AFAIK the biggest reason for the BSOD with a new mobo is because the low-level IDE driver is loaded first, without any checking being performed. If it’s changed… death.

Hi Subwolf,
Thanks for the info.

If the old motherboard is still up and running uninstall the ide controller before you shut it down and the new motherboard should not be a problem when you boot it.

You can swap motherboards all day if you do some prep
work *before* you change the board. Failing to do so
will, unless the chipset is *very* similar result in
the BSOD.

There are a couple of ways to accomplish the task.

One of the simpler ones is to change the controllers,
assuming you’re using an IDE controller or an SATA
controller that ‘looks’ like an IDE controller, to
Standard Dual Channel IDE controller. Don’t reboot
until you’re ready to swap the board. I’d remove all
the other ‘devices’ that are specific to the chipset
as well, i.e. VIA/SiS usb controllers/hubs, etc..

Shut it down once done, then change the board. When
it boots, it should come back up. At least this works
with ‘normal’ IDE controllers. SCSI controllers are
a bit different, swapping with the Adaptec family
is simplest but they have to be within the specific
family, going from a 2940U2 to a 39160 isn’t the
happiest of changes.

One other method is to use the Sysprep -mini if it’s all PNP, or Sysprep -pnp (Takes longer).

Doesn’t *always* work, there are some issues with older chipsets (PS/2 controller issues with older 686A/B to newer Via chipsets, you’ll lose all PS/2 functions, or even going to intel chipsets.. same thing..).

*ALWAYS* back up your data *FIRST* before any attempt.
That’s the one rule you can’t ignore.

WyldBill,
Thanks for the comment.

Test,
Thanks for your comments as well.

There is one thing we all can agree upon, no matter what we do, sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t. It’s just the nature of the beast! I always plan for the worst, and if the swap works and Windows boots, I act surprised and pat myself on the back. LOL

And the joy of it is, if you’re a Windows XP user, that changing to a different motherboard will invalid your activation so even if you reinstall the OS you’ve still got problems.

AUSongbird,

I recall reading something about that. But doesn’t this just apply to OEM copies? Aren’t retail versions exempt?

Anyone wish to comment. Please do.

Regards, Ron

I went from an AMD nforce 2 motherboard to an Intel 965 by just uninstalling all the Nvidia drivers (card+chipset). Then I swaped boards (obviously plus CPU, Memory and VGA) and the pc booted fine and recognized the new devices.

Hi Mythos,
Wow! Big switch and it worked. Congrats. And thanks for sharing this with us.
Regards, Ron

Ron,

I was going to leave this alone, But you had to ask a question.

“AUSongbird,

I recall reading something about that. But doesn’t this just apply to OEM copies? Aren’t retail versions exempt?

Anyone wish to comment. Please do.

Regards, Ron”

THIS IS A TALE ABOUT XP:::
That I had purchased at Best Buy, in the heartland of America. Retail copy. Bought because my OEM copy that came with my computer was no longer according to Microsoft any good. It had been reinstalled and attivated 25 times. No more was allowed, and no matter how much I pleaded with Microsoft they would not activate. Now being the rich American that I am (Ha). I went to Best Buy and bought a brand new copy of XP, Retail green box, all the trimmings, SP2 and a quick start guide. I felt all warm and fussy inside. I had my own real copy of XP. Not a copy that came with the computer, But mine, I felt like I just bought a new car.

I took my new car home (I mean my new XP) and sat down in front of my computer. I wiped the hard disc, I started from scratch. Format the whole works. I did a fresh install, because fresh installs run great. Everything was wonderful, untill activation. I registered like they wanted, I gave them all my information just like I did on the other XP. Clicked the regisration and activation button.

Sorry can not activate, You can not activate this copy of xp more than 25 times.

Now, That hurt! My new car, (I mean my XP) was a lemon. I called Microsoft, They tried to help, After about one and half hours on the phone, I got a very intelligent human that could do more than punch into a key board and repeat what the monitor says. I explained for the 25th time, what was going on. I was told that my regitration information was the cause of the problem, That I gave the same information on the second XP as the first. So the computer said that I still had the first XP and You can not activate that copy more than 25 times. So at this point, GOD pushed a button, and my XP became real, My XP lived!!

