Q: Motherboard Swap on XP System

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

My main XP Pro machine failed last night, with symptomology consistent with an
actual failure of the motherboard. I'm going to try and attack it
methodically tonight, but realistically I think the board will be "pining for
the fjords.".

I would like to take the primary disk from that machine, and cable it into the
old backup desktop machine in place of that machine's primary hard drive
while I figure out what to do. That way I won't have to spend major amounts
of time getting the Outlook .pst file moved and configured, not to mention all
the other relatively important stuff sitting on that main machine.

When I've done that in the past, that has always required a reinstall of
Windows because the motherboards are totally different architectures and
obviously take a different set of drivers and dlls and what have you.

But I have a hunch this is not necessary if one knows the right tricks or
perhaps how to run the mysterious Repair console.

Can anyone talk me through what I need to do in order to stick a hard drive
with a good, running XP Pro installation onto a foreign machine?

A second question: I run a small network at home - cable modem into SMC
Barricade 4 port hub. The failing machine connects to the hub, as does a
wireless router. I've found that when my primary machine is turned off (or in
the case of this failure, is dead) that none of my networking works - wired or
wireless. I had to cable the backup desktop machine directly into the cable
modem in order to have any connectivity. Just wired into the hub it waits
forever for an IP address. I just don't understand what the main machine has
to do with the networking process - thought that was the job of the hub. Can
anyone enlighten me?

Art

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Hello,

You will have to perform a repair install of Windows XP. Some detailed instructions on performaing
the same is mentioned here:

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

--

Anando
Microsoft MVP- Windows Shell/User
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
http://www.mvps.org


Folder customizations
http://newdelhi.sancharnet.in/minku

Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/protect


"Arthur Shapiro" <art.shapiro@unisys.com> wrote in message
news:df4nlp$1j6t$1@si05.rsvl.unisys.com...
> My main XP Pro machine failed last night, with symptomology consistent with an
> actual failure of the motherboard. I'm going to try and attack it
> methodically tonight, but realistically I think the board will be "pining for
> the fjords.".
>
> I would like to take the primary disk from that machine, and cable it into the
> old backup desktop machine in place of that machine's primary hard drive
> while I figure out what to do. That way I won't have to spend major amounts
> of time getting the Outlook .pst file moved and configured, not to mention all
> the other relatively important stuff sitting on that main machine.
>
> When I've done that in the past, that has always required a reinstall of
> Windows because the motherboards are totally different architectures and
> obviously take a different set of drivers and dlls and what have you.
>
> But I have a hunch this is not necessary if one knows the right tricks or
> perhaps how to run the mysterious Repair console.
>
> Can anyone talk me through what I need to do in order to stick a hard drive
> with a good, running XP Pro installation onto a foreign machine?
>
> A second question: I run a small network at home - cable modem into SMC
> Barricade 4 port hub. The failing machine connects to the hub, as does a
> wireless router. I've found that when my primary machine is turned off (or in
> the case of this failure, is dead) that none of my networking works - wired or
> wireless. I had to cable the backup desktop machine directly into the cable
> modem in order to have any connectivity. Just wired into the hub it waits
> forever for an IP address. I just don't understand what the main machine has
> to do with the networking process - thought that was the job of the hub. Can
> anyone enlighten me?
>
> Art

 

[Chris]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I agree with Andy. This isn't a clean process. What I would do is start the
secondary (good) machine and determine the name/brand/driver of the video,
audio, and network cards/devices and get on the Internet and download the
latest drivers to good PC's hard disk. I would then install hard disk out of
your broken machine into the good machine as a slave. Copy the drivers over
to that disk. Make a copy of your data/important files (.PST, etc.) over the
to old PC disk. That way you have a backup of your important data. In
addition, you have copy of the drivers on the disk that will now become your
primary disk. Take both drives out and place the old drive off to the side.
Install the other as the primary. Boot and hope Windows figures itself out.
Load drivers as neccessary. Like I said, it's not going to be clean (and
fun). You may be better off just buying a new motherboard and trying it in
the broken machine. If all else fails, put a slave drive in and copy your
data.

