Q's on Firing Up a New Mobo

[macx]

Going to take the big plunge with a new case & power supply, new ASUS mobo, new P4, new RAM.

Going to use the existing HDs, DVD burner, and PC cards from my existing unit.

I have installed 1 mobo, but much simpler one than this one, and was quite some time ago.

My new one is an ASUS P4C800-E Del, w/a 2.8 P4 Northwood & 1G of Samsung ram off the compatible list.

I've got the manual and have been studying it.
I don't anticipate problems with the physical
install.

Main Q is should I start it up and configure the
mobo before I hook up my HD?

I am going to back up the entire HD onto another
drive before I install it.

I'm also going to upgrade from SE to XP Home
to take advantage of the hyperthreading.

When would be the best time to do that? Before
I take the HD out of the old unit, or after I get
the new one all up and running incl the HD?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[DonNagual]

If I am understanding you right, it sounds like you are planning on taking your hard drive from your old computer, plug it into your new computer and expect to be able to run windows just like that?

If I am understanding you right, unfortunately you won't be able to do that, as the hardware of the two computers are very different. You will have to do a fresh install of windows from scratch. Once you have the system put together (including the hard drive), pop the XP cd in, and start up your computer to do a new install fo XP.

Of course, backing up all your important stuff off that hard drive, as it will be completely erased when you format it before the installation.

 

[Tedster]

do all your backups before removals.

test components as you add them.

test your motherboard first with a POST before you add the HD.
Then add the HDs and retest.

 

[macx]

That's a start.

First, do I understand correctly that the SE on my existing
HD in my old unit wouldn't run on the new mobo?

As I understand things, the mobo runs off the chipset on
it, and Windows (whatever version) is the OS for what's
in the HD?

Otherwise, how could many different mobo types and
computer types run the same version of Windows?

That's the kind of things I need to learn.

I absolutely plan to back up the entire HD to another
one before I remove it (using Drive2Drive) - I've done
that before - after, of course, losing a drive and having
to reinstall and reformat everything. Never Again!!

Now - back to the new rig.
As far as I can remember, and it's been several years,
when I put a new mobo in my exiting unit, I installed
the new mobo & RAM (different brand, faster speed) and then reinstalled my existing HD and other drives & cards.
No problem. Later went a faster processor/ram on the same mobo and HD w/no problems. I guess that's why I thought I could do essentially the same thing here.

This Asus board takes standard PCI cards, and EIDE
drives (dual capability SATA & EIDE), so my stuff should all plug right in. That's why I am going with this one instead of i.e. a 64 bit setup with a mobo that only takes
the newer higher v PC type cards (besides the always present budget considerations for the higher cost of
the "latest & greatest").

Now - enlighten me some more if you will.

I did think I should likely configure & test the board
before I plug in the HD. Could you please explain
"POST"?

As far as installing the XP, do I really need to totally
reformat the HD to do that? From what I
remember, I didn't have to when I went from
95 to 98 & then SE. I just don't remember or
know for sure about uninstalling the SE then
installing the XP, or will the XP take care of that
during the install?

I really didn't think I'd have to totally wipe the
HD and reinstall everything. And the XP should
run all the apps that the SE ran, not?

If I DO have to reformat & wipe the HD, can I then
copy everything but the SE OS back to it from
the backup drive after I install XP? Meaning
both files and apps.

Appreciate all the info! I definitely have my
limits when it comes to installing & formatting
& troubleshooting software.

 

[Tedster]

that is correct. The drivers and specifics for your new motherboard are different from your old. Therefore 98SE will not run correctly on the new system.

This is even more so with XP - XP is licensed for only one motherboard (system) at a time.

 

[macx]

It's New HD Time!

Just took a quick look around, didn't realize
HD prices have come down that much!

Also took another look at the Asus board specs,
it can handle 2 U-ATA drives and 2 SATA drives.

As I'm gearing up primarily to work with digital
video, which takes a lot of storage, I'll invest
in at least one new SATA HD.

Would it be better to use my U-ATA drive for the XP,
or would it be better to use a faster SATA drive for
the OS?

AND would it work to use a separate drive
for the other apps (like Nero, Norton, Netscape,
etc etc)? I've got another 30g U-ATA I could use.

That way if I have to redo the XP, for instance,
I've got it on a separate drive all by itself
and don't have to worry about losing or
having to reload & reconfigure everything else.

Then a larger SATA drive strictly for video work,
and a drive for my regular files.

Appreciate you helping me head off what may
have been a real problem!

 

[DonNagual]

That's a start.

First, do I understand correctly that the SE on my existing
HD in my old unit wouldn't run on the new mobo?

As I understand things, the mobo runs off the chipset on
it, and Windows (whatever version) is the OS for what's
in the HD?

Otherwise, how could many different mobo types and
computer types run the same version of Windows?

That's the kind of things I need to learn.

Yep. You got it right now. When you load up windows, it also loads up all the drivers for your hardware. If you popped your old hard drive into the new computer and tried to start up that installation of windows, it would have the drivers for your old computer loaded into it (chipset drivers, video card drivers etc.) and would crash instantly when you tried to fire it up.

 

[DonNagual]

As far as installing the XP, do I really need to totally
reformat the HD to do that? From what I
remember, I didn't have to when I went from
95 to 98 & then SE. I just don't remember or
know for sure about uninstalling the SE then
installing the XP, or will the XP take care of that
during the install?

Yes, I would recommend reformatting your hard disk. It'll give you a fresh clean hard drive to install XP onto. When you went from 95 to 98, you probably did an upgrade version. If you were simply wanting to go from 98 to XP, you normally could again do the upgrade version and not need to reformat the hard drive, but in your case you are changing your computer hardware completely so the upgrade is not an option for you.

You don't have to uninstall your old version of windows. Formatting it will erase all that for you. By the way, when you put the XP CD in for the first time, in the setup process it will ask you if you want to format, this is the step you do it in (just so you know WHEN the format takes place).

I really didn't think I'd have to totally wipe the
HD and reinstall everything. And the XP should
run all the apps that the SE ran, not?

Officially, yes. But if you want to be 100% sure, I would go to the website of the software in question and confirm with the maker just to be sure.

If I DO have to reformat & wipe the HD, can I then
copy everything but the SE OS back to it from
the backup drive after I install XP? Meaning
both files and apps.

Yes, you can copy any files you like back onto the hard drive. But as for your applications, I would actually recommend reinstalling them from scratch as well. If you don't use the install programs to install them, then it can't put all the necessary entries into your registry and won't run properly if at all.