Switching MotherBoards

[Sup3rkirby]

Now for the tricky part. I'm on an Acer Apsire AM1641-U1521A PC. In short, this is(obviously) a store bought PC. Now, relatively soon, I'll be getting in some more parts, and assembling a PC, but due to a tight budget, I was not able to purchase enough(quality) parts for an entirely new PC. Thus, things such as an HDD, DVD Drive(and for the moment a processor), will be put on hold. So, as to not lose my current PC and all of the data on this drive(name programs and works I've done), I would very much like to keep the OS intact and simply run my current system on better hardware.

 

I do know that this can be done, and I've talked to friends and read articles. But, just as I've been told, and have read, for this to take place, you need your OS installation disc. Essentially, the hard drive has to be set up to work with the new motherboard, and the methods used to do this need some recovery driver information from the OS installation disc.

 

 

So yes, the tricky part. I'm on a store bought PC, and given this model, I do not have an OS installation disc, and also I seem to not even have recovery disc(and I'm not sure that would make a difference). I have a recovery partition, but I was unable to find any way to make a recovery disc, assuming this disc would even have the needed data to get my OS functioning with a new motherboard. There is no PC utility that I know of(which would have been preinstalled and used to create the disc). I only mention this much because perhaps someone else has been in a similar situation, and may have a solution.

 

 

If not, then my only thought to a solution would be, obtain a copy of my OS installation disc, and try to use that. I have Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 currently. So of course there is no actuall installation disc, but if I were to obtain a copy of an installation disc for Windows Vista Home Premium SP2, perhaps this could work, as all of the disc information that is needed should be generic.

 

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/0...creen-of-death/

 

That article was what I planned to use as a basis to transfer my HDD and OS over to my new motherboard. It of course required the OS installation disc. So I suppose the definite wonder and qusetion is if using a seperate copy of a Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 installation disc(for instance, if I bought one from a local retailer), would this serve its purpose and would I be able to retain all of my information still?

 

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Turophiliac]

I don't believe you need to reinstall your OS when you switch mobos, I actually switched a couple days ago, and all it required was a re-activation of my windows copy. The window popped up, and I clicked activate, and it was all done.

 

EDIT: Also, if you need a windows install disk, torrenting a copy isn't illegal, just use your existing key code, probably on your tower somewhere.

Edited May 8, 2009 by Turophiliac

[paulktreg]

Have a look at this.

 

Hope it helps.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Sup3rkirby]

Thanks for the help guys.

 

I knew I didn't need to reinstall the OS, but I wasn't sure how to upgate the motherboard drivers in any way so that the new motherboard would work. I just kept getting the BSOD, but I should be able to get the new motherboard running with my system now.

 

Again, thanks.

[Sup3rkirby]

I seem to be in quite the pickle here. My new parts are in, I've hooked up my PC and on every boot Windows comes to the BSOD, then restarts. It is an endless cycle.

 

Following the link you provided, Paul, I used the advice, but it seems to be useless to me.

 

Method 1: I obviously need a CD/DVD for my OS to do an Overlay Install(which I don't get for my store bought PC). I may have to download a version, but as of right now, I can do nothing with this method.

 

Method 2: I followed the instructions clearly, but of course when browsing the drivers, there was only one available, which was "Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller" and was currently installed and up-to-date. Even the link I provided suggested this as a primary method(and actually shows the exact driver I have listed). But of course I am at the BSOD situation still, despite this.

 

Method 3: Obviously this would have required me to purchase a board based on my previous one, and won't do me any good.

 

Method 4: I do not have a stand alone IDE controller card or SATA card. End of story.

 

 

 

So then... now I have a PC that I can't use, and as to not continually move a CPU from MB to MB over an over, surely there is a way. I couldn't imagine I would be the only one who seems to have trouble with the main methods of switching a HDD to a new MB. I suppose I'll see if I can find a DVD of my OS install disc and work from there, but that isn't a 100% guarantee and i'm trying to not lose any data currently.

[paulktreg]

Will it boot in safe mode?

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Sup3rkirby]

Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and many of the other various options all fail. The only thing that has actually started was the built in Recovery Console, which finds no problems and can only suggest a System Restore, which does nothing.

