XP Home and changing PC components

nicksource · 16 Oct 2007 at 09:59

I'm going to be changing my CPU, Motherboard and RAM today, I have XP Home on my current HDD, can I just uninstall the old hardware drivers or do I need to do a format?

Ice Rich · 16 Oct 2007 at 10:03

Definitely a reformat due to the motherboard. If it was just RAM/CPU then I would say clearing the CMOS is fine.

nicksource · 16 Oct 2007 at 10:04

Would I put the new parts in then format it? When should I do it?

Deluxe1 · 16 Oct 2007 at 10:27

Save what you need from your current xp installation then install your new hardware then install xp afterwards.

nicksource · 16 Oct 2007 at 10:31

Thanks.

So do I need to actually format/wipe everything, or just reinstall Windows?

str · 16 Oct 2007 at 10:34

You can try without reformatting or by reinstalling Windows on top but it's generally better to reformat when changing a motherboard. Also if it's Windows XP Home OEM you likely won't be able to reactivate it online so will need to phone the activation number and go through a series of questions. If you answer incorrectly it assumes you're illegally installing on a second system so will promptly hang up.