Help Don't want to reformat

[amdwarrior]

Is there anyway I can sstill use my existing hdd without having to reformat I am going from a pent d pc to and amd now I know the controllers are different BUt is there any way aroud it.

 

[jeff_2087]

Reinstall windows over your old installation leaving the file system intact

 

[amdwarrior]

As a repair I tried. It says I need a floppy I never had one for that before. Unless I am doing something wrong usually when I do a fresh install I have never had to go back so this would be a first lol any help will be apreciated thanks..

 

[chunkymonster]

If the mobos have the same chipset, a swap can be made with minimal issues. However, if you are swapping out mobos with different chipsets, a fresh install of windows is highly recommended and usually inevitable.

You can, as jeff-2087 suggested, install the new hardware and then use the Repair feature during the Windows install to overwrite the old system files, but this is an ugly way to do it. That is not to say that it can't be done but my experience with that scenario has been a buggy OS and driver conflicts with an eventual re-install.

If Windows boots and loads, I recommend you go into Safe Mode and copy any important files or things you want to keep and then reformat and do a fresh install.

 

[jeff_2087]

You can do repair but unless I've gone bonkers (which is possible) you should be able to cleanly reinstall Windows without damaging your files. Just go through the normal installation procedure and choose to install on the drive that has your old Windows. It should say it's detecting another copy of Windows and confirm that you want to install over it and not reformat the drive.

 

[NightlySputnik]

Is there anyway I can sstill use my existing hdd without having to reformat I am going from a pent d pc to and amd now I know the controllers are different BUt is there any way aroud it.

Forget about reinstalling. Google something like "swapping mobo + noreinstall XP" (anything like that) and you should get a guide somewhere that explains how to do it.

If my memory is right, you should go into system manager and uninstall all your mobo drivers, like IDE controler (most important, since WXP won't load without IDE drivers that don't match your mobo ones), GPU (just to be on the safe side), USB controler, SATA controlers, etc... all without rebooting when ask for it. When everything is done, shut down your PC and only then transfer your hardware to your new mobo.

Following that, restart your system. WXP should boot with default drivers and reinstall everything after you log in.

Now, go on the net for the fine line on how to do it, but what I just told you should be approximatly right.

Good luck!

P.S.: It might not work, but I've seen really good guides on how to do it, so you'll get much better chances by using it after printing it.

Here's what I just found out: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

 

[truromeo4juliet]

if you don't want to reinstall because you don't want to have to reinstall all your programs, forget it... repair-installing windows overwrites the registry and you have to start over anyway...

why not go blow $40 on a new harddrive and have fun with it... don't have $40? invite some friends over, spend $12 on a bottle of everclear, get them wasted, drive them home, charge them "gas money", check your couch cushions, too, and then you should have like $80... unless you have no friends... then you're screwed.

 

[blue68f100]

After you make the swap, XP will require reactivation.

May be prompted to call a 1 800 number to reactivate.

 

[amdwarrior]

Thanks everyone for your help but all in all I had to reformat oh well lol
system seems to be ok now.

 

[Orion63]

I know it is too late, but sometimes if you delete HKEY_CURRENT_Config/system/currentcontrolset/ENUM key, you can shutdown and Windows will refind all the system stuff.

 

[jitpublisher]

I am sorry about being late too, but for future reference, here is what you do.

Windows will ask you 2 (two) times when you boot with the CD if you wish to do a new install or a repair. Pay very close attention, this is how you do a new install over a previous install without wiping everything off of your drive......

Boot with your XP CD. When you boot you will see the option for "New Installation" or"Repair Windows Installation using the Recovery Console" DON'T DO THAT.

Skip that and go on to a new installation.
Windows install will run a minute, detect your drive, and discover that you have a previous version of Windows on drive "C".
It will show the drive with the XP installation on it.

At this point it will ask if you again if want to do a new installation, or repair the installation on drive "C". You will also see a message that says "WARNING choosing new install will delete everything on this drive" or something like that.
Choose AT THIS POINT to do the repair.

Be Careful!!! If you choose the new install again at this point, your drive will be formatted and everything is gone- *POOF*

Windows will run and appear to do a complete full install. What it is doing is detecting all your new hardware and rewriting all the tables for your new motherboard, chipset, etc. When you are done, all of your programs and settings will still be there. You will want to reinstall any 3rd party device drivers, like Video card, of course the drivers that came with your new motherboard, sound card, etc.
Any updates you have done from the Windows update site will also be undone, so be prepared for a long line of downloads, and waiting for all that to reinstall when Windows does it's first couple of auto updates from the site.

This WILL work. It is not as good as a new install, but definetly worth trying if you have a lot of stuff on your drive you do not want to spend hours and hours reinstalling. You will just have to see if in time everything works well, or if things are buggy and causing you trouble.

I have done it a couple of times now with 2 different motherboard upgrades with the same XP installation, and everything is still working perfectly.

 

[lmimmfn]

you can use a usb stick( partitioned with a floppy partition ) instead of a floppy

Backup your current registry, after you install the new chip reinstall windows over your old one, it wont work without a reinstall due to the HAL beind completely different for power management drivers for switch off/reboot etc. After its installed update to all the latest M$ patched, backup the new registry and reimport the old one, everything will work fine