Can one use XP on new Mobo, etc??

[spankyjo]

I would like rebuild my PC, put in a larger Mobo as
well as processor, RAM, etc. I have a Gateway thats 3
years old and limited as to the size and type of things I
can use on the Mobo. I am finding that putting on larger
of anything is impossable, not to mention costly for older
parts, no more than 800MHz CPU, no more than 384MB of
100/memory. So though I have a fast hookup, the PC is
slooooooooow. Can my XP I have on it now be transfered
onto my new system if I rebuild? I know that it is
configured for this machine, but I can't afford to buy a
new version of XP. I already have a Mobo that is described
on the page below:

www.gigabyte.co.jp/products/7vaxp.htm

Is the Mobo OK and can XP be put on it if I rebuild?
Thanks for any help or suggestions.

[j.m@talk]

If you have the back up disks it doesn't really matter what you do. If you don't tread a little carefully & you could still do it........

Now as for the hardware........ umm......... A few more details of your gateway machine are needed here......


Your exsisting memory will most probably have to be discarded also...............
Done yes it can be........... An Idea of how much you were allocating to this project might be handy to know

[spankyjo]

I plan on disgarding everything but the "CD ROM Drive"and the "A drive', possably 'C drive'. I haven't really checked that as of yet for sure. I would be starting from scratch. Using this Mobo with exsisting CPU and memory for now. and the memory would be entirely different. But 384 MB versis 2 gigs is a plus I think. 'something to do later on down the road. It is in a computer my daughter gave me that she had completely wiped after a nice friend played in the wrong folder.
Everthing seems to be fine on it. As a matter of fact, I just did a complete checkup, repartitioned,(she messed that up, and no, I don't know how) LOL format and reload but the cabnet is not as big as my Gateway. I could put allot more into it with room for more goodies.
She is an amateur and frankly, she has messed this computer up more than once and I am thinking of just trading everything from her tower into mine and vica virca. I do much more with my PC than she does. She can mess up my smaller board all she wants. So, since I have not messed with XP onto a different system, you say it will work? I had a friend put his version on a friends PC and after about a month, no more PC. And, did you look at the Mobo on the link I added? Is it a good one? I know its huge but not sure of the manufacturer. I also just bought a nVIDA Geforce 4 MX440 128 Mb DDR Graphics card. I know it will work on this old dude so hope it will work on the other board as well, it should, unless you know something I don't and since I am between amateur and intermediate, that is always possable Sorry for tne Novel.

[j.m@talk]

So what size of Psu is in that gateway beasty?

Will the new board physically fit in the box?

Xp.......Home?.....Pro?

which cpu you thinking of?

How much memory do you really need? (what is the machine going to be expected to do?)

umm?

[spankyjo]

I have XP home and if the hard drive is compatable, will not have to reload will I? Its a WD 40 Gig IDE 7M. So far I have found that her board is way bigger and better, and I use my PC for Music editing, saving music , playing, hooking up to a synth, etc. I am not a game person but my GW always freezes up when I try anything too complicated with my editor. Really frustrating.
As for the CPU in it now. I am not sure what size, its an Anthion, or how ever you spell it. No Pc dictionary handy.
I will of course replace it if its too small and it has a 15 gig hard drive where mine is a 40 and could use a larger one really. Another thing to do down the road. I guess if worse comes to worse, I could just take the GW emblems off my case and swap. LOL Oh evil me.
You have to understand my daughter, she isn't too hard on PC's but her live-in and his buddies are holy terror on them and she won't put her foot down to letting others use it. I could not tell you how many PC's I have tried to fix for them and couldn't. I am surprised this one turned out ok. Did some extensive tests before I did a complete reload on it, why waste my time and temper? Novel again

[j.m@talk]

Well keep the small Hdd with the XP on it as a operating system only disk & add others later...... What you will find is that the CPu may well be the bottle neck in this new system....... So perhaps a upgrade later will be in order.....

