Avoiding a WinXP reinstall

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SmokeRngs

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - April 2008
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I did some searches but could not find what I was looking for.

I am going to install a new mobo & CPU in my system and I currently don't have a lot of time to do a full format and reinstall right now. I remember someone mentioning a program built into Windows that will essentially erase the drivers from the current install. Then you would shut down, change hardware and then start up. Windows would then allow you to install the new drivers.

I was wondering if someone here knows what program this is or something similar. This sounds a lot easier and faster than trying to do a "repair".

btw, I will be backing everything up first no matter what just because I don't trust anything like this. I will also do a full format/reinstall at a later date, I just don't really have the time and feel like putting the effort into doing a total reinstall right now.
 
I have a post made just for this, the repair method isn't as clean as using sysprep. Gimme a sec and I'll get the link.

edit: beat to the punch... That's the linky.
 
Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for.

Luckily I have all my drivers and everything ready for install. Then again, I've had a week to get everything ready.

Too bad I had to get some sleep last night. Otherwise I would have installed it then since the stuff came in yesterday. I didn't want to risk screwing something up since I was pretty much a zombie.
 
Let us know how it goes and if the process if off by any steps and I'll correct it. Good Luck
 
I would say that you may be able to use sysprep to accomplish what you want, but there are some things to think about first.

To use Sysprep, your master and target computers must have identical HALs, Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) support, and mass storage controller devices.
Click to expand...
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/dpg/default.asp

If the mass storage controller of the old board isn't identical to the new one, you'll most likely get an "inaccessible boot device" blue screen when you try to boot it up. You may need to go with something like this to get it working:

Previously it was stated that there may be some problems related to mass storage controllers, in fact there is a way to tell mini-setup to install the correct drivers. This requires you to add to the [SysprepMassStorage] section of sysprep.inf the information about the drivers included in the image. Please check the example sysprep.inf at the end of this document for a way to include information about all the drivers that come bundled with Windows 2000.
Click to expand...
http://students.fct.unl.pt/~cer09566/files/cloning/cloning.html
 
ptweasel, those cases are pretty rare, in my experiences, and the worse case it you can do a repair install or rebuild anyways. Little is lost by doing this process, if it fails.

I can image a P3-500 laptop and put it on a brand new P4 desktop no problems. But yes, there are potential issues with sysprep.
 
I just wanted to bring it up for the sake of it. IME, the rare things happen to someone every day :)
 
I'll keep you informed. I'll probably be trying it this evening if my son will cooperate and play nice during the hardware uninstall/install part of the operation. I'm just glad my friend got his system back so if I manage to screw something up badly I'll at least have a system to access the internet with. At least to make an attempt to fix my screwup other than reinstalling. I don't think I'll have too much trouble anyway. I'm going from the board in my sig to a DFI nForce2 Ultra 400 LanParty board and a mobile Barton. My friend just paid for the new CPU & mobo and he'll get my old stuff. I think it's a pretty good trade myself. :)
 
I unfortunately didn't get a chance to try it out. When I got to my friend's house to start my backups and everything I found my system was messed up. I'm not sure but I think my 120 gig hard drive is going south on me and it had my Windoze installation on one partition. I managed to get everything of importance copied over but I think I may have to RMA the drive. I'll check it out later this weekend or next week to make sure first.

Overall, it took a hell of a lot of time. Too bad everything wasn't working cuz I would have saved a lot of time.
 
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