New motherboard / now what?

[gabadilla]

I just received my intel815ep chipset mobo. I'm very excited and I'm wondering what the next step is. Obviously, I have to install it, but I have a couple of questions for the seasoned veterans.

1.) Is it possible to just switch the old mobo with the new one and still retain all data on my hardrives and such. Or is it best to reformat everything and start fresh? The reason I ask is because my system is so stable right now, but I needed more pci slots so I opted for another motherboard.

2.) If I have to reformat everything and reinstall windows, can anyone point me in the right direction or show me a tutorial of how to go about doing such a thing. I'm just worried about everything working when it's all put together again, and I'd like this to be as stress-less as possible.

3.) Any other comments / suggestions?

As always, thanks a lot everyone for your continued help!

Gabe

My Current System

pIII 1 ghz
512 pc133 ram
30 gig 7200 hd
windows ME
digi001, ptle 5.1 [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[zboy2854]

Since Win 98/Me is plug and play, you can get away with installing the new motherboard without reformatting and reinstalling the OS. When you boot up with the new mobo installed Windows should automatically detect the changes and adjust accordingly. You'll probably need to install the new drivers from the motherboard's CD-ROM (if it came with one). My recommendation is to go ahead and try the new mobo without reformatting and reinstalling. If it doesn't work or gives you problems, you'll end up having to reformat and reinstall later anyway, so it's worth a shot first.

[Mark_Knecht]

I agree. I don't think you'll have to reformat. At worst, if it's not seeing your disk drive, but can see your CDROM, then insert the Win ME CD and it will probably take care of everything for you.

BE SURE YOU HAVE BACKED UP YOUR DATA FIRST!!!

Cheers,
Mark

[JMS40]

I've done this 4 times in the past 6 months, and I agree, it can be done... and "relatively" easy. Sometimes it takes multiple reboots for the system to pull it's self together, and it usually wants to reinstall all hardware... so have your drivers ready.
My tips,
Un install any devices that you will be replacing... if any. If you are upgrading vid cards, un install and set a standard vga adapter.
Un install devices that are easily reinstalled, ie. printers, scanners...
(They will be using different ports on the new board and you're trying to reduce the Window's confusion when it wakes up with a new nervous system.) Try to get your system down to bare bones ... not compromising your personal data and software, before you turn off the lights on the old system.
Also, make sure to install the drivers included with your motherboard after you get the new system up and running.
Having said all that, you sound more concerned about maintaining the stability of your current system than preserving your current personal data.?.
If a fresh start is possible & convenient, by all means do!!
There will always be leftover "baggage" from your old configuration in your operating system/registry and installing Windows fresh is a relatively easy process and would be more stable in the long run.

[gabadilla]

Thanks for the help guys, I followed your suggestions very closely but I encountered a small memory-related issue which I posted in a new topic.

Thanks again,

you guys are great!

Gabe