As for your network, I'm not sure I understand your configuration. If you
just have a "hub" (a dumb device) as you say, the configuration doesn't make
sense. A better way to hook them up (again, without knowing your actual
config.) would be to plug the ethernet from your cable modem into the
wireless router (which I assume has "hub" ethernet ports on it) and use the
router as the firewall and DHCP server (if it has these capabilities). You
would then plug the machine into the wireless router or plug your hub into it
and plug the machines into the hub. The reason you network doesn't work (and
I assume your just referring to Internet browsing here)when the primary
machine is down COULD be because you setup the primary machine to use its
network card with Internet Connection Sharing. Now, when that machine is
down, the other machine don't know how to get out. Plug your everything back
up the way you had it and run the Network Setup Wizard on the client machine
again.

Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

The 'TRICK" is to purchase a motherboard with same brand of chipset - i.e.
VIA - can even be a newer version of the same chipset, and XP will handle it
nicely

--
Mike Matheny

"Arthur Shapiro" <art.shapiro@unisys.com> wrote in message
news:df4nlp$1j6t$1@si05.rsvl.unisys.com...
> My main XP Pro machine failed last night, with symptomology consistent
> with an
> actual failure of the motherboard. I'm going to try and attack it
> methodically tonight, but realistically I think the board will be "pining
> for
> the fjords.".
>
> I would like to take the primary disk from that machine, and cable it into
> the
> old backup desktop machine in place of that machine's primary hard drive
> while I figure out what to do. That way I won't have to spend major
> amounts
> of time getting the Outlook .pst file moved and configured, not to mention
> all
> the other relatively important stuff sitting on that main machine.
>
> When I've done that in the past, that has always required a reinstall of
> Windows because the motherboards are totally different architectures and
> obviously take a different set of drivers and dlls and what have you.
>
> But I have a hunch this is not necessary if one knows the right tricks or
> perhaps how to run the mysterious Repair console.
>
> Can anyone talk me through what I need to do in order to stick a hard
> drive
> with a good, running XP Pro installation onto a foreign machine?
>
> A second question: I run a small network at home - cable modem into SMC
> Barricade 4 port hub. The failing machine connects to the hub, as does a
> wireless router. I've found that when my primary machine is turned off
> (or in
> the case of this failure, is dead) that none of my networking works -
> wired or
> wireless. I had to cable the backup desktop machine directly into the
> cable
> modem in order to have any connectivity. Just wired into the hub it waits
> forever for an IP address. I just don't understand what the main machine
> has
> to do with the networking process - thought that was the job of the hub.
> Can
> anyone enlighten me?
>
> Art

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

art.shapiro@unisys.com (Arthur Shapiro) wrote:

>My main XP Pro machine failed last night, with symptomology consistent with an
>actual failure of the motherboard. I'm going to try and attack it
>methodically tonight, but realistically I think the board will be "pining for
>the fjords.".
>
>I would like to take the primary disk from that machine, and cable it into the
>old backup desktop machine in place of that machine's primary hard drive
>while I figure out what to do. That way I won't have to spend major amounts
>of time getting the Outlook .pst file moved and configured, not to mention all
>the other relatively important stuff sitting on that main machine.
>
>When I've done that in the past, that has always required a reinstall of
>Windows because the motherboards are totally different architectures and
>obviously take a different set of drivers and dlls and what have you.
>
>But I have a hunch this is not necessary if one knows the right tricks or
>perhaps how to run the mysterious Repair console.
>
>Can anyone talk me through what I need to do in order to stick a hard drive
>with a good, running XP Pro installation onto a foreign machine?
>

Provided that your Windows XP is not a "BIOS Locked" OEM version all
that you need to do is a Repair Install of your Windows XP as per the
instructions at http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Note that if your installed XP has been upgraded to Service Pack 2 and
your installation CD is the original release or Service Pack 1 version
then you should create a new installation CD with Service Pack 2
slipstreamed into it. I use nlite (free) from http://www.nliteos.com

To determine if your installed Windows XP is an OEM version open
Control Panel - System and go to the General tab. Look at the 20
character Product I.D. code that is shown as the last line in the
"Registered to:" section. Note that this is *not* the same as the
Product Key used to install Windows XP. If the second segment of the
Product I.D. code reads OEM then your Windows XP is an OEM version.

