[GhostLoad]

Okay I guess I said that in a confusing manner. I wad paraphrasing what you said previously. I'll try again. No, not "nothing on it", it's 3/4 full of my stuff. It it's not empty, not formatted clean. It has ask my files and such from a week ago, before my motherboard originally crapped out on me. Sorry if my wording before confused you.

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OK so you need to do a clean install of the OS on it. This means that anything on the drive will be erased when you format it.

[rshaffer61]

OK so you need to do a clean install of the OS on it. This means that anything on the drive will be erased when you format it.

[GhostLoad]

Okay... I can't do that. Can't afford to lose all my non-backed up files. What other options do I have?

[rshaffer61]

Well that is a problem because you have a new system without a hard drive at this point. You need to have a main drive that you can load the OS so the system will boot.
Now it all makes sense why you can't boot up right now. You can't take a secondary drive out of one system and put it in another system and it works. The main drive contains the OS I'm figuring in the other system. Correct?

[GhostLoad]

No, I only have 1 PC. The one I just put new components in. I only have 1 hard drive. I think one of us is confused, just not sure id it's you or I.

Edit: I never took my hard drive out of my PC in three first place. Just unplugged it, installed my new motherboard (and all my other new components) and then hooked it back up to my new motherboard.

Edited by GhostLoad, 14 March 2012 - 12:24 PM.

[rshaffer61]

OK now I get it. So the system starts to boot and then reboots itself correct?

[GhostLoad]

It just goes to that windows error screen, telling me I can try to repair (every time I do, it tells me it can't figure out what's wrong) or boot windows normally. If I choose boot normally, it just reboots and we start over once more. Also, F8 isn't pulling up an option to boot into safe mode, it just gives me the BIOS list of places I can boot off of.

[rshaffer61]

Yep what it is saying is that you replaced the motherboard and now the drivers that are loaded on the hard drive will not work with the new motherboard. Since your OS disk is a OEM then it loaded with drivers for the old board and it is what we call is married to that motherboard right now.
What you can do is boot to the OS disk and try a repair installation. If that doesn't work then your only option at that point is to backup the data on the drive or purchase a new drive strictly for the OS.

[GhostLoad]

Great, so now either way, I'm temporarily SoL. My current drive isn't SATA, so I can't even connect it to my new motherboard.

[rshaffer61]

My current drive isn't SATA, so I can't even connect it to my new motherboard

So how have you been connecting it through all this to the new motherboard? You said you tried all the SATA ports and it wouldn't boot so I thought it was a sata drive.
You can get a adapter but that won't matter anyway since it is going to be used when the RMA board arrives correct?
Brand New 320 gig SATA hard drive HERE

[GhostLoad]

Sorry, my current CD drive isn't SATA.

Edit: I guess I'm looking at these components...

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827135204

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136533

Edited by GhostLoad, 14 March 2012 - 02:28 PM.

[rshaffer61]

OK those would work in your system with the new motherboard. Now question for you. Is it just data you need to make sure is safe or are there programs also? The reason I ask is because the programs would have to be reinstalled in order to work on the fresh install of the OS.

[GhostLoad]

All the programs I use are downloaded online (Blender, Skype, etc) or are video games I can easily download or install from CD.

[rshaffer61]

OK you should be good then with a new hard drive and a new cdrom drive. Make sure the new drive is in the first SATA port. Second drive on the second port and the cdrom on any other port.
When you install make sure to pay close attention what drive you are installing to or you could accidentally format the wrong drive. Better yet I would suggest not even connecting the old drive till you have the new installed OS completed.

[GhostLoad]

The new parts should be here tomorrow. I'll post when they get here and let you know how things go.