Now life was good With my XP, untill, I moved to Russia. I brought my hard drive and my copy of XP, I left the rest of the Computer back in America without hard drive.

I bought a computer in Russia, called DEPO Computer,
Russian made. Had Russian Xp SP2 on it. I wanted my XP on it. In English, my XP, That I bought in America, At Best Buy, My very own, the copy that I have driven enough miles that I feel that I own it.

I put my hard drive into the new computer, along with the hard drive that was in it. I installed My XP, everything was fine, untill activation, and registration. I was told that this copy was registured in the North American territory.
That I must call Microsoft to purchase a new key….

After one week of calling various numbers and talking to all laungages but English. I bought a phone card and bit the bullet. I called a toll number in America, To Redmond. The man that answered, Was intelligent and polite. (I guess that calling from Russia long distance gets more attention than the toll free numbers)I explained what had happened. He took my number and said he would get back. Two hours later He did, The answer. I must give up one of the keys, I can not use both operating systems. They suggested that I use the English XP, with the Russian Key on the Machine. They would accept that. (I counted to 10) then said OK. I need to work and write.
So I gave up my Russian XP, (America won that one), So now I have a Best Buy Retail copy of XP that has a Russian Key, The operating system that came with my new computer is not valid any more, Unless I pirate,

So retail. means nothing, You still have limitations, and they are watching you very closly, I was told next time not to registure, Thats what Redmond said. The registration has your name on it, that information is stored in the data files. They have how many copies of XP you have and how many times you have activated. If I had never registured, the computer would never had flagged it. Registration is for theft, You can prove its yours.
So changing motherboards can affect your retail copy, I know I have fought with Microsoft on that one also.

Kyle Keeton

Another trick is to use a cheap PCI-based IDE/SATA combo card (cost about $30) as a “life boat”.

First you temporarily put that card in the “donor” PC. All you need to do is reboot and install the drivers… you don’t have to connect the drive cables. After that you can remove the card.

Now, when you swap motherboards, the OS still contains the driver for the IDE/SATA card. So, again you temporarily install the card (but this time you *do* connect the drive cables).

You reboot and wait for all of the “discoveries” (to include the *real* IDE/SATA drivers for the chipset on the motherboard.

And last, you shutdown, remove the combo card and hook the drive cables up to the motherboard.

We actually temporarily install that combo card (er, well we have more than one) in all of our PCs. That way if a motherboard completely dies, the OS image will already have the drivers.

Hi Kyle,
Interesting story. But just for conversation sake what happens if you change registered owners:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/modify_registered_owner_and_organization.htm
Just curious how this would work or not work.

And I found this article as well. I think it MAY clarify some issues.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

Thanks for the comment.

Hello Emmett,
Thanks for the tip and comment.
2 thumbs up!

Thanks, now those were good sites. That answers some of my problems. Wish I had read that before going through what I have been through.

Now I have one question, Why does Microsoft seem to have very few answers when you call? Is the company so large that one department does not know what the other department does?

Also, My understanding from Microsoft was that you can change registration locally, but in there data files the registration of your name will not change unless they and you work together to physically change that information.

All I know is that I really liked Windows 98. I never had to call anyone to make it work.
Kyle

Hi Kyle,
Windows 98 was much simpler and I always enjoyed using it. But I also like XP even though it can be a pain when it comes to the reg. process.

Have a good one, Ron

Seems like everyone has forgotten about booting Windows in Safe Mode on the new computer in order to avoid any driver related issues that may be left over from the old motherboard.

Once you boot in Safe Mode, you can uninstall any old drivers that may be causing conflicts on the new motherboard.

Rick

Rick,
Thanks for the reminder. Booting into Safemode may work as well. Than the drivers can be removed.

Regards, Ron

No Ron, retail copies are not exempt. Retail or OEM, they are using information about the hardware to generate a unique key which must match when you reboot the machine. They are tying the concept of “new machine” to new motherboard because that is the heart of the system. Now, we all know it’s completely possible to replace a motherboard because one went bad and to us, that’s not a new PC. But good old MSoft says it is.

I will say, I have been able to talk them into reactivating a client’s XP after I replaced the motherboard due to catastrophic failure.

