Help a newbie!

[ABud]

Can anyone point me to a good tutorial for upgrading your MOBO. Im looking to upgrade my stock Dell board to a P45 based chipset but am unsure about whether i'll need to re-install XP and how to deal with the drivers etc.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Andy,

A little more information is needed.

Did your Dell computer come with Windows XP already installed? Was it a Dell custom version of XP with proprietary features? If so, there may be problems but certainly nothing than can't be overcome.

When you speak of drivers do you mean drivers for the cpu and/or chipsets on the motherboard? Every time I upgrade to a newer motherboard I have to install new drivers for the chips simply because they are new and improved. The drivers are included in a cd that comes with the motherboard. Updated versions are usually available on line.

 

[ABud]

Its a Dell dimension 5100 with XP preinstalled, was going to keep the P4 2.8ghz processor thats in there for now until i can afford a new one. Got a saphire 4670 512mb card in as well.

What i was after is something like an idiots guide to changing boards - when to uninstall old drivers, how to handle the BIOS, reinstalling XP (or replacing with vista) etc.

Cheers for the help,

Andy

 

[ABud]

Wont let me edit so i'll also say, is it as straight forward as changing graphics cards - plug it in and run the cd?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I'm not positive, but I believe most Dell cases use a non-standard standoff pattern so you can't fit a normal ATX motherboard. They even do silly stuff like make the power connection cables with different ends so they don't work with a non-Dell motherboard.

The stock PSU is most likely crap also. Upgrading an OEM computer is usually not as easy as you might think.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. (I haven't had to deal with an OEM computer for quite a while )

 

[ABud]

So at worst id also need a new PSU and case? The thing im most concerned about is the OS, am i going to need to buy a new copy or can i reinstall from the one burnt on my hard disk?

Thanks for the help,

Andy