Thanh-BKK Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 split from http://forums.windowsforum.org/index.php?showtopic=15213 --SMHello :)An excellent guide! But - does it help in the case that the machine won't boot because the mainboard has been changed? My situation: My mainboard broke down and i had obviously no chance to uninstall any drivers before making the hardware change. Now Windows won't boot because the new mainboard has a different chipset and all. I have no "repair" option during a boot from CD as setup can NOT find the previously installed Windows even after i rebuilt the boot.ini already, using the recovery console.Recovery console lets me in the old install alright, so i could attempt your solution here.I have already a new Windows install on the same drive which works fine, so i can access any files necessary, should something go wrong. I just don't want to have to reinstall 350+ programs, for many of which i don't have the install media anymore.My Windows XP is a non-OEM version, SP2 CD. Kind regards......your Thanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Windows XP and Vista installations can only be used with the motherboard they were originally used for. A change on motherboard means a fresh installation of Windows (preferably on a new hard drive). If you load Windows on to a new hard drive, you can recover the files from the old one by setting it as a slave.If your Windows version is OEM (I know yours isn't) then it is not possible to install that on a new motherboard, even with a new hard drive. It may work initially but when it comes to activation by Microsoft, it will fail as it is already registered to another machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanh-BKK Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Windows XP and Vista installations can only be used with the motherboard they were originally used for. A change on motherboard means a fresh installation of Windows (preferably on a new hard drive). If you load Windows on to a new hard drive, you can recover the files from the old one by setting it as a slave.If your Windows version is OEM (I know yours isn't) then it is not possible to install that on a new motherboard, even with a new hard drive. It may work initially but when it comes to activation by Microsoft, it will fail as it is already registered to another machine.Thanks for the reply :)But please believe me, i did such "repair installs" after mainboard changes plenty of times and never had any problem at all, it always worked as the "Repair" option was always there! But for me it's just not there, THAT is the problem. In fact i did it on the very machine i am trying it right now just a single day before (when i changed mainboard first time, but then it turned out that the CPU was knackered as well). Windows Setup detected the install automatically and went into an "upgrade" which worked out fine, it installed all the necessary drivers etc, unfortunately that system kept shutting down on me due to a fault in the CPU (Athlon XP 2600), i tried another CPU (Duron 1000) and it worked but i wanted it faster so i changed mainboard again. And with THIS one i just don't get the options of "upgrade" or "Repair". Meantime i think i'll just backup all files i can get a hold of and may go Vista........ i already "rescued" all my e-mail from the old install and backed up the dbx files, if i can import them on a Vista system it'll be great. I will try to copy all of the dll files from the old install into the identical folders in the new one too, maybe my programs will work too - i found some do work already (the "Program Files" folder is shared by the two installs) and others act like the new install is just another user account, i.e. Nero for example started right up but asked for the serial number and name again. Ummm can i copy the "software" part of the registry from one install to the other, maybe thru the recovery console? Or does "software" contain all the mainboard drivers too? I don't mind my Windows using files that are in another Windows as i have plenty of space on drive c: and it doesn't eat rice :)Kind regards.....your Thanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Pops I disagree with you stating you cannot use an OEM disk again if you change the motherboard both myself and my brother have changed the motherboard, (my brother is on his third), and a fresh install and reactivation was no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanh-BKK Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Hello again :)Now to answer my question by myself - this guide does NOT work if the mainboard has been changed :..( I did the first step, but it won't boot into my old Windows install - it goes as far as before doing the first step in this guid - i see the splash screen for half a second, then it reboots.So i still need a solution to the original problem - how to get Windows Setup to "find" my previous install so i can perform a repair install on it?I am using that very computer right now, with the second Windows install being live and kicking, but i STILL want the old one back! Aaaaaaaargh.Kind regards......your Thanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Man Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I am wondering why you need to do a repair anyways. Even if you install a new motherboard, Windows should boot as normal, but have several driver windows upon loging in. You may also need to re-activate.Are you recieving an error when trying to boot normally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Pops I disagree with you stating you cannot use an OEM disk again if you change the motherboard both myself and my brother have changed the motherboard, (my brother is on his third), and a fresh install and reactivation was no problem.OK, I'll change the wording to: It should not be possible to - - - -. The whole point of OEM versions is that, once installed, they are tied to that setup, particularly the motherboard. However, see my post here to add to confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 It makes one wonder if it was done so people with pirated versions can do a legal install, thereby increasing Microsofts profits.Or am I becoming senile in my way of thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanh-BKK Posted February 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 I am wondering why you need to do a repair anyways. Even if you install a new motherboard, Windows should boot as normal, but have several driver windows upon loging in. You may also need to re-activate.Are you recieving an error when trying to boot normally?Hello :)Yes, i've had THAT before as well.... in some instances (to be honest, i do quite a bit of computer repairing, while i normally stay on the hardware side, i.e. building the rigs) Windows would just boot, complain about missing drivers and demanding it's setup CD.However in my case, regardless if i try to boot "normal" or "safe mode" (either of them) or "last known good", it boots until the splash screen would appear, which i get to see for like half a second - and then it reboots, and that goes on in a loop.When i try to boot into "safe mode with command prompt" i don't get to see any splash screen, but here too it just reboots in a loop.I had that the day before when i changed mainboards the first time but then i booted from the Windows CD and automatically got the option to upgrade (it said in fact "This computer is already in the process of being upgraded to Windows" when i booted from that CD!) and the repair install/"upgrade" went pretty much trouble free, i.e. in the end i had my old, usual Windows running. However there were other problems withj the CPU, so i had to change mainboards again (there's no more socket A CPU's available otherwise i would have just changed CPU) and after that i had the same problem - a non-booting Windows, just that this time 'round, Setup won't find the old install to perform an "upgrade" or "repair" on it. I tried that with my full, SP2, setup CD, then with my old, full, XP CD (no SP) and even my boyfriend's OEM SP-1 CD that came with his laptop - to no avail, it's the same with all of them - setup just doesn't detect the previous install, it sits there "looking for previously installed Windows versions" (and i'm hoping for the option "Press R to repair selected item" as i read that everywhere on the net) but - narda, none is found, and it just offers me my partitions and asks to which one to make a clean install. By now i'm thinking of throwing the whole shabang into the bin and on saturday i'll go and get Vista, if i find some shop that has an original of it. I want the ultimate version, no less, i don't care for the $$ as long as it'll work as well on my new hardware as XP did on the old (well, not a single crash or BSOD since early 2002, neither a reinstall or format in all that time, i consider that a good OS). I've had Linux hanging up on me plenty of times (used to dual boot as sometimes i needed that one) but my XP was kind of a steamroller - unbreakable. I am in the process of backing up files - all of "documents and settings" and "program files" and later i'll copy all of Windows' "System32" (from the old installation which i can access fine thru the new one) etc, i'll burn that stuff on a data DVD and when i got Vista, i'll try if it can find the old XP and perform an upgrade on it, if not, i'll bulldoze drive c: and start fresh.And now i gotta rush to the office, damn i gonna be late!Kind regards.....your Thanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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