 

 

I did just find an interesting thread which definitely makes my situation look grim:

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-445891.html

 

 

It would appear that even if I were able to boot Vista, I would run in to a few activation problems... I have another 2 hours before my Vista DVD is ready, so all I can do now is hope for the best with that DVD unless a new solution comes up.

[Verran]

Why don't people just suck it up and format? It'll do you good anyways. A freshly formatted disk always runs better and you're going to spend as much time finding a work-around as you would just backing up and reinstalling. <sigh>

[dr_bowtie]

if you are changing chipsets (IE: Intel to Nvidia) changing the boards will NOT work without a repair install of the OS....just aint going to happen....

 

 

I would HIGHLY suggest you put the old hardware back in and back up everything...just incase you do the repair instal and you lose everything in the process which could happen...

[Sup3rkirby]

Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with freshly installed Operating Systems, but it is the amount and importance of data on this hard drive which makes it essential that none of it is lost. I'd much rather spend days on a work around than years trying to gain back or figure out what was lost. I don't currently have an storage device big enough to copy, transfer or backup the files on this PC, which is why I was so persistant on simply finding a way to switch the HDD to a new motherboard.

 

 

After some thinking, I have a few questions though. Is it possible to install/update or change drivers under a different OS, such as a version of linux? Also, if I were to make a complete backup, how well would things work after switching motherboards, installing my OS over, then restoring the backup? Windows Vista seems to have a built-in back-up system, but I've never fiddled with this, so I can't say how well it works. The only back-up software I've used was Acronis, which was just a full partition back-up, and in my case would just restore the drivers that do not work.

[shibby_geek_guy_69]

Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with freshly installed Operating Systems, but it is the amount and importance of data on this hard drive which makes it essential that none of it is lost. I'd much rather spend days on a work around than years trying to gain back or figure out what was lost. I don't currently have an storage device big enough to copy, transfer or backup the files on this PC, which is why I was so persistant on simply finding a way to switch the HDD to a new motherboard.

 

 

After some thinking, I have a few questions though. Is it possible to install/update or change drivers under a different OS, such as a version of linux? Also, if I were to make a complete backup, how well would things work after switching motherboards, installing my OS over, then restoring the backup? Windows Vista seems to have a built-in back-up system, but I've never fiddled with this, so I can't say how well it works. The only back-up software I've used was Acronis, which was just a full partition back-up, and in my case would just restore the drivers that do not work.

How much data do you actually have that needs backing up in the even of a full format?

 

For arguments sake, lets say you ARE going to wipe the slate.

 

You dont have another machine on the network with a few gb's free for the data?

 

You cant have a mate come over with a laptop and a crossover cable, and boot into knoppix?

 

You cant Install windows onto a old defunct HDD? I Run my windows partition on a 10gb drive...purely because when need be, i can just format.

 

Is that an option?

 

Not knocking the way you want to do things, jsut asking a few questions to get you thinking...

 

Cant you afford to go buy a 500gb or 1tb external drive to throw all the good stuff on? what are they worth these days?

[Sup3rkirby]

Well, my problem revolves around the fact that I have 1 PC, and this laptop(which is what I've been using to post). I have a 160GB external drive(which already has a nice bit of backup data from a few years back. But even if that were empty, the HDD I want to back up probably has somewhere around 250GB or more of data.

 

Due to budget issues, I won't be getting a new HDD or external HDD anytime soon. So it appears that my current situation will lead me to having to back up as much as possible, and then doing a clean install. This is my main PC, filled with a lot of coding projects, programs, graphics and various other development data. Essentially all things that aren't so great to lose because they aren't easy to recreate. Why switch motherboards on my main PC? Because I can't afford to build/buy a new one, only a few(essential) parts and I need the upgrades to help with some current projects.

 

So, since I need this working a.s.a.p. I suppose there will be a little sacrafice involved. After doing some searching online before hand, it really seemed as if this was rather common, and simple, but now it seems that it has recently become less possible, and other methods/options are being used.

 

 

Thank you all for your help and advice in this issue so far.