Replacing a Motherboard - Poll

[BigBlue66]

Hey Gang,

Just wanted to know how you all go about swapping out a motherboard on a working system. Guess what I mean is, upgrading a motherboard for more features, functionality, etc.

Do you all swap out the motherboard and then do a format and fresh install of everything? Or, do you just hope like heck that there are few if any glitches, power up, load the new motherboard drivers and go from there?

I was successful once, when I had the foresight, in upgrading a motherboard. Just before I was going to power down and open up the case for the swap, I deleted everything that Windows would let me in Device Manager that was related to the old motherboard that I was taking out. Also any drivers that Windows would let me, in Add/Remove Programs. Upon bootup, Windows found and installed all the components for the new motherboard, such as IDE channel controllers, etc. I then proceeded to install the new motherboard drivers. Then I powered up in Safe Mode and removed whatever remnants of the old motherboard that were still there. That one time went off quite well, I think, because I had the foresight to uninstall the old motherboard stuff first.

Other times, when I didn't have the foresight mentioned above, I had so many glitches that a fresh format and reinstall was in order.

So how about it gang? How do you go about upgrading a motherboard on a working system?

Just trying to increase my knowledge base. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Cheers,

Big Blue 66


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Life = Karma, or is it, Karma = Life?

[YODA74]

Well I might as well step in first then ya'll can criticise me I'm not confident enough yet to do it the right way only my way.Only ever done this once. In this case I'll use w/98 seems thats the preferd
First I start with a BEER.or 12


(The Planned Switcheroo) - Remove everything from the Device Manager, power down, swap the motherboard, power up. In this case, Win 98 will find the new resources, and not have any conflicts with the old ones, as you've removed them. This is safer in some ways, but if you have a bad mobo, or driver trouble, then it can get messy.
(The Re-Install) - A safe and clean way (also the most time consuming) is to re-install Windows 98 in a different directory (assuming you have enough HD space). Rename your "c:\windows" (or whatever you call it) directory to c:\winold or some other suitable name, and then power down, swap the mobo, and power up with the Win98 boot disk or boot CD. Then, install Win98 fresh in c:\windows. Then, if you have any problems, you can always put the old mobo back, and swap your windows directories. If you do get Win98 safely installed in this scenario, you will have to re-install all of your software.
After that I grab a shot of JackDanials and do a Happy Dance or a happy crawl.

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[Dinosaur]

I hope there will be some more comments on this issue.

For my next upgrade, I hope to avoid reformat and reinstall of everything. Installing a Plug & Play OS and the drivers is not much work, but I have over 100 applications on my system. Reinstalling all of them is a real job.

If somebody devises software which allows for removal of an old OS and reinstall without requiring reinstall of all the applications software, they should make a fortune.

I have tended to have one system about 6-9 months off leading edge technology, and another about15-18 months behind. My girl friend uses the second system, and each system is used for backing up data files for the other.

You can save a lot of money by not trying to stay on the leading edge, which requires constant upgrades at top dollar for components. On average, my components cost 50% or less at time of purchase compared to their price when they first came on the market.

For years, I just unplugged everything, installed the new motherboard & CPU, and started the system. No problems: Everything worked from the old hard drives. Then I used the old Motherboard & CPU to up grade my older system the same way.

Until a few years ago, there was never any problem. In between Motherboard & CPU upgrades, I would upgrade to a better Graphics or sound card, or make some other improvement. These intermediate upgrades required uninstall & reinstall of drivers, but I never replaced drivers during a motherboard & CPU upgrade.

The last upgrade was a lot of work. The new motherboard had no ISA slots, requiring replacement of my modem & sound cards. I had to buy an AGP Graphics card because there were not enough PCI slots for everything. The new Motherboard also required a different IDE controller.

I had so much trouble that I reformatted and started from scratch. I still do not have all my applications software installed on the new system.

The next upgrade will be a problem for the older system, but I hope it will be a simple install for the newer one. In theory, removal of old drivers and reinstall of new ones should work. In practice, the modern motherboards seem complex enough that there is always some problem.

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Gouverneur
Eschew Obfuscation!
If one hundred million people believe a foolish idea, it is still a foolish idea.

[mjc]

Generally when you pull the MOBO, it is best to reinstall...unless you are switching to the exact same board (feature for feature and model). You can, before powering down go in to the registry and delete the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/ENUM folder...which is the same as uninstalling everything in DM, but only better...it gets it all at once!

