I am going to upgrade my motherboard currently in my systwm. There is nothing wrong with what I currently have. I just want to upgrade. I currently have an Asus A7V333 Socket A motherboard with the Via KT333 chipset. My processor is an AMD 2200+ 1.8 Ghz. I have not decided which motherboard & processor to upgrade to yet. I have another issue. I am running XP home edition on my current system. I also use two IDE hard drives in my system. Drive C has the system and is mainly for programs. Drive D is mainly for data. I was told if I upgrade my motherboard XP won't work with my new motherboard. I would have to rebuild my hard drives. Is this true? If so, is there any way this can be done without losing all my programs and data on my drives? Basicly what I'm asking is, is there any way I can use my current hard drives with a new motherboard and not lose my programs and data? If so how is this done?
Upgrading Motherboard
- Thread starter rockn01
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Abarbarian
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Heres an answer to part of your Q . If you put all your data on drive D you can then use this on any pc . If you don't have enough space on D then you can partition drive C and put data on the second part of the partitioned drive and use the first part of the partitioned drive for your OS and programs . For installing XP and having space for programs 5 GB is probably the minimum you would need . !0 GB and upwards is much better . Mine for instance is 30 GB and its just about big enough .
If you have a retail copy of XP then if you change the motherboard and cpu then I'm almost sure you would need to buy a new copy of XP . If you have a OEM version of XP then you can use this on your new build but you'll have to let Microsoft know about the change .
Give us some idea of your budget and intended use and we'll be better placed to give you some help .
If you have a retail copy of XP then if you change the motherboard and cpu then I'm almost sure you would need to buy a new copy of XP . If you have a OEM version of XP then you can use this on your new build but you'll have to let Microsoft know about the change .
Give us some idea of your budget and intended use and we'll be better placed to give you some help .
Thanks for the quick response. My C drive is 80 GB and my D drive is 160GB. I have 56GB of free space left on C and 128GB of free space left on D. What I gathered from what you wrote, since my OS is on C, I would have to reload XP on C (after upgrading) and since drive D is all data that should work without doing anything to it. Is this correct? Also would it retain my programs on C? Now for the next problem. You said I would need an OEM version of XP to reload onto drive C. I have two versions of XP. The one on my system now is the uprade version from Win98 I installed about 2 years ago. From what you say I don't think that will work. However I also have an OEM version of XP Professional. Would I be able to use that? If so how would you suggest I procede? My budjet is limited. I would like to get a motherboard/CPU with memory package for under $200. I do a lot of work with audio and video. Mostly audio. I've done some looking around but there are so many different processors out there it's difficult for me to choose. I don't need anything superfast. Just faster than what I currently have.
Abarbarian
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OEM XP Pro would be fine look at the "sticky" in the Windows and Applications thread fr details of where to ring to inform Microsoft .
You will have to re-install all yopur programs when doing a fresh OS install , its a good time to do some spring cleaning . I would partition your C drive into 2 x 40 Gb partitions . Also I would personaly split the D drive up into 2 or 3 partitions aswell .
The reason for splitting your C drive is that if you get a corupt OS at some time you can re-install the OS and programs but leave your data intact . This does not help of course if your HDD fails , its always good to keep backups .
Almost anything you upgrade to will be faster than your present set up .
Actually thats quite a good system you have , just a bit dated and slowish .
I like AMD so I'd suggest a AM2 Dual Core processor if you can get one of the 65w low energy ones that would save you some loot in running costs and heat output . AM2 Dual Core not the single core ones , but the single core ones are still pretty fast .
Here in the UK I can get for example ,
CPU http://www.ebuyer.com/search/?strSe...ntCatID=230&intSubcatUID=1960&bolShowAll=true
Mobo http://www.ebuyer.com/search/?strSe...ntCatID=222&intSubcatUID=1953&bolShowAll=true
Memory http://www.ebuyer.com/search/?strSe...&intCatID=3&intSubcatUID=2051&bolShowAll=true
You can go with Intel but I think for the sort of money you are looking to spend AMD will give you more bang for your buck .
Don't forget that you will probably have to buy a new PSU as a stable and quality psu is a must have to keep your system stable and safe . This link will help you sort out your power requirements ,
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
As to a case if your on a tight budget why not get an old case thats being thrown away .Scavenge some fans from old psus , cases, cpu heatsinks etc etc . Make sure your mobo and parts will fit in it . Cut lots of holes in it for fans and with a quick lick of paint you'll have a unique case for next to nothing .
I'm not really familiar with Intel but this was a very good review of the Intel pentium E 2140 CPU and sees to be a very good budget cpu .
http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/119011/intel-pentium-e2140-review---core-2-for-50/page2.html
A quick search for prices shows these results,
http://www.shopbot.com.au/p-57499-1601941.html
So now you have something to chew over .
You will have to re-install all yopur programs when doing a fresh OS install , its a good time to do some spring cleaning . I would partition your C drive into 2 x 40 Gb partitions . Also I would personaly split the D drive up into 2 or 3 partitions aswell .
The reason for splitting your C drive is that if you get a corupt OS at some time you can re-install the OS and programs but leave your data intact . This does not help of course if your HDD fails , its always good to keep backups .
Almost anything you upgrade to will be faster than your present set up .
I like AMD so I'd suggest a AM2 Dual Core processor if you can get one of the 65w low energy ones that would save you some loot in running costs and heat output . AM2 Dual Core not the single core ones , but the single core ones are still pretty fast .
Here in the UK I can get for example ,
CPU http://www.ebuyer.com/search/?strSe...ntCatID=230&intSubcatUID=1960&bolShowAll=true
Mobo http://www.ebuyer.com/search/?strSe...ntCatID=222&intSubcatUID=1953&bolShowAll=true
Memory http://www.ebuyer.com/search/?strSe...&intCatID=3&intSubcatUID=2051&bolShowAll=true
You can go with Intel but I think for the sort of money you are looking to spend AMD will give you more bang for your buck .
Don't forget that you will probably have to buy a new PSU as a stable and quality psu is a must have to keep your system stable and safe . This link will help you sort out your power requirements ,
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
As to a case if your on a tight budget why not get an old case thats being thrown away .Scavenge some fans from old psus , cases, cpu heatsinks etc etc . Make sure your mobo and parts will fit in it . Cut lots of holes in it for fans and with a quick lick of paint you'll have a unique case for next to nothing .
I'm not really familiar with Intel but this was a very good review of the Intel pentium E 2140 CPU and sees to be a very good budget cpu .
http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/119011/intel-pentium-e2140-review---core-2-for-50/page2.html
A quick search for prices shows these results,
http://www.shopbot.com.au/p-57499-1601941.html
So now you have something to chew over .