Swapping mobos - question...

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Bossy573

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Mar 24, 2007
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Not sure if this forum is the place but here goes. I'm getting ready to swap mobos, get a new CPU, etc. but I REALLY don't want to go through the hassle of a fresh install. If I plan on keeping my current hard drive (I do), can I just swap everything out and use the hard drive without a fresh install of Vista?

Thanks in advance.
 
Maybe. I've seen it work sometimes but fail others. Fresh installs don't take that long, especially with separate partitions for your data. You should be backing up your data regularly anyways, so restoring from an external drive or dvd's shouldn't take too long either ;)

edit: I find it's more of a hassle to reinstall all of the hardware and then check to make sure everything works so you don't have to do a fresh install than to just reinstall windows in the first place
 
This method uses Sysprep. I've done it like this in the past. You may have to re-activate your installation but you shouldn't lose any of your files. Also, be sure to have all of your drivers handy. IRC you will have to reinstall all of your device drivers with this method.

EDIT: I am not 100% positive this method still works with Vista.
 
im sorry for sounding like a noob but im also going to be switching in a new motherboard and im wondering what is a partition used for and how to do it,because i dont want to lose any of my files
 
onedestinazn2 said:
what is a partition used for
Click to expand...

Read this and see if it helps:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_(computing)

A partition is basically a division on your disk. Say you have a 500Gb hard drive. Your OS will see this drive and label it something (Most likely C in windows) If you were to partition this drive into two equal parts your OS would see it as two drives each around 250 Gb even though they are on the same physical drive.

Partitioning is handy if you are running multiple operating systems on the same disk or need to work with two different file systems.

It is very easy to lose data if you don't know what you are doing! You may want to question whether you really need to partition your drives before you jump into it. I only use partitions for Linux/Windows dual boot drives. I don't use them to organize data on a single drive (though some do).

I use GParted for most of my partitioning needs. It's a live CD and is very easy to work with.
 
i would just go for it, i done this numerous times and never had to reinstall windows.
 
I set up two partitions on my boot drive before an install, the first is small for just the OS and programs; the rest goes for data storage so if I reinstall I only format the first partition and reinstall a few programs but don't have to restore my data from my external drive. I never mess with partitioning a drive with data on it.
 
You'll have to reactivate your Vista version, and install drivers for your new motherboard, but, with Vista, it should be pretty uncomplicated. Go for it.
 
Honestly, it could go either way. It could work or it will not work. I'd say just reload windows and be done with it.
 
I swapped from a 975 board to a P35, (and E8400,) board a few weeks back. Prior to the swap I ran the latest inf update from Intel.

After I'd installed it - I won't mention that I couldn't get it to boot for an hour until I realised I'd forgotten to attach the 6 pin power cable to my 8800GTS :rolleyes: - I booted into safemode and let Vista sort things out.

The only thing it couldn't install was the LAN driver but running the M/B's install CD sorted that out. (However I'd imagine going from, say, an Intel chipset to a Nvidia version would prove a bit more problematic.)
 
Everyone covered things pretty much. I don't know if Vista has the repair install (not repair console) like XP but the last time I did this I needed to let XP do repair install. It installs over the existing OS and tries to not change settings, etc. Everything worked fine.

Some users will change all the drivers to generic before changing the hardware. That probably works as well.
 
I know it seems lazy but I just hate re-installing all my games, iTunes, backing up and saving all my E-mail contacts, etc. Installing the Sims2 and the thousands of expansion packs for my daughter is a 2 hour project in itself. It usually take a whole day, maybe more, to get everything where I want it. :p

Anyway, I'm ditching my Shuttle as I've grown tired of its glitches and overclocking limitations. I'm going with an NZXT Rogue case, ASUS P5E micro-ATX mobo, Silverstone 600W PSU, and adding a Creative XtremeGamer sound card over onboard audio. I'm keeping everything else and will slowly upgrade the rest over time. The rest of the components still pack enough of a punch where the cost benefit of an upgrade does not make sense.

Thanks for the advice. I'm praying it works and can ease into the new box with minimal fuss. :cool:
 
if it doesnt boot into windows or starts to bsod or crap out, stoke up your vista dvd and do a "repair" or recovery install. this swaps out all your system files, but keeps your settings and programs, and wont bother your data if you for some reason have that on the same drive as os.
 
