As you can see i have a SR010NX and i wanted to update my mother board
to a GIGABYTE GA-945GCM-S2C and my current mother board is http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc [...] en&cc=us0#
Following Q
1) will any MB work? ex: chip set,south bridge
The size and cpu is good i know about that but not chip sets.
2) if i replace MB do i have to buy new copy of OS?
If yes how do i unstall my OS? and how i Setup new OS
3) do i have to format my hard drive if need fresh OS?
you recommend a external hard drive?
4) Do All MB manual tell you where front panel usb,leds are to be place?
5) What the risk of install new MB
Well tell me step by step to unstall OS and Install , I really need help about what to do to REPLACE MB Anyone suggest GIGABYTE GA-945GCM-S2C

1) Yes sort of, as you've already said as long as it the correct socket and supports the chip your placing in it'll be fine. Make sure it has enough IDE slots if you have IDE HDD's and optical drives. Same for AGP / PCI-E gfx cards.

2) No, but you may need to re-register it either online or on the phone.

3/4) You don't really need to worry about, but i'll answer them anyway.

3) Normally a format for a fresh install is the correct and most reliable way.

4) They should do, if not it'll have it written on the mobo itself.

5) Electrostatic discharge, hairline cracks, not fitting the CPU correctly, not fitting the CPU heatsink correctly, RAM not in DDR2 slots to run symmetric (that is if you have a matched pair) and probably more, but I don't want to put you off.

If you go for the new mobo, i assume your going to overclock otherwise i can't see why you'd switch mobo's , make sure you FULLY read the Manual that comes with it. I can mention the amount of times i thought nah it'll be ok i'll just sling it together it'll be rite. Then I bet within 10 mins of trying to boot how i want to boot i get the manual out.

Mobo cx is a relitively simple job. If your unsure on the cables put tape around them and ident them so it's easier when you fit it all back together. To be honest all the mobo's I've had have step by step installation instructions so they should be sufficient.

It's a learning process as you will no doubt find out . Making sure to put Thermal grease on the CPU before fitting the heatsink and things like that, but it is easy really .

closed_deal thx ;D reason is to upgrade to support my core 2 duo i bought 2 days ago. i got a 8600gt and etc, i read so many threads from different web and say you should get a fresh OS to run proper. i gonna go contact Microsoft btw you sure helped me ;D!

If this is what your going to do make sure you uninstall your gfx drivers and mobo drivers. It won't look pretty when you initally turn it on, but once all the drivers are installed it'll fly.

P.S make sure you re-boot after each uninstall and install so if something 'does' go wrong at least your know where to start looking .

*EDIT* Don't bother with the fresh install, it's more hassle than it's worth for just a mobo change.

*EDIT* Also on the re-BOOTs never let windows search for the drivers. You put the CD/DVD in then make it run the drivers once your in windows.

so closed_deal what your saying is like uninstall all drivers that currently add on to my motherboard? or including on board audio,and stuff. then install new MB and then boot it and add hardware, then install MB driver then install my other pc parts driverO.o
Edit: so i basically format my hard drive,uninstall all driversO.o or just MB driver and pc parts?

Yup, un-install your gfx first then onboard audio, ethernet drivers etc and lastly your mobo. When you boot into windows after that it'll look massive as res will most likely gone to default.

Once you've fitted the mobo all the power connecters etc... first thing to install is mobo then onboard audio/ethernet and lastly gfx.

Hopefully after you've done this your ready to go, sometimes however windows will want you to activate it again...sometimes even an overclock will require you to re-activate it so then give microsoft a call on the free phone the activation wizard give you for your area then after all that you should be away .

*EDIT* technically your not formatting your hard drive, just removing all the software that you won't need ofor your new components

Well since yoy have HP/Compaq you will definately need a new OS. Your old OS is a OEM registered for HP/COmpaq only. The product key is tied to the bios of the old board.

@Closed deal? Are you nuts? LOL "dont bother with a fresh install" come on man. His OS is a HP/Compaq OEM!

@roadrunner and ojomow

Sorry my bad, i've never actually bought a pre-built PC so didn't know an OS could even be limited to the current system hardware. Sounds ruddy daft to me, but I suppose it's a money making scam for Microsoft...

*EDIT* Out of interest... Does that mean the actual OS installation disc that ppl get given on company bought PC's 'looks' for the hardware and if it's not present it won't install?

Something like that and if you scimp and buy a OEM version for your self its locked to your 1st mobo. If you buy a retail OS you can use it on another computer if you uninstall from the last one.

If he had his own retail copy OS whay you said is kinda of correct. Its always better to do a fresh install. Simply deleting drivers leaves to much crap in the MBR and in the HAL and in the registry. Alot of noobs on here claim it works but then they come back wondering why they are having trouble.

Just because sometimes you can get it to boot dont mean its anywhere near stable and trouble free.

*OFF TOPIC*

Ok... lets see if i fully understand for future reference . For a mobo change the HDD's definitely requires a fresh install to re-set the MBR.

But for a minor change i.e PCi /PCI-E etc wouldn't because the HAL would work around this. Or would you re-install OS anyway?

Fortunately I've ran a RAID 0 on my Primary o/c setup since I've have multiple HDD's, so every mobo change has required an OS install anyway therefore that would explain why I've never ran into this problem.

This is what I was referring to on past experience with installing new mobo's, I've had three mobo's on my secondary compute ( Asrock, DFI and Asus ) fitted whilst using the same OS 'XP' installed on single IDE HDD with no trouble at all? Maybe some more dumb luck...

Wow you've owned three mobos with never reinstalling OS. That system must be slow as hell. Most people reformat every year or 2. You must be the ****! Moer luck then brains maybe.

Ima go ahead and call you a liar!

Anyhow back on subject he has a OEM version, even if by some miracle it installed M$ wont activate it in this case.

Maybe you should read up on Microsoft licenseing agreements and activation.

Time to take all of your posts with a grain of salt.

Mobo xchange and changing a PCI PCIe card arent even close to the same. When you change a PCI card your not changing nothing on the mobo. The HAL layer is still the same. Rarely you need to reset cmos when upgrading a PCI / e devic ebut not often.

No, changing the motherboard does NOT require a format/reinstall. As Closed_deal said, you can just wipe the drivers. Some find it faster/easier to just reload, the choice is yours. While its faster to format, I find it takes longer to load all your programs again, so I usually try the delete drivers first.

Yes, you can tie an OS to a motherboard. This is why dell restore disks won't work in an HP, or an Acer, etc.

Roadrunner, get real. My computer turns 2 in July, and its never been reformatted. I also doubt most people reload once a year. If you keep your system clean, you won't have any/many issues. My system is not slow, and I have way more brains then luck. Trust me, if you keep the nasties off of your machine, you don't need to reload it.

To the OP, unless you have a "real" OS disk, you'll probably need to buy a new one. (or download a copy of Linux, etc.) If you want to see more about the delete drivers method, read this link.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

lol at the guy who downloads illegal stuff and has had issues with his pc due to this method. You such a idiot. Look here: next post

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] =28&nojs=0

ok thx guys,i know what to do "unstall drivers" Like dvd drive,hard drive,gfx,MB,on board-audio , Ethernet , cpu drivers?(those to uninstall?)
Q: what the difference from vista home basic and vista home basic UPGRADE?
So do you guys still prefer the GIGABYTE GA-945GCM-S2C
Again thx to all of you taking your time to help me i appreciate that.