cbx said:
I plan to upgrade the motherboard/processor in my existing XP system,
can you advise the best way to handle the software part of the
upgrade?
One article I saw on internet said to do a Windows XP "REPAIR" after
installing the new hardware. Is this the best way to go to install
the drivers and hardware?
Thanks.
Generally speaking this is what I do BEFORE changing the motherboard and
other hardware:
1. Image the windows partition to removable media.
2. Backup IE favorites using the export function as bookmark.htm to
removable media.
3. Backup OE settings for email (if applicable) and news (if applicable)
using the export function of each account as an iaf file to removable media.
Similar is available in Outlook for email. If Outlook, I backup the
personal folder and subfolders to removable media as outlook.pst file.
4. I don't keep my personal files in the windows partition. You decide
what to do based on your usage.
The above should be done irregardless what kind of XP install you choose.
I shy away from repair installations, and prior XP installations that do
operate with the new motherboard if different than the original motherboard.
I always make sure I have the product key available before starting the
process of a new install. I always wipe the old windows partition, and
create a new one with the XP installation CD.
I install the new hardware in single hardware steps if beyond a new
motherboard and processor, after the install. The drivers for the
motherboard are installed after the motherboard and cpu is installed. In
some cases, there may be subsequent hardware drivers to install for USB 2.0
or onboard LAN to operate for instance. I like to reboot after each
instance of driver software installation. After install of said single
hardware, install the software drivers, shutdown and install subsequent
hardware. Make sure the new hardware is visible in the bios summary if your
PC has such before entering windows, this is a cue of hardware irq usage
being properly done. If not visible, there may be a hardware irq conflict.
Some things that should have their irq unshared at the bios level are LAN
and firewire by my own previous experiences. I don't connect any external
peripherals except keyboard and mouse during the process. I install the
internal new hardware first. Then, any remaining external hardware one at a
time per windows session.
I image the installation in the following manner:
1. Image with XP installed only with the imaging software if possible.
2. Image with motherboard drivers installed.
3. Image with all hardware installed, no 3rd party software.
4. Image with all hardware installed and XP updates installed.
5. Image with all hardware installed, XP updates installed, and 3rd party
applications installed.
6. Image as above, except, update all applicable 3rd party applications
first while online. This includes AV definition updates.
I retain all the stepped images in a folder on a removable hard drive in
lieu of something amiss that can't be fixed normally within XP.
Afterwards, I restore the IE favorites, OE and, if applicable, Outlook
backups. If applicable, I get Office updates online, and image afterwards.
If I am satisfied with the XP installation, I activate a few days later. I
refer to the above as a clean installation.
I wrote this in the first person. This is what I do, am not telling or
suggesting that you do anything. That is your choice. For reference, I use
an XP w/SP2 OEM generic installation CD for installation. For reference, I
keep image backups on an onboard hard drive and a firewire hard drive. For
reference, I keep my personal files on the same hard drive as the windows
partition, but on a different partition, there is an image backup for this
as well. For reference, I keep my IE, OE, and Outlook backups on a USB
thumbdrive and the same partition as my personal files.
Dave