To determine if your OEM version of Windows XP is BIOS Locked look on
under Accessories - System Tools on the Start menu for an "Activate
Windows" menu item. If there is no Activate Windows item on the
Accessories - System Tools menu then your OEM version is BIOS Locked.
Note 1: Some non-OEM versions, such as volume licenses, will also not
have an Activate Windows item on the menu. This does not mean that
these versions are also BIOS Locked. Only OEM versions can be BIOS
Locked.
Note 2: If you have previous (prior to 1 March 2005) replaced the
motherboard on your OEM Windows system then it still may be a BIOS
Locked version even though the Activate Windows entry is present.

BIOS Locked OEM versions are limited to using replacement motherboards
that are from the same OEM that supplied the original computer system.
Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[anna]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

> "Arthur Shapiro" <art.shapiro@unisys.com> wrote in message
> news:df4nlp$1j6t$1@si05.rsvl.unisys.com...
>> My main XP Pro machine failed last night, with symptomology consistent
>> with an
>> actual failure of the motherboard. I'm going to try and attack it
>> methodically tonight, but realistically I think the board will be "pining
>> for
>> the fjords.".
>>
>> I would like to take the primary disk from that machine, and cable it
>> into the
>> old backup desktop machine in place of that machine's primary hard drive
>> while I figure out what to do. That way I won't have to spend major
>> amounts
>> of time getting the Outlook .pst file moved and configured, not to
>> mention all
>> the other relatively important stuff sitting on that main machine.
>>
>> When I've done that in the past, that has always required a reinstall of
>> Windows because the motherboards are totally different architectures and
>> obviously take a different set of drivers and dlls and what have you.
>>
>> But I have a hunch this is not necessary if one knows the right tricks or
>> perhaps how to run the mysterious Repair console.
>>
>> Can anyone talk me through what I need to do in order to stick a hard
>> drive
>> with a good, running XP Pro installation onto a foreign machine?
>>
>> A second question: I run a small network at home - cable modem into SMC
>> Barricade 4 port hub. The failing machine connects to the hub, as does a
>> wireless router. I've found that when my primary machine is turned off
>> (or in
>> the case of this failure, is dead) that none of my networking works -
>> wired or
>> wireless. I had to cable the backup desktop machine directly into the
>> cable
>> modem in order to have any connectivity. Just wired into the hub it
>> waits
>> forever for an IP address. I just don't understand what the main machine
>> has
>> to do with the networking process - thought that was the job of the hub.
>> Can
>> anyone enlighten me?
>>
>> Art


Art:
I'll respond to your query re temporarily transferring your HD to a
different machine and let some other reader respond to your other problem
involving your home network...

I'm assuming that your HD is not defective, that you know how to install the
HD, and that you have, or can obtain, whatever drivers (sound, video, etc.)
may be necessary after you install the HD. If you're lucky, XP may pick up
at least some of them during the initial boot.

(I'm not addressing your conclusion that the basic problem you're having
lies with the motherboard.)

After you install the HD, boot up. You may be lucky and the boot will be
successful. But most likely you'll need to undertake a Repair install.
Please don't confuse this with a repair involving the Recovery console. So
boot up with the XP installation CD. On the initial "Welcome..." screen,
press your Enter key. Do NOT select the option to repair your installation
using the Recovery console. After the licensing agreement you'll have an
opportunity to select the repair option. Note that you will need your
Product Key for this procedure, so have it
handy before you begin.

