Reinstalling XP Home after hardware upgrade

I have an old Dell PC and I'm going to do some pretty massive upgrades.
Actually, I'm going to buy a new case, power supply, motherboard, CPU,
memory and video card, then I want to move the CD ROM, DVD drive, and
hard drive from my old PC to the new PC. I know this is fraught with
peril, but I'm trying to avoid having to reinstall dozens of
applications.

Here's my plan:

* Uninstall at least the audio and video drivers on my old PC
* (Possibly) uninstall the motherboard-related drivers, then power down
* Move the drives to the new PC
* Boot the PC and let XP install the new drivers

I'm not sure this is going to work, though, so my backup plan is to buy
a retail copy of XP Home SP2. I can boot to CD and then do a repair of
the OS over the old installation.

What do you think? Does this have a reasonable chance of success?

Here's my plan:

* Uninstall at least the audio and video drivers on my old PC
* (Possibly) uninstall the motherboard-related drivers, then power down
* Move the drives to the new PC
* Boot the PC and let XP install the new drivers

I'm not sure this is going to work, though, so my backup plan is to buy
a retail copy of XP Home SP2. I can boot to CD and then do a repair of
the OS over the old installation.

What do you think? Does this have a reasonable chance of success?



XP rarely will boot if you do a drastic hardware change...
but you can try uninstalling as many devices as possible and give it a go...

A repair installation usually works

Be sure to at least back up your data first no matter which route you go

XP rarely will boot if you do a drastic hardware change...
but you can try uninstalling as many devices as possible and give it a go...

A repair installation usually works

Be sure to at least back up your data first no matter which route you go

Do you think I'll run into any problems doing a repair from a retail
copy of XP Home SP2 when the drive has Dell version of XP running on it
now?

"John Neiberger" wrote:


Do you think I'll run into any problems doing a repair from a retail
copy of XP Home SP2 when the drive has Dell version of XP running on it
now?

Yes. Insurmountable problems. You will need to Dell installation
CD in order to do a Repair Install. The first, but not the only,
stumbling block is that your Dell Product Key will not be valid for
use with the Retail XP Home.

Second major clanger is that your Dell OEM version may be BIOS Locked,
which means that it is self-activating on a motherboard with a Dell
BIOS but cannot be activated on a motherboard with any other BIOS.

To check if your Dell OEM Windows XP is BIOS Locked use Start - All
Programs - Accessories - System Tools and see if there is an Actvate
Windows item on the menu. If not then your OEM Windows XP is a BIOS
Locked version.

You may have only two options:

1. Buy your new motherboard from Dell

2. Buy a complete new computer that meets your specifications,
including a new Windows. Use the Files and Settings Transfer wizard
to move your data and settings to the new computer then wipe the old
machine's hard drive, reinstall the original Dell Windows, and sell it
to offset the cost difference between your piecemeal parts proposal
and the complete new system.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

"John Neiberger" wrote in message
ups.com...
XP rarely will boot if you do a drastic hardware change...
but you can try uninstalling as many devices as possible and give it a
go...

A repair installation usually works

Be sure to at least back up your data first no matter which route you go

Do you think I'll run into any problems doing a repair from a retail
copy of XP Home SP2 when the drive has Dell version of XP running on it
now?



First off...with a repair install you must use the same version of XP
as is on the machine...so if it currently has "home" on it then a "home" XP
Cd should work

Even though repair install usually work ...you still need to back up your
data first!

2. Buy a complete new computer that meets your specifications,
including a new Windows. Use the Files and Settings Transfer wizard
to move your data and settings to the new computer then wipe the old
machine's hard drive, reinstall the original Dell Windows, and sell it
to offset the cost difference between your piecemeal parts proposal
and the complete new system.

This sounds like the option I'll be forced to use. What is this "Files
and Settings Transfer Wizard"? If I use it, would I still have to
reinstall all my applications?

"John Neiberger" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have an old Dell PC and I'm going to do some pretty massive upgrades.
Actually, I'm going to buy a new case, power supply, motherboard, CPU,
memory and video card, then I want to move the CD ROM, DVD drive, and
hard drive from my old PC to the new PC. I know this is fraught with
peril, but I'm trying to avoid having to reinstall dozens of
applications.

Here's my plan:

* Uninstall at least the audio and video drivers on my old PC
* (Possibly) uninstall the motherboard-related drivers, then power down
* Move the drives to the new PC
* Boot the PC and let XP install the new drivers

I'm not sure this is going to work, though, so my backup plan is to buy
a retail copy of XP Home SP2. I can boot to CD and then do a repair of
the OS over the old installation.

What do you think? Does this have a reasonable chance of success?


