Hello there,

My computer has recently broken down and i am looking to replace several of the components. I will be getting a new motherboard, ram, processor and graphics card. In order to save money i will be using all the over hardware already in my pc, that is the case, power supply, dvd drive and Hard Drive. The hard drive has XP installed. Furthermore, the hard drive has had all the hardware drivers for the old components installed on it. What i want to know is whether this will be a problem when i try to use new hardware with it, as i cannot now load up the computer and uninstall the drivers as the computer is broken.

Furthermore, i would like to know whether it is possible to put two hard drives onto noe motherboard, as the hard drive i am using is almost full (only 80GB), so i could do with more space. (i am really only using the old hard drive for XP and some important data on there)(if you're wondering why i couldn't install XP on another hard drive, i have lost the disk.)

Thank you for any help.

you'll need to do a repair install of windows (instructions at the bottom of this post) on the FIRST BOOT of the system...this will wipe the drivers from the previous install and put in the applicable windows drivers...you'll still have to install the current drivers for the new devices...but you won't get any funky errors

yep...as simple as jumpering one drive as master (the one with XP) and the other as slave and connecting them to the computer...unless their sata drives...in which case there are no jumpers

since you said you don't have your XP disk...this next bit will probably be difficult...you'll need to get your hands on a disk that is the same version (xp home or XP pro) and the same SP level (sp1 or sp2) as was originally installed on the system
Repair the Windows XP installation.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive is the first priority startup device.
   See your computer documentation for information about how to do this.
2. Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.
3. When the instruction to "Press any key to boot from CD" appears, press a key. Your computer starts from the Windows XP CD.
4. When the computer starts from the CD, the system verifies your hardware, and then prompts you to select one of the following options:
   

   - To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER
   - To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
   - To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

5. Press ENTER.
6. Press F8 to accept the Licensing Agreement.
7. A box lists your current Windows XP installation, and then the computer prompts you to select one of the following options:
   

   - To repair the selected Windows XP installation, press R.
   - To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing, press ESC.

8. Press R.

You'll get to keep your existing apps & settings, but you need to re-install SP2, Windows Updates & any unsigned drivers afterwards.
NOTE: Be aware that you'll lose any protection from Blaster / Sasser type worms. Don't go online without a firewall, whether the built in Windows one or 3rd party.

How to Perform A Re-Install Of XP.

Okay, thanks a lot for your help, I'll do that when i get the new stuff.

Edit: Just went looking for the old Xp copy and was able to find it so there shouldn't be any problem there

This post has been edited by someguy12: Mar 12 2008, 02:19 PM