Upgrading everything, able to use same HDD?

[guitto]

Ive always been reluctant to build a new system due to everything I have on my old. my old is a windows XP socket 939 AMD 3800+. I am planning on building a 6400+ AM2 socket. If I were to just take the HDD and put it as the master HDD in the new system (everything new, from mobo/gpus to cd drive and memory and cpu) would it still work? On the driver is Win XP.

Thanks!

 

[Fragrant Coit]

You should really do a fresh install, but at a pinch, you can do a "Repair Install".

Just boot from your XP CD, follow the prompts and when it gets to the Install page - where you can partition etc, choose "Repair". it will re-install XP, leaving all your Documents, Programs intact.

Then run your new Motherboard Driver CD through and you should be sweet.

 

[guitto]

I just have so much information that I'm not willing to give up, nor do I wish to go to Vista. So I should plug in the HDD. Boot from the CD, not HDD, and there will be an option to repair? After that, will I be at the Windows Home when I put the motherboard driver cd in, thanks!

 

[Fragrant Coit]

Basically, you are reinstalling Windows without affecting your data so it recognises all your new goodies. You may have to Activate Windows again too, but thats no hassle.

Once the install has run it's course, you'll be at your familiar desktop, thats when you install the new Drivers.