I think it <i>might</i> be possible to do a simple repair when switching from APIC to PIC, but I can't give you any solid data on that, since I've always done a fresh installation in that situation, just to avoid any possible stability issues. Sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry.
In retrospect, I'd have to agree with you ... the repair probably wouldn't be sufficient ... much like when switching from ACPI to Standard PC. You <i>can</i> do it, but you might not care much for the end result.
If your computer is working okay with the APIC controller, then I wouldn't worry about starting over with the older controller. I really don't think you'll see any difference in performance. Basically, if you are able to install all your devices without odd conflicts (meaning ... conflicts that don't appear in the Device Manager, or cause driver installations to fail, for no apparent reason) then the BIOS version you are using has no conflicts with the controller, and everything is functioning normally. Be thankful, and since it's not broken ...
So far, the only time I've seen this occur has been with Intel-chipset boards, like the Intel i850 on a Giga-Byte GA-8ITXE. That one gave me a fit for a solid month, until I finally discovered the problem with the IRQ controller. It made me so crazy I was just about at the point of hiring a guy from Cherokee to come out and dance around the machine, while wearing war paint and a bear skin.
Haven't seen the problem on a single VIA board, interestingly enough.
I've seen a lot of boards that are still unstable at AGP 8x, with several different chipsets, like the SiS 648, the VIA KT400, and the P4X400 ... but some of it also seems to depend on the video card. This is apparently a real problem with Radeon 9700 cards. Sometimes the systems can't even boot with AGP 8x enabled, as mentioned <A HREF="http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4080.html" target="_new">here</A>. So far the only solution is to enable 2x or 4x, and then everything is fine. The cards run great with chipsets that only support AGP 4x, like the i845/i850 and KT333.
I think you will be looking at updating the BIOS at some time in the future, and hope that corrects the problem. What BIOS version will finally be the one that fixes the issue ... that remains to be seen. Just remember to back up the old version before flashing to the new one, because you never know how that's going to turn out.
It's not always easy to be cutting edge, which is primarily the reason that I'm still running systems that while fast enough, are not anything near what I could build, at any given point in time. I like to take nice long breaks and enjoy a few months of decent stability before jumping back into the fray and troubleshooting madly, installing drivers, tweaking with third-party apps, flashing the BIOS (both on the board and the video card), and basically just pulling out my hair, all in the name of the absolute best performance.
I'll probably build another system for myself at the end of the year, just for the newer games that will be released this summer and in the fall. But I doubt that I'll really be able to play them without having to fix <i>something</i> on a regular basis until summer of next year!
I might even wait until Longhorn is released, and <i>then</i> proceed with the nervous breakdown and sleepless nights, while I lie in bed and try to work through the latest computer adventure.
Sometimes I think I might be getting too old for this <i><font color=red>BLEEP!</font color=red></i>
Toey
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