can anyone help please, i had a p4 1.7mhz, 256 ram, msi motherboard running windows xp, everything was running ok.
ive upgraded to a new msi motherboard and a intel celeron 2.66mhz cpu. using the same hard drive with windows xp. i cannot get computer to run now. it goes through post tests ok then screen saying windows did not start correctly last time etc etc, i have tried every option on the screen but the computer goes a far as the bar at the bottom of the sreen fills up then computer switches of and restarts and stays in this loop.
hope someone can give some advice.

you've come up againts XP...you've changed the motherboard etc. windows will see this as another machine. Your hard drive would have all the driver details of the other board.

Have you still the old motherboard etc, and can you put the hard drive back with it?

A Repair Installation of XP is generally advised when changing motherboards.

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q315341

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many OEM installations
and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours
before starting), unless the new motherboard is virtually identical
(same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the
one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, you'll
need to perform a repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at
the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directo...;EN-US;Q315341

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this
point. You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the
OS. (If you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as
picking up a Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch
style foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K
before it, is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to
accepting any old hardware configuration you throw at it. On
installation it "tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This
is one of the reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much
more stable than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more
than 120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key,
you'll most likely be able to activate via the Internet without
problem. If it's been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone
call. ~Bruce Chambers

Hi there, yes i still have my old motherboard and cpu and can put them back in if needed.

this is what I did, and it worked fine


Before you swap out the current motherboard go to device manager and select the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller and select your current storage controller. Right click, select update driver and select install from a list or specific location. Click don't search I will choose the driver to install and select the standard dual channel IDE controller.

This will prevent the inaccessable boot device blue screen. I have done this multiple times on different platforms with no problems.

Also I found that booting the first time with the new motherboard is best done in the Safe mode where XP will install the drivers it needs and at the same time you can install the new motherboard drivers from its CD.

This saved me doing a repair or a reinstall of XP. My whole system came right up and worked great and very stable.

to late to put old motherboard back in as i done a repair install. now windows is very slow at starting up, computer seems slow altogether and half my applications dont work. i dont know how to get round this problem but thanks for trying to help. many thanks