See: How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm“


You can also do a Google search for “xp repair install” which will point you
to many websites that have detailed step-by-step instructions on this
process.

Anna

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Arthur Shapiro wrote:
> My main XP Pro machine failed last night, with symptomology
> consistent with an actual failure of the motherboard. I'm
> going to try and attack it methodically tonight, but
> realistically I think the board will be "pining for the
> fjords.".
>
> I would like to take the primary disk from that machine, and
> cable it into the old backup desktop machine in place of
> that machine's primary hard drive while I figure out what to
> do. That way I won't have to spend major amounts of time
> getting the Outlook .pst file moved and configured, not to
> mention all the other relatively important stuff sitting on
> that main machine.
>
> When I've done that in the past, that has always required a
> reinstall of Windows because the motherboards are totally
> different architectures and obviously take a different set
> of drivers and dlls and what have you.
>
> But I have a hunch this is not necessary if one knows the
> right tricks or perhaps how to run the mysterious Repair
> console.
>
> Can anyone talk me through what I need to do in order to
> stick a hard drive with a good, running XP Pro installation
> onto a foreign machine?
>
> A second question: I run a small network at home - cable
> modem into SMC Barricade 4 port hub. The failing machine
> connects to the hub, as does a wireless router. I've found
> that when my primary machine is turned off (or in the case
> of this failure, is dead) that none of my networking works -
> wired or wireless. I had to cable the backup desktop
> machine directly into the cable modem in order to have any
> connectivity. Just wired into the hub it waits forever for
> an IP address. I just don't understand what the main
> machine has to do with the networking process - thought that
> was the job of the hub. Can anyone enlighten me?
>
> Art

You might want to post your networking question to the
following newsgroup:

microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web

I'm not enough of a networking expert to give you a solid
reason why that's happening. I suspect the computer you're
having problems with was what's called the "Master Browser" for
you network.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Arthur Shapiro" <art.shapiro@unisys.com> wrote in message
news:df4nlp$1j6t$1@si05.rsvl.unisys.com...
> My main XP Pro machine failed last night, with symptomology consistent
> with an
> actual failure of the motherboard. I'm going to try and attack it
> methodically tonight, but realistically I think the board will be "pining
> for
> the fjords.".
>
> I would like to take the primary disk from that machine, and cable it into
> the
> old backup desktop machine in place of that machine's primary hard drive
> while I figure out what to do. That way I won't have to spend major
> amounts
> of time getting the Outlook .pst file moved and configured, not to mention
> all
> the other relatively important stuff sitting on that main machine.
>
> Can anyone talk me through what I need to do in order to stick a hard
> drive
> with a good, running XP Pro installation onto a foreign machine?
>


XP does not take kindly to waking up in a different environment to which it
went to sleep; i.e. there is no easy way to transplant the HD from one
system to the other unless a) the systems are near identical or b) you were
able to remove most of the device drivers from the HD prior to the crash
(which is unlikely).

It is not so much the system files that are the problem but the fact that
the motherboard chipset drivers and all the device drivers do not match the
hardware installed in the other machine.

One hope of recovery you .pst file is to try and get to a DOS / command
prompt using a boot disk and pull the file of the HD that way. Read up on
using shortened file names in DOS first though.

Andy

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Andrew" <andrewportess@nospamhotmail.com> wrote:

>
>XP does not take kindly to waking up in a different environment to which it
>went to sleep; i.e. there is no easy way to transplant the HD from one
>system to the other unless a) the systems are near identical or b) you were
>able to remove most of the device drivers from the HD prior to the crash
>(which is unlikely).

That is not correct. It can be done, and a large number of people
have done so successfully.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Thanks for all the responses, people. Regarding the networking: it is
connected in the normal way - cable modem to router, with the failing machine
cabled to one router port, a big Unisys networked printer on another port, and
the wireless router on a third port. Now a 100 foot cable connects the fourth
port to the backup desktop machine (because networking is down). I still
can't explain it.

