transferring XP install w/ keeping some components

[Chris Chan]

See the Dell in my sig? It's undercooled, hot, and LOUD and I want to transfer its components to a real computer config. As in, nothing proprietary. I'm keeping the 2 HDDs, proc, RAM, and video card, but getting a real case (Ever Case 4252) and a real uATX motherboard (Gigabyte 8IG1000MK). Will Windoze give me hell about switching the motherboard? Will the installed Dell programs (that I never use anyway) give me hell about being run on a non-Dell? TIA for your help.

 

[Geoff]

Theres a chance that when you install a new motherboard, Windows may not boot. So you should make a backup of everything you need in case that happens.

As for the Dell programs, i dont think it would give you too much trouble, it may just give you error messages saying it cant find certain hardware. I would uninstall all the Dell apps before using the new motherboard.

There a thought in my mind saying that Windows wont load properly because it was made specifically for Dell, and if you dont use a Dell motherboard the OS may not work. But im not sure on that, so you should have someone else confirm whether it's true or not.

 

[OvenMaster]

I've read that trying to use a Dell OEM XP disk on a non-Dell machine will fail because the installer looks for Dell BIOS strings. There may be registry-hardware links unique to Dell installs that may cause hangs, as well, if they are not in place. Just my two cents.
Tom

 

[Chris Chan]

grr... harder than I thought. I may be able to get XP from a friend though, if the existing Dell XP doesn't work. Dell sucks.