Is there a way I can change only the motherboard and keep all old hardware and not have to reinstall windows XP?
that can cause some random ass issues..specifically blue screen of death..but it can be done...just be prepared to do a hella of alota trouble shooting..or u mite get lucky... start some reading son: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1755
I guess you wanted a new processor so you change the mother board. Maybe you need new memory as well. You can keep most of the other hardware, like CD/DVD drives, hard disks.... You have to format the hard disk and reinstall XP because the old system were base on the old motherboard.
He's right. XP will crash right before the login screen. If you plan to upgrade you must do a clean XP installation because the new chipset requires new drives. You should also make sure that new motherboard supports your current CPU and memory as well before buying.
sometimes you might not require to reinstall back the windows xp if your old motherboard and the new motherboard is made from the same chipset brand. eg. old motherboard using intel chipset same as the new motherboard.
windows xp was designed to stop booting if it discovered any "significant changes" in the hardware from the last time it successfully booted to prevent people from installing it on one pc and then imaging it onto multiple other systems. now the thing is if the other system is identical then it will go on fine... if it's not then that's where you'll "should" naturally encouter problems. however, the key change win xp detects is the ide controller. i swapped my motherboard for an updated version and i didn't have a single problem, all i had to do was install a different network driver and that was it. if i had switched to a different motherboard with a different ide controller, ie chipset, then i would have been better off reinstalling. mine is a nforce 2 chipset so i can theoretically change to any other nforce2 motherboard and not have to reinstall. so what i saying is reinstalling depends on what you are changing your motherboard to!
I built my first Pentium 2 PC because I attended an Upgrading and Repairing PC course. I then upgraded this PC to Pentium 3 then 4, still using the old 17” monitor. I had done it because I enjoy doing it then. I will NOT build a new vista PC now because new PC parts and software are very expensive (retail price) to buy. It is much cheaper to buy a new PC with all the new software on it (e.g. you can get a Dell PC with 19” flat screen for under £400).
Dell PC case is very well designed. Once you open the case, you don't need screws and screw driver to add PCI card on the motherboard and/or drive to the case.
yeh but prob is sometimes dells hardware is made specifically for them my old dell had some weird power supply which i couldnt easily upgrade, but the cpu memory and adding storage should be ok, but im not sure
Don't know about power supply. I had added memory, network card and 4 port USB PCI card to a Dell PC without any problem.
Dells are alright for the short term because their prices are very good. With everything, you get what you pay for. You do lose a lot quality with the newer systems. Their quality has gone down a lot in the past several years. Seeing Dells fail or break isn't uncommon anymore. As for switching out the motherboard, it's not as bad as you think. I've taking hard drives out and switched to a completely different computer and get it to boot. Easiest way to get compatibility tho is to take off all unnecessary hardware. Use the bios and disable unnecessary hardware also (like integrated sound card, network cards, etc). Leave only the essentials required to boot. Start the computer up so that it sees all the hardware is gone and frees up all those resources. Then switch MB + processor, then boot. It's usually a change insignificant enough to where xp can handle it. Now reinstall any accessory cards you may have. I have good success rate going through that process.
