Swapping mobo, hdd etc etc...

You could get xp oem, it's like $85-90 usd. As I read the license, as long as you are upgrading something essential to the operation of the pc, you can buy oem(and save half) and use it instead of retail.

That said, you might be able to get your current xp to work, if you have a xp reinstall cd with your pc. If you have a "restore cd" instead of an xp cd, it likely won't work, but if you have a xp cd with your system you can likely do a repair install to get it to work. Not 100% success rate, but you have a decent chance. When I did this, I went into dev. manager, and removed everything that would be different on the new board, like integrated sound/video, ide controller, integrated network controller, etc. I then shut it off, replaced the board, rebooted, inserted xp cd, did repair install(not recovery console, google for "repair install xp" for more info on repair installs), and then it booted windows w/o reinstalling.

Here's an article.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;824125

 

Also, suppport for Windows XP Home has been extended to two years after the introduction of Vista.

 

thanx for the replies! but the problem with the reinstall cd or restore cd is that i dont have one at least im fairly certain i dont i can always go through what came with the emachine but i was pretty sure i didnt see one :/ , but hey ill give it a shot and look for it.

and is the xp oem that u can buy good? ive heard so many bad revies about having to register it iver few months or something and the only way u can is if u call microsoft? i really dont know but thats what ive heard on it. otherwise i can always resort to that

thanks for helpin, but i was wondering if this actually works or will it really just screw things up http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com/windowsxp/articles/376/1/Changing-Motherboards i came across it in a google search a while back and was wondering if it was worth giving a shot it seemed to easy though...

 

(srry to dbl post)

Hey! i found the reinstallation CD for windows XP Home Edition! problem is it is from my old gateway i had before the emachine which is no longer :/

im pretty sure it wont be of any use though since it says clearly on the cd "to be used with a new gateway PC support provided by Gateway"

 

That link is worth a try. The more change there is between the boards, the less likely it will work, but in any case it's worth a try. In my case it wasn't a huge change, from a 845gl based board to a 865g. I have xp oem. It asked me activate windows(online) the first time I booted, so I did, and it worked without a hitch. If you have problems activating online, you can call microsoft, and they will help. I've done this as well, and I was pleasantly surprised with microsoft's support. The only time you have to reactiveate is if you reinstall windows, or make major hardware changes to the pc.
(remember to backup your data onto something like cd's or dvd's before you try changing boards, or reinstalling xp, if you have any important data. Better safe than sorry...).

 

alright i gues ill give it a shot tyvm for your opinion

ok i dl'd free trial for a program called Stomp Soft's PCBackup http://www.stompsoft.com/pc-backup/pc-backup.html?SourceID=BUMP_301
and i was wondering if this will work and if possible would like to know what to backup and what not to and even what to back up to

 

alright, well ive decided to use nero startsmart for backing them up and i attmepted to do it using cd-r's and thats all i have becides dvd-rw's but i heard u cant do it on rw's and only on r's but i dont know why it makes a difference. at the rate im going with these cd's its going to take a long time with hundreds of cd-r's... so would the dvd's work?

oh and btw i wasnt 100% on all the stuff i needed to backup on cd's so i basically selected everything i could except some things i didnt want like a few games and junk like that but i really am not sure for this is my first time backing it all up

 

I've never heard of not being able to backup to dvd-rw, I'd think it'd work fine.

When I backup, I usually just save my "documents and settings" folder(I have all my important stuff there, but your organization may vary), as well as backup my email and saving my browser bookmarks.

I'd say if in doubt, save the file. No use saving anything like games or programs, just reinstall those from the cd or download file. Best wishes.

Vnf4ultra

 

alright sounds good i think it was overclockersclub.com on the forums i saw it but i didnt really understand there argument over it but no big deal

not really sure what ill do if it doesnt work but i guess ill give it a shot thanks again for the help