PC upgrade but keeping the same HD??

[Lee Bartholomew]

Dont know if this is possible. I haven't found anything on the net yet but I have just upgraded my MB processor, memory Graphics card etc. Basicaly a new machine but want to use my old HD with Vista installed.

When I boot it up, it just Blue screens on me and resets. Any Ideas?

[Dreadful Scathe]

Vista sucks ? That wouldnt work first time even with XP. You'll need to install and read the HD from your new install. A little pre-emptive backup next time ?

[killingtime]

Originally Posted by Lee Bartholomew

When I boot it up, it just Blue screens on me and resets. Any Ideas?

Like DS says sounds like you'll need to reinstall. I would have hoped that by Vista MS would have sorted that issue but apparently not. Basically the OS just freaks at how much the hardware has changed and just dies (rather than uninstall old hardware and scan for new stuff).

I've tried many times (though I do always backup) doing things like this with XP and it has never succeeded in not dying with a new major hardware change.

[Lee Bartholomew]

It sometimes works xp and apparently vista too. I do have a back up of all data etc just getting vista to work will be the easier option rather than having to instal and activate tones of programs etc.

[DundeeDancer]

Boot from the Vista install CD and you may have a few options from there. Guess you might need to re-install Vista but try to go for an upgrade install instead of a fresh install. Avoid reformatting the disk at all costs!

Good luck, DD.

[DavidB]

If you have an OEM version of Vista, then you can't upgrade the motherboard. You can only do this with the full version of Vista. (This is why the OEM versions are so much cheaper.)

(However you can do a clean install from an upgrade disk if you have one.)

You can try inserting the Vista DVD and booting from it. You might be able to repair the installation, or upgrade it.

I would usually buy a new hard disk, install Vista and everything else from scratch onto it, and then add the original disk as a secondary disk (either internally or in a USB caddy). I can then copy the data over.

[bigdjiver]

Originally Posted by Lee Bartholomew

Dont know if this is possible. I haven't found anything on the net yet but I have just upgraded my MB processor, memory Graphics card etc. Basicaly a new machine but want to use my old HD with Vista installed.

When I boot it up, it just Blue screens on me and resets. Any Ideas?

and you could buy a new HD and install it on you old machine and want to run Vista on that. You would end up with two PC's running copies of Vista, having only paid for one. That does not resemble the Microsoft that I know ....

[Vegetable]

to be fair last pc i built on vista, had all the drivers for motherboard etc.. and just worked, jus re format ur hardrive and re install windows. but xp Pro+ is 50 times better than vista, its crap, VISTA SUKS DOWN WITH VISTA FOREVER, they shud sorted all the bugs before bringing it out tbh irl.

[frodo]

Originally Posted by Lee Bartholomew

Dont know if this is possible. I haven't found anything on the net yet but I have just upgraded my MB processor, memory Graphics card etc. Basicaly a new machine but want to use my old HD with Vista installed.

When I boot it up, it just Blue screens on me and resets. Any Ideas?

For Windows 2000/XP/2003 if the new motherboard had a different IDE controller family it was usually necessary to prepare the registry/extract the drivers either online or offline to avoid a blue screen, and have it work straight off.

Microsoft should have fixed it by Vista ....


Activation may well be a problem, but that isn't a good reason for it to blue screen.

[bigdjiver]

Originally Posted by Lee Bartholomew

... When I boot it up, it just Blue screens on me and resets. Any Ideas?

I do not have Vista, and know little about it. Based on experience with its predecessors:

I would first back up the HD on the original syatem, making sure I had the means of restoring it.
I would then delete all of the devices on the old system.

Under the old operating systems this would give the message that you have to reboot for these changes to take effect (it cannot chop off its own legs whilst it is running.)

Under the old systems when you changed motherboards it would then look around to see if there was anything it could run on, and install the new drivers.

No guarantees, at your own risk, someone has forged my sig etc

[Lee Bartholomew]

Got it going.

Just run fixboot from command console off vista DVD.

Once got vista running, lots of problems with other programs (Nero, bitcomet, Napster etc).

Just formated disk and started again as programs needed re-doing anyway.

[bigdjiver]

Originally Posted by Lee Bartholomew

Got it going.

Just run fixboot from command console off vista DVD.

Once got vista running, lots of problems with other programs (Nero, bitcomet, Napster etc).

Just formated disk and started again as programs needed re-doing anyway.

Congrats. It does strike me that in their efforts to make their operating systems foolproof they are going some of the way to making them expert proof too.