OK... all you're really gonna do is waste a ton of time IF it doesn't work... back up your data and be prepared to re-install windows. Think about it.... you're gonna upgrade your computer with a registry FULL of stuff you don't need and don't want all you end up with a half assed OS.

A fresh install isn't a bad thing in the least... you should know. Windows is the most re-installed software on the planet. If you're worried about all your saved pass words for the internet then all i can say is tough luck mate such is life.
 
Well.......

No dice. Repeated BSODs in spite of attempts at repairing through the Vista disk. Gave it up after an hour and went with a fresh install. Not all bad as the "feel" of Windows with a fresh install is snappy.

Anyway, like this Asus P5E-micro board so far. Couple of weird things though. I cannot disable the onboard audio and get the system to boot. It goes to the boot screen and hangs. Enable and it boots immediately. I have a dedicated sound card and just want to use that. Any ideas?

Also, if I'm reading the Asus website correctly, the only way to flash the bios is with a floppy?


On a side note, the NZXT Rogue is the single most difficult case I have ever worked with, EVER. A beast. It looks great now that I'm done but man, what a hassle putting it together.
 
If you disable the drivers for on board in Windows, does your sound card work?

I'm sure you could use CD and/or USB. The work is in setting up the boot CD or USB without a floppy.
 
Heh... I'm not surprised in the least that it didn't work. You can either disable the on board sound in the windows device manager, just not use it, or perhaps that mobo has a jumper you need to move. Check your manual. Updated BIOS wouldn't hurt.

You can use a thumb drive in your USB port to upgrade your bios... in fact you'll probably need to as the new bios updates exceed floppy disk space requirements. Thumb drives retail for around 7-10 bucks for the ones that do not have removable storage and start at around 15 bucks for 1 gig removable storage. Let me put it this way... floppy drives are so unreliable I cringe every time i actually need to use one. Use the Thumb drive 99 percent success rate.
 
Syngensmyth said:
If you disable the drivers for on board in Windows, does your sound card work?
Click to expand...

Yes. That is exactly what I've done. It bothers me though because 1. my sound card is a Creative xtreme gamer and Creative drivers in Vista are iffy enough and 2. I can't see any reason at all I shouldn't be able to diasable it altogether in the bios. On the other hand, I can't get the SB card to work correctly through the front panel audio ports and I know for a fact that the onboard audio will. Can I have the drivers for both completely installed and just switch back and forth as I wish without problems developing?


clshades said:
Let me put it this way... floppy drives are so unreliable I cringe every time i actually need to use one. Use the Thumb drive 99 percent success rate.
Click to expand...

I haven't used a floppy in about 3 years. The only reason I even have one in my machine now is because the gorillas who cut out this Rogue case bent the cover for the slot so badly I had to take it out. I didn't even bother hooking it up.
If I was to boot from a thumb drive, that should be listed as on option in the bios and I don't see it.
 
Bossy573 said:
Yes. That is exactly what I've done. It bothers me though because 1. my sound card is a Creative xtreme gamer and Creative drivers in Vista are iffy enough and 2. I can't see any reason at all I shouldn't be able to diasable it altogether in the bios. On the other hand, I can't get the SB card to work correctly through the front panel audio ports and I know for a fact that the onboard audio will. Can I have the drivers for both completely installed and just switch back and forth as I wish without problems developing?
Click to expand...

I hear ya, would be nice to find a bios disable but if you windows disable driver and have no problem while you are looking for better solution, I'd call it good.


Bossy573 said:
I haven't used a floppy in about 3 years. The only reason I even have one in my machine now is because the gorillas who cut out this Rogue case bent the cover for the slot so badly I had to take it out. I didn't even bother hooking it up.
If I was to boot from a thumb drive, that should be listed as on option in the bios and I don't see it.
Click to expand...
CD solution is good. I keep an image of boot CD around (if I lose the CD) that can write/read NTFS. Then I just drop the bios flash files on root C. I have some notes on doing the CD I can PM you if you want them.
 
Syngensmyth said:
I have some notes on doing the CD I can PM you if you want them.
Click to expand...

Sure. If it is no hassle that would be great.

The mobo does have a jumper to reset the bios but I have not found one for the audio. With the Shuttle, I flashed the bios through Windows and pressed a button at the back of the machine to reset. Too bad with Shuttle every bios they released was worse than the last one. Pack of CLOWNS.
 
you should ba able to you'll just have to re-activate it and re-install all the drivers.
 
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