will i have to reformat?

[RM_Bulldog]

i fried my Mb and im replacing with the exact same MB will i still have to reformat? or will it be all good

 

[Gillette]

No, I've never found that you need to format when changing over hardware, even a motherboard.

 

[RM_Bulldog]

ok just so that is clear, i would need to reformat if i changed MBs yes like went back to my AI7 i needed to reformat or when i changed CPUs i needed to reformat 3.2E-3.0c
but if it is part for part same same no need to reformat yes?

 

[sirholio]

I would never expect to do a format after a processor change.

If you change to a different motherboard, then i'd make sure stuff
had been backed up before you load up windows. It's kind of hit or miss.

If you're swapping for the exact same brand/model of motherboard,
i'd expect it to work without much trouble.

 

[freddiepm61]

Personally just for safety's sake i do a reformat with new proc, mobo, or graphics. simply for possible driver etc. however, i have my drive set up so that windows drive is on a drive with it on one partitiion, and then films etc. on the other. programs and the page file are on a different hd.therefore i put the films etc. onto the other hd, i then format the windows hd and i am done. all in all it takes about 2 hours.
f

 

[Master [H]]

Same here. Move stuff over to another drive/partition off of C: (or wherever the hell you install Windows to): format/reinstall. Move stuff back over and everything's groovy.

 

[J-Mag]

realistically, as long as you are swapping boards out that use the same chipset there should be very little issues. Although, I do like to reformat myself even when I haven't switched components. It is like a fresh pair of underwear, u know?

 

[RubberduckY]

I would say that you might want to format. This is becauseif you don't you will not only have to install new drivers for your mobo (northbridge, southbridge, ect...), but you will also have tons of ghost drivers installed in the background. Ghost drivers are drivers for previously installed hardware that are still present even if the hardware isn't. They run in the back ground and use system resources.

 

[slowbiznatch]

I would say that you might want to format. This is becauseif you don't you will not only have to install new drivers for your mobo (northbridge, southbridge, ect...), but you will also have tons of ghost drivers installed in the background. Ghost drivers are drivers for previously installed hardware that are still present even if the hardware isn't. They run in the back ground and use system resources.

If its the same motherboard (which he indicated in the original post) he should not have to reload any drivers, thus leaving no "ghost drivers." Similarly, Windows will have no qualms with the new motherboard.
It would be a good idea to check the revision number of the old (defective) motherboard with the new (replacement) motherboard to make sure they are the same. Some different revisions use different onboard devices.

 

[DougLite]

Windows will still reload all of the mobo drivers when the replacement arrives. Granted, they will be the same drivers, but in different registry keys, leaving the ghost driver problem. A repair install of XP is another option, but backup before you try anything. Reformat is by far the best in the long run, but takes more time up front.

 

[slowbiznatch]

Windows will still reload all of the mobo drivers when the replacement arrives. Granted, they will be the same drivers, but in different registry keys, leaving the ghost driver problem. A repair install of XP is another option, but backup before you try anything. Reformat is by far the best in the long run, but takes more time up front.

I'm sorry, I guess I don't understand why WinXP would reload new drivers in different registry keys. If you don't mind, can you please explain this to me? Or point me in a direction that will allow me to research this?