John:
The process you will be undertaking is not really "fraught with peril" so
please relax a bit. I assume this will be the first PC you're building,
right? (Although you refer to it as a "upgrade", for all practical purposes
you're building a new computer). And that can be a lot of fun if you take it
slow and do it methodically. Yes, sometimes you encounter a bit of
frustration but it's a great learning experience. You'll never regret it.

Before I get into the "nuts & bolts" of what I want to tell you, there is a
possible complicating issue here since you're dealing with a Dell OEM
machine. It's practically a foregone conclusion that your new system will
not immediately boot with your Dell-related HDD installed. And I don't know
if you can run a repair-type install with any Dell recovery-type CDs that
you may have. My guess is this will probably not be possible. But you
probably have a better handle on this than I.

And I'm even skeptical that a Repair install can be effected using a retail
version of XP in this situation. But if worse comes to worse, could you
purchase another HDD (you probably need a new modern one anyway) and make a
fresh install of XP onto that HDD? Then you could connect your old HDD as a
secondary HDD, and copy whatever data you need from that drive onto the new
one. Then you could use the old HDD as a backup/storage device. How does
that sound? Understand you would need to install all your programs &
applications to the new HDD - you couldn't (for the most part) copy them
over. Is all this practical?

Now as to your plan of action...

1. What is this about uninstalling "the audio and video drivers on my old
PC"? Are you referring to a sound card? You didn't mention a sound card as
one of your new components. Obviously you will need audio drivers that will
have to be installed after your new system is built and you boot the
operating system. The drivers will, of course, be provided if you're
purchasing a new sound card. But if you're using the old sound card you will
need drivers. On the other hand, perhaps you will use the sound system
provided by your new motherboard so the drivers will be provided on the
motherboard's installation CD.

And since you will be installing a new graphics (video) card, you will have
drivers for that component. Again, the installation of those drivers comes
*after* you're able to boot to a Desktop with the new system.

2. There are no "motherboard-related drivers" to uninstall re your old
motherboard.

3. You're referring to moving your optical drives and your HDD to your new
machine, right? Not yet. First, do what I suggest...

When you begin building your computer you should have one and *only* one
objective in mind at the very outset. And that is to get a screen display
using the minimum amount of components to do so. That means installation of
the motherboard, the CPU (and CPU fan), your RAM, the power supply, a video
card and a connection to your monitor. NOTHING ELSE! You can connect a mouse
and/or keyboard at this point but even that is unnecessary at this stage.

At that point you power up to get a screen display. Doesn't really matter
what's on that screen - you just want a display. And when you do, you heave
a great sigh of relief because then you know that your basic components are
properly connected and they work. It's a crucial first step. If you do not
get a screen display, you go no further until you correct what has to be
corrected to get that screen display.

I emphasize the preceding because, in my opinion, too many builders install
all the components without testing them every step of the way. And when
problems arise when all the components (hard drives, CD-ROMS, DVD-burners,
graphics cards, sound cards, etc.) are connected it's the devil to diagnose,
let alone correct them.

Take it step-by-step, making sure each component works, and you won't be
sorry. It will take a bit more time this way but it will result in avoiding
hours of unnecessary work and frustration.

4. So when all your components are installed, you'll boot to a Desktop and
then use your motherboard's installation CD (or auxiliary media) to install
whatever drivers are necessary.

And good luck...
Anna

Anna,

Thanks for your help! I really didn't want to have to reinstall all my
applications, but I think it's unavoidable at this point. This is also
going to add to the cost of my project because I'll need to get a
retail version of XP Home and a new HD. However, I wouldn't mind having
a new HD. :-)

I'm just going to have to go through my system and determine what
applications I need and make sure I've got all the media and
configuration settings noted. It's going to be a PITA, but I think it
will be worth it. Based on the benchmarks I've seen my new PC should be
about 5 times faster than the one I've got now. That's a pretty decent
improvement!

Thanks again,
John

"John Neiberger" wrote:

2. Buy a complete new computer that meets your specifications,
including a new Windows. Use the Files and Settings Transfer wizard
to move your data and settings to the new computer then wipe the old
machine's hard drive, reinstall the original Dell Windows, and sell it
to offset the cost difference between your piecemeal parts proposal
and the complete new system.

This sounds like the option I'll be forced to use. What is this "Files
and Settings Transfer Wizard"? If I use it, would I still have to
reinstall all my applications?

See "Using the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard" in Windows XP Help
and Support, and also the article by MVP Gary Woodruff at
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm

And yes you would have to reinstall all of the application programs.
The FASTW only moves data files (including emails) and configuration
settings.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."