Remember folks, when you are talking of "upgrading" a computer if you are adding memory, switching out a video card, switching a CPU, hard drive etc you are upgrading...but when you switch out the motherboard you are not really "upgrading" but are getting a new computer, the combination of all the peripherals, the CPU and the motherboard are what make a computer a computer...the individual peripherals have drivers but they are very changeable and none really that critical for OS operation (yeah you may only get 640x480 16 color on your GeForce3...but you still have video)...the BIOS and chipset have a very important impact on the OS and if you change those then you are asking for trouble. The OS made certain decisions, and wrote critical systems files (registry) based on what it "saw" when first installed. And with XP when you upgrade you will need to consider activation issues...last item I read on it said 6 hardware items, 4 if you change your NIC and it resets every 120 days...but I think that something (like changing the MOBO...since it is NT kernel based I'm not sure if a reinstall is as critical as in 9x) that would require a complete reinstall of XP you'd have to reactivate it anyway.

Dino, the complexity and the way everything interacts is why it is now almost a given, change mobo = reinstall OS.

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[ranchdog]

Blue...

Can only speak for myself. I bite the bullet and re-install.

My Win9x CD and I have became good friends. When I pick it up, it talks to me--- "What, again this week?"

Just saves some grief in the end.

Luck.

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......Indecision may or may not be my problem......
...... Kickin' A Rock....

[not_fred]

ranchdog;

OK I'm kinda new to this forum and don't want to presume to much on a new relationship (we DO have a relationship, don't we?) but, buddy you got to spend less time with the ol' PC...those disks don't repeat DO NOT talk. Step away for a while. Get some air. It's going to be OK.

[evalroy]

I have done it both ways and favor a clean install. In fact, I like to take my main computer and do a clean install once a year. It performs so much better and forces me to re-evaluate some of the assorted crap and software that tend to collect over a period of time.

The above is worth about $.02,
ER http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


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I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there.
- Richard Feynman

[Paleo Pete]

I favor a fresh install. It seems to depend on the motherboard, some will cooperate if you simply remove all the drivers possible, some will act like you tried to put a Volkswagen engine in a Chevy truck... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif

Don't think I can explain the reasons any better than mjc already did, so re-read his post. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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[Jumby]

If it's just the motherboard, I've done it both ways...replace just that and let W98 hopefully know it. I'll soon be doing the mobo, processor, hard drive, sound card and...WIN XP. So, of course I'll be doing a fresh install. Man I hate having to reload everything though. But we all really love it don't we?

[Rick]

Blue
I have to say I agree with most above.
Replace the mother board and do a clean install..
Avoid the inevitable hassles that are sure to crop up with a simple remove devices .

To date I have only had One person who insisted on NOT doing a clean install.
To date He is my biggest tech support HEADACHE.
Until 2 months ago. When I did another M/B replacement for him.
The drive had device drivers for 3 other M/B’ s on it. And it was what I can only call the most unstable POS I have ever worked on.
This system started out years ago as a 486-120 then P-233, K6-2 and Now PIII 800
It all adds up .
After a clean install I have not heard from him. .. I don’t need the $$ that bad.

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To ERR is HUMAN
To REALLY screw things UP, YOU NEED a COMPUTER !

[Dinosaur]

I am afraid that you folks are correct, and a reinstall of the OS is the way to go when you replace a modern motherboard.

I was hoping for some advice to the contrary. As I said in an earlier post, a clean install of the OS is not a lot of work, but I have over 100 applications installed. Reinstalling all of them is a real pain.

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Gouverneur
Eschew Obfuscation!
If one hundred million people believe a foolish idea, it is still a foolish idea.

[BigBlue66]

Thanks Gang. I knew you would say that. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif And, I totally agree. The one time that I did it with few hassles must have been a fluke.

Reason I was asking is that we just replaced a motherboard in my kid's system. Had all sorts of conflicts because it was the result of a bad BIOS flash. We didn't have a chance to go in and remove old motherboard drivers before we swapped the mobos out. Needless to say, the system was totally confused.

As a last resort, the kid formatted and reinstalled and has been sailing fast and stable ever since.

Thanks everyone.

Cheers,

Big Blue 66


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Life = Karma, or is it, Karma = Life?

[j_sanborn]

I also favor the "fresh" install, as opposed to the "stale" one...he..he.
If I am using the same OS, I try to make a mirror image of my hard-drive, then restore it after I have installed a new M-Board.

J.S.

