I've asked in a couple of threads, but so far no replies. Thanks in advance.QX9650 w/ Retail HSF|8GB Muskin PC-6400|ASUS P5E|EVGA 8800GT @700|Seagate SATA 2 x 4|Seagate Cheetah 15K.x|XP Pro|Vista 64--soon to be installed

You should, regardless of if you are able.

>You should, regardless of if you are able.I have a very clean and excellent installation. I would think the OS could pick up a new mainboard provided it was current with all updates, and install what drivers are needed to get basic functioning, and go on from there. Why do you say one should?QX9650 w/ Retail HSF|8GB Muskin PC-6400|ASUS P5E|EVGA 8800GT @700|Seagate SATA 2 x 4|Seagate Cheetah 15K.x|XP Pro|Vista 64--soon to be installed

Unless its the exact same motherboard, no.. clean install

>>>Unless its the exact same motherboard, no.. clean installWhy's that Nick? Anyone tried MS's guide for replacing failed motherboards? http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824125I know with Win2K I could and after the requisite tidying up, all was well. QX9650 w/ Retail HSF|8GB Muskin PC-6400|ASUS P5E|EVGA 8800GT @700|Seagate SATA 2 x 4|Seagate Cheetah 15K.x|XP Pro|Vista 64--soon to be installed

Because the HAL is not completely/correctly upgraded/changed unless Windows is clean installed, regardless of that KBthat KB is fine for low performance office systems.. I would never, ever change a performance platform and run a repair install any more that I would do a UPGRADE when going from one Windows platform to another on the same motherboard.there is more than enough information on the net about what happens to people who like short cuts when it comes to Windows installing

If its the same motherboard it shouldnt be an issue, but if its a different one then is a good chance you will have driver issues as Xp may not remove the old drivers. Its better to do a complete new install when replacing motherboards.

Take a look at this thread. http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=38130&page=2The Acronis tool looks interesting. I was hoping that Paul would explain exactly how to use it.

Hey guys,Sorry for dissapearing.Acronis does the HAL removal work for you as well as the new driver install so you do not have to go through the MS procedure. Essentially you create a backup image and then when you restore you do a universal restore which will strip the HAL and offer you the option to install new drivers when you place the image back. You should still uninstall EVERYTHING before you create your backup image so that you image a generic PC.I have done this numerous times without issue. This time around I did actually do a clean install just because it has been ~ 2 1/2 years since I did it last. The great part of Acronis is that when I did my clean install there were all sorts of files I had not backed up that I needed off my old system. SOoooo I was able to point to my image of my old system and "virtually mount" my old image as a virtual drive on my new system. I mounted my backup image, copied all of the files I needed for my PSS re-install and then unmounted the image. It is the most security I can think of in terms of safeguarding your data. You do not even have to restore the image to get to it :)...Good luck guys,-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 468X9.5 @ 4.45Asus Maximus Extreme2 gigs OCZ Reaper DDR3 @1400Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

I still dont fully understand why you need to do this Paul:'You should still uninstall EVERYTHING before you create your backup image so that you image a generic PC'.Doesn't it defeat the purpose of creating an image? What I hoped you could do was create an image of the C drive with the operating system, registry etc.(no need to immage d, e, f etc). Next install the new hardware, format the the C drive, and then, using Acronis, copy back the C image with the old drivers etc. stripped out. Finally install the new drivers. I guess it is nothing like that!

Thanks for your replies. I will be gone for 2 weeks and will decide how to go when I return. I have so many hours worth of reinstallation I think if ASUS returns my same mainboard I will definitely lock and load and see how it goes. If they send me a diff serial numbered board, I'll have to try the same approach and just see. If it is not tunable to the same level of performance and clean install it. What I wanted to know is if there is anything that absolutely prevents one from booting with the same model but perhaps different mainboard, and from what you are saying, there is no routine built in to XP that prohibits one from swapping mainboards, even tho it is not ideal.CYA in 2 weeks. Hope ASUS keeps there promise for 10 bus day turnaround. I'm going to have a hard time trusting a repaired mainboard, but I guess I'll see. Tempted to just pick up another P5E for backup if nothing else after this debacle. Or a Rampage Formula. DDR3 X48, but it looks like to 4gb of good ram plus an X48 DDR3 board we're right around a grand, ouch.

Hey Howard, I apologize, I wasn't fully awake when posting this am. When I said uninstall everything I meant your drivers etc... I think we are saying the same thing just a slightly different process.So before you create your full Acronis image with O/S, FS, registry settings for add-ons etc you "should" uninstall the drivers for the old mobo, your video card (trust me on that one :)) and any other devices tied to the old h/w. That is what I meant by everything. This way your image is of a generic H/W setup with all of your data intact. Then you install new hardware, format like you said and then re-image. The cool thing about Acronis is you can load any new Raid Drivers and all of the new H/W as you are re-imaging. This way your new image already has the drivers it needs...I hope that made a little more sense, 2 dilaudid one flexeril 2 lyrica and one celebrex make it a little foggy ;)-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 468X9.5 @ 4.45Asus Maximus Extreme2 gigs OCZ Reaper DDR3 @1400Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

>I've asked in a couple of threads, but so far no replies. >Thanks in advance.>>QX9650 w/ Retail HSF|8GB Muskin PC-6400|ASUS P5E|EVGA 8800GT>@700|Seagate SATA 2 x 4|Seagate Cheetah 15K.x|XP Pro|Vista>64--soon to be installedMost likely!

Hey Howard, even on my backup system Acronis saved my butt today... I had filled my original 80 gig drive on my backup box so I went out today grabbed a 500 gig drive real quick and then came home and did a drive clone onto the new drive, rebooted and I am good to go. The whole thing took a few clicks and about 40 minutes :)-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 468X9.5 @ 4.45Asus Maximus Extreme2 gigs OCZ Reaper DDR3 @1400Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

Thanks Paul. I can't face another software rebuild.