Junorion
T.F.Y.Q.A.
join:2003-08-31
Arvada, CO
|  Replacing motherboard - need to reinstall OS and Drivers?
So I am replacing my mother board (XFX MB-N680-ISH9 with the EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1)
The two motherboards are exactly the same, only the brand is different.
So my question is will I have to reinstall the OS and all the EVGA specific drivers for the new board? The hardware is the same so will I be able to just swap out the XFX with the EVGA?
(this swap is basically a troubleshooting step as I have been having random freezing issues and the motherboard is the last item to swap out)
My System: (built DEC 07)
-XFX NFORCE 680I SLI INTEL SOCKET 775 DDR2 (MB-N680-ISH9)
-Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W
-(4GB total) Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
-(2x in SLI) EVGA GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB
-OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W PSU
-Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX 92mm CPU COOLER
-ZALMAN MFC2 Muti Fan Controller
-Thermaltake XaserIII with 7 80mm case fans
-WinXP 64bit SP2
---nothing overclocked---
Thanks! |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | You can probably get away with a repair of the OS install - to the OS it will be a new motherboard and it will want drivers.
Worst case is that you would need to reinstall Windows. |
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themagicone
join:2003-08-13
Minneapolis, MN
| Make sure to do a back-up! WinXP has a OS protection system in it that if it senses enough hardware change it will no boot, even with the right drivers. This was designed to prevent you from moving the hard drive from machine to another. I've have learned the hard way on that. |
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Dream Killer
Graveyard Shift
Premium
join:2002-08-09
Forest Hills, NY
clubs: | reply to Junorion
Change all your IDE controllers into "Standard PCI Dual-Channel Controller" and it will boot fine with a brand new motherboard. |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to themagicone
It will very possibly need to be registered but that is it - there is nothing in XP that will prevent booting of the PC when hardware is changed. |
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Junorion
T.F.Y.Q.A.
join:2003-08-31
Arvada, CO
| reply to Junorion
Thanks for the help, I wouldnt know to change the IDE controllers either.
I will be reinstalling everything once its working... just didnt want to until I make surre this is the problem.
Looks like Ill have to wait until Friday to do the swap though. |
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Somnambul33t
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs: | reply to Junorion
reformat. regardless of same chipset, windows will probably read the BIOS differently than the XFX. |
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RevMortis
I Hear Dead Silicon
Premium
join:2005-05-10
Saint Paul, MN
 ·Qwest.net
| reply to Junorion
Here's a trick:
1) Go to Hardware profile manangement. (in W2k it's - Right click My computer/properties/hardware/hardware profiles Similar location for XP.)
2) clone the current profile call it "clone-XFX".
3) Rename the original profile to "original-XFX"
4) Reboot. (cold boot).
5) Windows will prompt you to "select a hardware profile or create a new one." The latter will prompt you for necessary drivers and use the generic where possible. Similar to a new install.  |
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Jaghar
join:2001-01-30
Painesville, OH
| reply to Junorion
What I do is uninstall any vendor specific motherboard drivers and software to force windows to use the default generic drivers.
Then I install the new motherboard and the new motherboard drivers and software.
It works the vast majority of the time.
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We will always be much more human than we wish to be. |
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IamGimli
join:2004-02-28
Canada
 ·Primus Talkbroadband
·B2B2C High-Speed I..
| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed  :It will very possibly need to be registered but that is it - there is nothing in XP that will prevent booting of the PC when hardware is changed. That's not quite true. For some hardware changes the activation process will lead to a blue screen on bootup and there's no way around it but to restore the hardware to the original and properly prepare the system before changing the hardware. That happened to me a couple of years ago when I wanted to replace my boot drive with a larger one and I've heard of similar occurrences with other pieces of hardware too.
The "proper" way to make such a low-level change in the hardware of your PC is to use the Microsoft tool called "sysprep". Sysprep can strip the whole driver layer from your install and make it boot into "install" mode the next time the system is booted so the drivers and system info (including activation) can be properly re-initialized without losing any programs or data. That's the tool system builders use to prepare their images before large scale distribution but it's also used for single-system migrations. |
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Jaghar
join:2001-01-30
Painesville, OH
| Man....that sounds like a great tool. Does that come standard with WinXP?
I got stuck registering one time because the on-board modem didn't work because I had removed the drivers. I had to call in...that sucked because the service rep had a hard time getting my numbers to work.
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We will always be much more human than we wish to be. |
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IamGimli
join:2004-02-28
Canada
·Primus Talkbroadband
·B2B2C High-Speed I..
| said by Jaghar :Man....that sounds like a great tool. Does that come standard with WinXP? Yep. IIRC It's on the install CD, in the "SUPPORT" directory or something similar.
I would recommend downloading it from MS though, they have a number of revisions which work even better than the original. |
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DaMaGeINC
The Lan Man
Premium
join:2002-06-08
Greenville, SC
clubs:
 ·Charter Pipeline
·AT&T Southeast
1 edit | reply to Junorion
The system will not run the same regardless of switching the drivers. As a rule of thumb with me, any major hardware change, I do a format and reinstall, epically after changing a motherboard. Better system stability and its a "clean" install. You wont have to worry about problems later and save your time now.
ps. It will work, but if its working at peak efficiency and stability? Thats anyones guess.
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Have a Networking problem or question? Stop by the Networking Forum and let us help you. |
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Junorion
T.F.Y.Q.A.
join:2003-08-31
Arvada, CO
| reply to Junorion
Well I have my PC back up and runnig.
I ended up doing a clean install of everything, I was having issues with my raid array so figured I would just bite the bullet and get it done.
Best thing is I dont have the lockup issues with this new board, I'm pretty sure something was wrong with the DIMM slots on the XFX board.
Thanks for everyones help! |
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beatsnpieces
join:2007-12-17
| reply to Junorion
I have a related question. I recently sent my P5W DH Deluxe motherboard off to Asus in order to get a replacement as it is thoroughly pooched. They are sending my another P5W DH Deluxe, the only that will be different is the serial #. Will I have the same issues or does that only happen if the actual board changes?
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Intel 2.66 Core2 Quad | Asus P5W-DH Deluxe | Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer | BFGTech GeForce 8800Ultra 768 | 2GB Corsair 800Mhz DDR2 | ThermalTake Tough Power 850W | ThermalTake V1 'Butterfly' Heatpipe | ThermalTake Tsunami chassis | 150GB WD Raptor X | |
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krazyboi
join:2008-06-27
Richardson, TX
| reply to Jaghar
said by Jaghar :What I do is uninstall any vendor specific motherboard drivers and software to force windows to use the default generic drivers. Then I install the new motherboard and the new motherboard drivers and software. It works the vast majority of the time. I just did this a few months ago and it worked out fine. I didn't have to repair XP or anything, just install all the new drivers. |
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SoJo
I'll Sleep when I am Dead
Premium
join:2002-05-07
Gilroy, CA
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to Junorion
Due yourself a favor and back up all the drivers and due a fresh rebuild.
This will keep you from guessing when you have an issue whether it's from the motherboard upgrade or some rogue driver issue.
Just my 2 cents
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"Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"- Bluto- Animal House |
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