Of course having multiple MSoft certifications for multiple versions of their OS behind my name may have helped with that. I’ve found that compared to my non-certed tech friends, I get better results with this sort of thing. I’ve literally had one of my employees call MSoft to reactivate when changing a component and be told no. That employee called me and when I called MSoft 10 minutes later, had no problems getting reactivated for that PC.

>

AUSongbird,
Thanks for the comments and information. And yes, I hear you about dealing with MS. Titles & certs do work.

Regards, Ron

[...] Replace Your Motherboard - Will Windows Boot? I was over at one of the forums today where a question was posted regarding if Windows XP would … [...]

I’ve upgrade cd of xp and I’ve replaced my mobo,processor, ram(from rd to dd)and video card, now I’ve tried repair and it doesn’t work……I cannot perform clean installation coz I don’t have qualifying media to complete installation. don’t know what to do, I tired uninstalling my video card before replacing mobo, repair completes but can’t boot , it will freezin in winlogo screen, not able to boot to safe mode either……….any suggestions are welcome.

I’ve actually developed a utility to address this issue, specifically for moving server installations between different hardware and/or virtual machine platforms.

The tool is a plugin for Bart’s PE Builder  http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/) that examines your system for supported disk controllers, copies the files to the correct locations, and updates the registry, all from the convenience of a bootable repair CD.

Here’s how it works:
Windows is expecting a BOOT start service to exist that loads the device drivers for your hard drive controller *VERY* early in the startup process. This utility dynamically generates the registry entry required based on the PCI device identifier of your controller, which is scanned against a database of supplied drivers included with the plugin. I stripped the complete driver set from a recent bundle of drivers on the DriverPacks site  http://www.driverpacks.net/) so it has drivers for just about everything on the planet at the moment, at least in theory… I’ve included complete instructions with the plugin for creating new driver modules, so if necessary it’s easy to add your personal hardware to the plugin…

If anyone is interested in this tool, email me at jcrystal@indaso.com.

Also, if anyone is interested in hosting this file somewhere, let me know as well…

-Jeff

Hello Jeff,
Thanks you for posting your very generous offer. I am sure some of the readers may just take the opportunity to try your plug-in.

Thanks again, Ron

OK, for those of you who are interested in my BartPE plugin to aid in migrating Windows installations from one hardware platform to another, I’ve had a generous offer from Cameron Jones to host it on his web site.

You can download the plugin at:
http://www.cameronjonesit.com/p2v2p.zip

Enjoy!

-Jeff Crystal

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for passing this information on to all of us.
Ron

Hello,I´m about to go from a k5 board w/pentium processor to a k7 board w/amd,does any one have any suggstions as how I can do this without any big problem`?

another thing,this XP belongs to me,but I don´t want to register it ,then have to reg. again with the other board

Hi L.Green,
That’s a massive change. Everything will be totally different for every piece on the mobo. You can try going into safemode and remove all the drivers and shutdown. Swap boards and keep you fingers crossed. The odds of it working a very slim.

Ron

My MOBO died. It is from a prepackaged Gateway computer that I purchased at BestBuy. I am trying to get it fixed but cannot purchase the same MOBO from Gateway. Fry’s Electronics has told me that I will have purchase WindowsXP Home Edition because the MOBO is not the same. It looks like I’m going to be into this for around $430.00 which includes MOBO,service contract, installation of MOBO,WinXP Home, saved files. Should I just buy a new computer or is there an inexpensive way to fix this one.
HELP!!!

Hello Elizabeth,
You didn’t mention how old this system was?
Many people face the same problem as you have encountered. Here is what I tell them:
Just because you replace the mobo, doesn’t mean you won’t have other problems, i.e. RAM, power supply, hard disk, DVD or CD, plus any other hardware your system may have come with. Used PC’s are like used cars, they can nickle and dime you to death.
I would personally take the $430 and invest it in a new system.
Hope this helps, Ron

HI Ron. I ran across your post while researching a problem with my roommates computer. I would love to write for you on occassion. Please contact me at the email I provided for further information regarding me, my work, and why I would be an amazing contributor to your webpage. Thanks.

hi guys i know this is a ollld blog but i would like to get a copy of your plug but your link is dead anyone able to rehost it ? or even email a copy to me ?