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("If at first you don't succeed, suck harder, then you will succeed!" cited Curly Howard of the 3 Stoogies)

[andyswork@beci.net]

This is how smart I throught I was. Ordered new motherboard, while waiting used another computer to format my hard drive and install O/S and all my programs. You all know what happen when I booted up. So I now wait,because I was not as smart as I throught. Yes, give me a computer and I will show you how to mess up big time. I would agree go for clean install. Trying to do clean install on ME so one day I will be a pro too Thanks Andy http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif you all are the blame for really getting me into computers and I love it many Thanks for that

[CanadianMe]

Just replace the MOBO, then put everything in it and if you have problems reforamt if not leave it. Changed allot of mother boards and its about a 60 - 40 % proposition that you can get by without a clean install. If you do it before or after you change the MOBO is irrelevant. If it works it saves you allot of time, if not you are no worse off. Just my thoughts, http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ....

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http://www.northtechcomputers.com

[fixrupr]

I was given an instruction sheet with my Abit KT7A-raid mobo. It stated that you can scrap the board by using anything other than a clean hard drive. It also said not to use a boot disk made on another PC --- only boot from CD or use original WINDOWS boot disk. They said bios will go south and cannot be fixed. So take the time or take the risk!

[integral]

I would think that part of the decision needs to consider how old the Winbloz installation is. If you have been running it for 2 yrs, heck it's time for a fresh install so use this as a good excuse to do what needs to be done. If on the other hand you just did a fresh install within the last few months why not just go for it. If it works you are ahead for the game. If it don't work, what the heck you just got to do another install. I went for it the last 2 mobos and it seems to be working fine. Course I have had 3 mobos in this box since the 1st week of OCT!

[iropnman]

Originally posted by BigBlue66:
Hey Gang,

Just wanted to know how you all go about swapping out a motherboard on a working system. Guess what I mean is, upgrading a motherboard for more features, functionality, etc.

Do you all swap out the motherboard and then do a format and fresh install of everything? Or, do you just hope like heck that there are few if any glitches, power up, load the new motherboard drivers and go from there?

I was successful once, when I had the foresight, in upgrading a motherboard. Just before I was going to power down and open up the case for the swap, I deleted everything that Windows would let me in Device Manager that was related to the old motherboard that I was taking out. Also any drivers that Windows would let me, in Add/Remove Programs. Upon bootup, Windows found and installed all the components for the new motherboard, such as IDE channel controllers, etc. I then proceeded to install the new motherboard drivers. Then I powered up in Safe Mode and removed whatever remnants of the old motherboard that were still there. That one time went off quite well, I think, because I had the foresight to uninstall the old motherboard stuff first.

Other times, when I didn't have the foresight mentioned above, I had so many glitches that a fresh format and reinstall was in order.

So how about it gang? How do you go about upgrading a motherboard on a working system?

Just trying to increase my knowledge base. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Cheers,

Big Blue 66


YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE TO RELOAD WINDOWS NO MATTER WHAT VERSION OF WINDOWS YOU ARE RUNNING IF YOU CHANGE OUT THE MAINBOARD BECAUSE EACHMAINBOARDHASA DIFFERENT SET OF CONTROLLERS AND WINDOWS WAS WRITTENSO THATYOU CANNOT DELETE THESE CONTROLLERS ANY OTHER WAY BUT TO REFORMAT YOU WILL NOT SEE THE DOUBLE LOADEDCONTROLLERSIN NORMAL MODE BUT IF YOU BOOT UP INTO SAFE MODE YOU WILL SEE THEM . HOPE THIS HELPS IRONMAN

[ranchdog]

SIR...

This thread is two months old. But I'll give you credit
for trying.

BTW Cap Locks aren't needed.


Thanks. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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....How long is a minute... depends on which side of the Bathroom door you're on. ......Indecision may or may not be my problem......
..........

[MARKBLACK]

Hi BigBlue66 I have tried it your way once the motherboard didn't like the sound card at all, took me hours to sort out in the end a clean sweep
then the sound card was OK, but this wasn't my only problems too many to say, clean sweep it I say.
Good luck

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MB

If we can't find the answer we keep on trying....never afraid to ask again.

[BigBlue66]

Hi Mark,

Yes, I have to agree. Starting out with a fresh installation of the OS when installing a new motherboard seems to be the most hassle-free way to go. There are just too many variables when trying to do it without a fresh install and most likely a person will get bit by one or the other of those variables.

Cheers, and Happy New Year Gang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big Blue 66


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This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

[steveo]

mark me down for the fresh install for all the reasons everyone else has posted...heh

[wiltrot]

100 applications! Do you really use all of them regularly? Why not just reinstall them as you need them. The nice thing about responding to an old thread is that it goes back up to the top.

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