I guess if you go for say 1 gig of ram that should be plenty......
I have 512mb on xppro & it operates autocad without a hitch
if you were to get say a 1gb single stick of ddr memory, yet again you could add more later............ If you want ultimate upgradeability you would be wise going for Branded Ram
Corsair, Crutial etc...... That way when it comes to add on time later on there will be no memory module compatability problems.

Box Badges .............. Well swap em if it floats your boat

Hard drives arn't killer money these days, we got Samsung 100Gigers for £100 + tax umm £117 200 Giggers £250 plus tax but say a 60/80 gig job should be plenty ........

[j.m@talk]

Read this http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDQw

at the end of the day its better than what you got, so you might as well smile Be happy

Some people moan about its lack of overclockability but people moan whatever the subject........... Looks good to me & its better than my motherboard

[spankyjo]

Well, my reply for Thank you got lost. Who knows what I did. praobably wrote all that then deleted it. It has been that kind of day. Anyway, thanks for your help and advice. I always like to post my questions on SysOpt because it has the best people to help the ordinary dummy with problems. This truly is my fav. forum for assistance.

[spankyjo]

I just found out with the help of some real strong mag, eye glasses and a flashlight that this Mobo is a GA 7-VAX not a VAXP.

http://www.atacom.com/program/print_...AP&USER_ID=www

This is the link to the specks on it. Still think it will be worth it? Changing the Motherboard as mentioned above I mean?

[missiveusa]

That Gigabyte mainboard is plenty good step up, and will run PC 3200 (400 MHz). Athlon XP CPU's are pretty inexpensive these days, as is DDR RAM. That board is a decent platform to build a new rig on.

As for just hooking up your old HDD with existing OS, you will encounter problems. Best advice is to save what you need to CD-R, reformat the drive, and do a clean install of XP. If you insist on trying to install old HDD with OS, run regedit , navigate to HKEY CURRENT CONFIG/System/Current Control Set and delete the Enum key. This effectively wipes out your Device Manager, but it will take care of any conflicts you might have with the old hardware.

I wouldn't attempt anything other than a clean install of XP, though. Install it from CD, register the product, and it will be fine. Problems occur when you have XP installed and activated on one PC, then try to run it on another box without activating it. After 30 days it will give up the ghost (of Bill Gates ) if it's not activated/registered. XP takes a "snapshot" of the particular hardware configuration and won't run on a different setup. Just Microsoft enforcing the EULA agreement we've all casually clicked "I Accept" to for years. Progress.

Good luck. Sounds like you'll get more out of the PC than your daughter will.

[ukulele]

That board you have looks like it can take anything you can throw at it as far as a modern AMD cpu. Before you pull the system drive, dump any old board specific drivers, disconnect any extra drives you don't need to use for the transfer, set bios to defaults and run a repair on the first boot in the new board. Load the new boards drivers then add any other cards and drives you have. Next install any service packs or updates. You should be ready to rock.

[spankyjo]

thanks missiveusa and ukulele. I hope I am not biteing off more than I can chew. but I have always wanted to built my own computer and guess this will be a good learning project Just howe I don't catch something on fire like one guy did, who posted last week. I felt so sorry of him. LOL
Question though. wont this board handle a larger CPU than a 400 Mhz? Right now I have an 800 in my GW and sure don't want to trade down to slower. I realize this "Gigabyte" motherboard is not a new one, but, it is a far cry better than the one I have. Intel Pent, III Tabor 4. Limited CPU size and bus speed as well as memory. Very limited. I guess what I want to do is build a semi-monster. The need for speed you know.
I just hope I can do all that you suggested. Will my ASpound Express II soundcard work with it as well as the new nVIDIAGeforce 4 M x440 128 Mb DDR Graphic;s card? There are other things in there that are on it such as an ethernet card, a 56 K modem card, which I will probalby never use, I have LAN, and a 5 port USB Card. I don't know the size of the CPU that is in it , I would have to fire it up and take a look, if I could find out at all.
spelling will have to beo forgone, I am too tired to check it. Its only 2:45AM for me, need to head for the bed.
Another novel. Sorry LOL