Changing motherboards without reformatting windows...

Ive been mega lay this xmas and when I rebuilt our htpc I didnt bother to wipe the old install, on the first boot it worked fine, picked up the dual core cpu and chipset etc

I know its not recommnended tbh but I just didnt care too much at the time
 
Windows repair is your friend :D it will allow you to re-install windows without losing your installed programs.

Although if you want to make sure that you get a nice fresh system, a wipe and install is the best way. But I hate all the re-installing of apps after a complete wipe, its always something you forget and when you try to use its its like DOH! not installed that yet and a mad hunt for the discs etc.
 
The way I do it, have a disk/partition for the OS and keep your apps and files elsewhere. Then all you need to do is reinstall windows on the OS partition and all your data will be intact :)
 
Yeah but the only problem is that your registry wont have all your apps, so if you have apps that require registry info you still have to reinstall the app.

But it is good to have as much data away from the system partition as it makes it easier to back it up and you can as you say just wipe the system drive as you please without having to worry about loosing any data.
 
I have managed to swap motherbaord once without having to re-format

but that was a fluke.

The new motherboard didnt have cdboot enabled in the bios, and I was chatting to a friend who was visiting as I was building the pc. So of course I completely missed the hit delete to enter setup. I let it go and surprisingly every thing worked with no problems whatsoever

The motherboards were different manufacturer makes, but I am guessing they were the same controling chipsets.

Agrea with others though, it is always best to reformat.

If you want to be sure you keep the data, and cant back it up, get a hold of another hard drive, buy, beg or borrow, set windows up on that, then put your real hdd in as slave backup, then swap them over and repeat. A pain the backside, but at least you get to keep everything
 
or alternatively, make a partition on your hard drive, stick everything in there and then do the format on the old partition

(i think partition magic lets you add a partition to an exsisting hard drive)

I personaly wouldnt have a partition in the house, but each to their own
 
Hey..you look familiar :)

The method you descibed (uninstall mobo/chipset drivers...swap mobo...re-install mobo drivers) usually works for me no probs....but I prefer a fresh install as it ensures a clean working platform everytime.

I personally format my machine every week or so.....and don't find it a problem at all. Have you considered ghosting an image of your install to either DVD or another spare HD with which to restore to a full install with basic apps? It's much faster to ghost XP back into your drive than it is to install again....not to mention it's like an unattended install as far as no CD KEY/REGION/TIMEZONE data to enter :)

You can choose to ghost either a vanilla install of your OS....a vanilla install with basic drivers and apps.....or a full regular install with drivers, a few games and major apps....aswell as tailored appearance and such, so long as you have the storage space to back this up.

For someone who finds the lengthy install from CD/DVD a pain it's defo a great option. I can install XPpro SP2 from DVD (BIOS to DESKTOP) in 14-17mins.......I can ghost back a 20GB install of XPpro SP2 with all drivers, a few apps.......2 games and 1GB of MP3's in less than 12 :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom