upgrading motherboard....oh mommy!!!!

[webslinger]

Ok, I am just going to upgrade the motherboard on my PC and have some questions I hope all of you can answer....

First, I am going to explain why...the memory limit on the motherboard I have is 256k and the best processor you can have is a Celeron 1g, and it has onboard video so, if I add a video card and disable the onboard, there may be some issues......that is why the upgrade......

here are my questions.....

1) I want to retain my harddrive.....if i was to go and remove all the accessories and drivers from the hardware config (ie. network card, sound card, video montior..etc.etc.) after building the new motherboard in a base configuration (ie. memory, existing harddrive, video card) wouldnt it be able to straight boot up from the my existing hard drive , without the need of loading the OS or formating it? Then I could just load all the accessories again and away we go right?

2) Can anyone tell me how I extract the Windows XP os from my disk that was distrubted with my old computer?

3) I am buidling this pc for playing EQ2 and you all know the demands that 3d gaming has on a pc, will I need a 800mhz frontside bus to meet the demands that the videocard will need for pixel and vertex shading, or will a 400mhz frontside bus be ok?

4) Always the hardest quesion, what video card (with the requirements from above) does everyone use or had the best luck with? and a 128mb or 256mb?

I certainly hope someone can help me out on these,....the frist 2 are the most important for me....

thank you again
webslinger:t

[webslinger]

5) and do i go with a Athalon processor board or a Intel processor board?

thank you again
webslinger:t

[davewuk]

Have a look here www.theeldergeek.com/move_hardrive.htm for info on transferring your HD to a new mobo - I don't think that the mobo FSB is valid for impacting on the graphics but having a good fast overall system will help. Get the best graphics card you can afford, pick a reputable manufacturer ATI & Nvidia top the league and 128Meg should be fine, the requirements for EQ2 seem fairly modest.

[sm8000]

The 800 and 400MHz FSBs are both really 200MHz DDR, just that Intel's is quad-pumped and AMD's is double-pumped. Personally, I'd go for a midrange AMD system, say 1.4-1.8 GHz Duron.

[rsfnatik]

1) I want to retain my harddrive.....wouldnt it be able to straight boot up from the my existing hard drive , without the need of loading the OS or formating it?


Most people, including myself, would recommend against this. The best way to ensure a stable system that is free of driver conflicts and general "weirdness" is to start with a fresh install. This assumes that you have your OS on CD of course. Is your drive is partitioned? If so, just backup your data to another partition, format C: and reinstall the OS. Your data will still be intact.


2) Can anyone tell me how I extract the Windows XP os from my disk that was distrubted with my old computer?


See #1.


3) I am buidling this pc for playing EQ2 and you all know the demands that 3d gaming has on a pc, will I need a 800mhz frontside bus to meet the demands that the videocard will need for pixel and vertex shading, or will a 400mhz frontside bus be ok?


Don't get hung up on the FSB. As sm8000 said, this may help with the general "speed" of the entire system... that's not to say it can't have *some* impact on gaming. IMO, this is similiar to the issue of single vs dual-channel DDR...


4) Always the hardest quesion, what video card (with the requirements from above) does everyone use or had the best luck with? and a 128mb or 256mb?


Personally, i'm an ATI fan and would recommend the 9600XT as a decent gaming card that won't break the bank (you can go PBA like Sapphire/PowerColor to save some $). If you can afford better (ie: 9800Pro) your performance will only improve.


5) and do i go with a Athalon processor board or a Intel processor board?


This is kinda hard without knowing your budget and what rough speed you're looking (2Ghz, 3Ghz, ???). If you're looking midrange I would say AMD (2500+). It's quick and cheap. If you're looking to go higher I would switch to Intel (2.8C/3.0C) for not much more money over a comparable Athlon (3000+/3200+).

Keep in mind that you also need to upgrade your memory. I usually recommend starting with a single quality 512MB DDR400 DIMM.

Also, what are the specs on your drive. If you've got an old system it may be a 5400RPM drive (perhaps even ATA66). This will be a performance hit on a new system compared to running an ATA133/SATA drive.

[webslinger]

an 80g 7200rpm drive maxtor....I like it, it has given me no problems.....but

as for driver issues, has anyone ever done this MOBO / drive swap before.....i can handle driver issues no problem , I just dont want to backup my whole drive.....

if i had a dvd burner, could i backup the drive in the config that it is in and then just reinstall?

[webslinger]

and the hard drive move in the Elder Geek is not at that addy anymore....do you know where it is now?

[webslinger]

And maybe i should clarify some....the XP OS came on a cd that has all the drivers for that system when I bought it from the store......I want to know how to get JUST the XP OS off of there without the rest of the drivers to.....I have heard there is a way , just hope someone can tell me.

[rsfnatik]

I've got two of those drives in my machine, no problems there.

I'm confused about this "XP" disc you were given when you bought your current machine. If it's got XP on it why can't you reinstall from that disc? Did you pay for XP when you bought your machine? If so, you should have received an authentic disc and code. Like I said, i'm confused...

When you swap the board you could try booting from your current install of XP and keep your fingers crossed... tho I would still recommend a fresh install.

[webslinger]

what they call an OE disk, which has all the restore information and which would also include XP, and, from what I hear there is a way to extract just the XP portion of it, instead of going to buy an XP OS new.

[sm8000]

In other words the disc you have is what would come with say a Dell or HP system, before they stopped giving discs altogether. I'm not sure offhand how to install only Windows from it, nor am I sure that's legal.

[Direct1]

1) I want to retain my harddrive.....if i was to go and remove all the accessories and drivers from the hardware config (ie. network card, sound card, video montior..etc.etc.) after building the new motherboard in a base configuration (ie. memory, existing harddrive, video card) wouldnt it be able to straight boot up from the my existing hard drive , without the need of loading the OS or formating it? Then I could just load all the accessories again and away we go right?
As stated, this is not recommended but if you want to try, go ahead. Most people have major issues when they "try" this.
the XP OS came on a cd that has all the drivers for that system when I bought it from the store
Is this a "Restore" or "Recovery" CD? You cannot extract just the OS from that AFAIK.

Good luck! :D

[webslinger]

Then is there a way that I can backup my configuration that I have with this harddrive, do a clean install , and then download that backedup configuration and files that I had before.....?

basically I dont want to go back in and spend a day placing icons, installing programs, and setting preferences.....

thank you
webslinger

[webslinger]

if there is a program that weill do that, placing the information on a DVD, can someone please tell me what it is?

[Direct1]

basically I dont want to go back in and spend a day placing icons, installing programs, and setting preferences.....
Sometimes you cannot get around this. :(

Changing MB's a big deal to the OS. You can try doing this but I do not recommend it...

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/maxblast3.htm

Good luck! :D

[Direct1]

Originally posted by webslinger
if there is a program that weill do that, placing the information on a DVD, can someone please tell me what it is?
You can make an image of your HDD using

http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/

or

http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/

Good luck! :D

[davewuk]

http://www.theeldergeek.com/move_harddrive.htm

And contrary to opinion, I have upgraded motherboards on two occasions without re-installing the OS using the method at this site, at the weekend, I will be doing a third change. It helps if the mobo change uses similar chipset manufacturers though I have done Intel to VIA and VIA to VIA - maybe luck, there is risk, just backup critical stuff first!

[dajogejr]

Originally posted by webslinger
what they call an OE disk, which has all the restore information and which would also include XP, and, from what I hear there is a way to extract just the XP portion of it, instead of going to buy an XP OS new.

No, you can't extract the OS.

Do it right.

backup and save your data to CD-R, Fresh format and install the OS, install chipset drivers, then the vid card drivers.

Then, Service pack 1a, critical and security updates.

Sure...it might work...chances are it won't be pretty...then, once you fudge your way through it, you'll have annoyances and problems shortly thereafter. In the end, it would've been quicker to do it the right way first...

As for the video card, don't want to start a Nvidia vs. ATI war here, but...this is the best high performance value out, IMO:

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159318

OH...and if you buy hardware from newegg.com, you can buy a legal OEM lisence from them, XP home, for about 95 bucks.

[dj98hd2]

I don't know about XP Home but XP pro has a file & settings transfer wizzard in the Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools. You can transfer all of your settings directly to the new box or to a floppy, disk or network drive.