and done) change outs and was able to keep running when the changeout consisted of Mobos with the same Chipset type. But... there still were some hiccups.

Save yourself the headaches and refromat.

You can make is easier on yourself if you learn how to slipstream XP with the SP1 onto 1 disk. It will lower the amount of time you have to spend reloading the OS. I've actually slipstreamed my version of W2K and MS Office and I've cutdown my total install time by 2/3rds.
 
Wow Easto, I think that's far beyond my skills... but thanks for the suggestion! Do you know if, at the minimum, I can retain my preferences and tweaks of Win XP? I've gone thru and done lots of stuff to streamline it for audio....
 
You should be able to change any hardware without reinstalling Windows. Windows XP has the ability to change drivers on the fly. You may need to Re-activate though if too much changes, but that’s all. That is only a matter of typing in your cd key and then visiting the Microsoft website or something like that. Windows will tell you if and when you need to re-activate.

If you have problems with crashing or something not working, get yourself a registry cleaner (software) and run it once.

Reformating should only be a last resort thing.
 
It's posible to do it without re formatting. The easiest way is to buy a mainboard with the same brand chipset. It will find a ton of stuff but at least it will probably boot all the wa into windows. If you don't want to do this, then you'll probably have to do a repair install of of XP. I've found that using a different chipset usually results in the system getting "mupped". Repair install should take care of that problem though. After a repair instyall, you'll still have to load all the latest drivers for everything but you'll at least keep you current setup without having to redo everyhing form scratch....
 
As Daffy said, it's possible, but I've found it to be a bit hit and miss - sometimes winxp would die and sometimes not (regardless of chipsets). Make sure you backup what needs to be backed up (assume you will need to format), and then swap the mobo over and give it a try... at worst you format, and best it works fine.

IF it does work, be aware that you may well be suffering a lot of slowdown from a slightly buggy windows installation.
 
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