New processor and MoBo... what software changes are needed?

[healimonster]

I have an old clunk of crap 1.5 ghz P4 which i am upgrading soon.
I purchased from frys a new 3.2 p4 with mobo included, and some memory to go with it.
I plan on using everything else on my old functioning pc.

What type of software (os) changes am i going to have to deal with?

I plug in all the new equipment and turn the thing on what is going to happen?

Flash the bios?
Reinstall the OS?

I have never swapped out a mobo and processor before.

Thanks for any advice

[peat moss]

Fire her up , and have your mobo cd ready . You 'll need the drivers !


Hope you have Xp Corp , if its XP home you may have to register again tho.

[tesco]

well first thing you will probably need to go into the bios and detect all of the connected drives (if it doesnt work) but more importantly make sure the boot order includes your hard drive (after a cd and floppy drive).

Then attempt to boot. It might work, might not. If it doesn't you will need to reinstall windows OR do a repair install.
I'd recoemnd a clean reinstall of windows. (format then install).

[clocker]

What type of software (os) changes am i going to have to deal with?

I plug in all the new equipment and turn the thing on what is going to happen?

Flash the bios?
Reinstall the OS?

Flash BIOS? Probably not.
Reinstall OS? Almost certainly.

In fact, I wouldn't even waste time seeing what might happen on your old setup...just plan on doing a fresh install.

[bigdawgfoxx]

Deff a fresh install

[Supernatural]

Another vote for fresh install.

[3RA1N1AC]

repair install vs. reformat + install? depends on how much work you've got invested in your current Windows installation. if you've got a lot of programs installed & configured and it would be a pain in the butt to rebuild your system from scratch, then the repair install might be worth a try.

but a reformat + fresh install would prolly perform a little bit better as it's not as cluttered up as an old installation... especially if you don't mind reinstalling & configuring your programs from scratch.

it really just depends. either way, plan on making backups of your important files first.

[healimonster]

Since all my programs are cracks it is a bit of a pain in the arse. But since I did it just a few months ago it may not be that bad.

What is the repair method?

[tesco]

1. Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.
2. When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below

This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
3. Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.

To setup Windows XP now and Repair Install , press ENTER. do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R".
4. Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.
5. Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair.



Make sure you never choose format anywhere!


A Repair install copies all of the windows files back to the drive from the CD, and reinstalls alll drivers. But you will not lose your programs or other files\downloads.