I'm now convinced the MB is bad - nothing I could do with a completely
stripped machine could get it to even start to come up.

I just took the hard drive out and cabled it into the backup machine, so that
I could copy files just in case my attempts to use it (for real) in the backup
machine destroy things. And I ran into an unexpected problem - can anyone
help?

It turns out that this drive from the failing machine is partitioned in two,
for reasons that were necessary at the time but have since become a real
nuisance. The Windows happens to be on the second partition, which my failing
machine always saw as an E: drive. (D: is another disk in the dead machine,
and C: of course is the first partition on the drive in question.) And I can
only see the non-windows partion , which the backup machine considers its E:
drive. The Windows partion, which I'd hope would be F:, is nowhere to be
found. A message flashed by too quckly to read as I booted up, with the words
"secondary partition" as part of the message. Thus I'm unable to backup most
of my critical stuff. Yes, I'm running under an administrative account on
this backup machine.

Is this a security issue? Boy, would I love to get a copy of the pst file and
my My Documents and my Quicken data, just to start, but they are all on the
Windows partition that I can't currently see.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Arthur Shapiro wrote:
> Thanks for all the responses, people. Regarding the
> networking: it is connected in the normal way - cable modem
> to router, with the failing machine cabled to one router
> port, a big Unisys networked printer on another port, and
> the wireless router on a third port. Now a 100 foot cable
> connects the fourth port to the backup desktop machine
> (because networking is down). I still can't explain it.
>
> I'm now convinced the MB is bad - nothing I could do with a
> completely stripped machine could get it to even start to
> come up.
>
> I just took the hard drive out and cabled it into the backup
> machine, so that I could copy files just in case my attempts
> to use it (for real) in the backup machine destroy things.
> And I ran into an unexpected problem - can anyone help?
>
> It turns out that this drive from the failing machine is
> partitioned in two, for reasons that were necessary at the
> time but have since become a real nuisance. The Windows
> happens to be on the second partition, which my failing
> machine always saw as an E: drive. (D: is another disk in
> the dead machine, and C: of course is the first partition on
> the drive in question.) And I can only see the non-windows
> partion , which the backup machine considers its E: drive.
> The Windows partion, which I'd hope would be F:, is nowhere
> to be found. A message flashed by too quckly to read as I
> booted up, with the words "secondary partition" as part of
> the message. Thus I'm unable to backup most of my critical
> stuff. Yes, I'm running under an administrative account on
> this backup machine.
>
> Is this a security issue? Boy, would I love to get a copy
> of the pst file and my My Documents and my Quicken data,
> just to start, but they are all on the Windows partition
> that I can't currently see.


What version of Windows is installed on your backup machine? If
it's Windows 98, it won't be able to read an NTFS partition.
I'd guess that the first partition on that hard drive (the one
you can see) is formatted with FAT32 and the second partition
is formatted NTFS. Take the HD out and put it in a machine
running Windows XP or 2000.

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

In article <dp-dneimD65f-4veRVn-sw@comcast.com>, "Nepatsfan" <nepatsfan@SBXXXIX.com> wrote:

>What version of Windows is installed on your backup machine? If
>it's Windows 98, it won't be able to read an NTFS partition.

It's XP Pro as well. I discovered that the message was merely complaining
about the non-80 conductor cable (I'd used the CD rom's cabling out of
convenience, as it was long enough to let me sit the drive on the floor.)

I just disconnected the backup machine's second hard drive, in case there was
some sort of partition limit, without affecting anything.

So I'm getting real close to just cabling the failing machine's drive into the
backup machine, without backing it up first, and hoping that a repair
installation doesn't nuke anything critical.

And my blathering about the fourth port on the hub in the last message was
complete garbage - networking doesn't work so I've run the 100 foot cable
directly into the cable modem. That problem is minor at this point.

I also have to decide now between:

a). a moderate new Athlon MB;
b) a really high-end Athlon MB;
c) taking the jump to Athlon 64 and new MB.