So I wanted to upgrade to a new processor... but of course my old one was a Socket A and AMD no longer makes them. I had to buy a new motherboard to go along with it... and of course new RAM... and a new Video Card... About the only thing I didnt buy new was the Hard drive

I've got it all hooked up and hardware wise it runs just fine, but Windows won't boot. I suspect it isnt able to handle the total change in hardware. I want to avoid having to reinstall windows because it takes a long time to format a 200GB hard drive... and I'm not sure I can find all the setup files of the programs I have. The add new hardware wizard wont work because I cant hook anything up while I've actually got windows running, so is there any way I can load the drivers into Windows so that it will boot without actually having to have it connected?

PS... I've got it to the screen where windows realize something happened to it and it asks if I want to boot in safe mode, last known good config, or normally, None of which work

You have to reinstall XP on a new motherboard.

A Repair Install might work but a Clean Install is best.

You will also need to phone up Microsoft as to the activation.

They will remove your Product Key from your former board and transfer it to the new one.



...

gah... Thats exactly what I didnt want to do...
It's times like these I wish I had a Mac
and I wonder how long it took them to realize Microsoft Works is an oxymoron