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Motherboard swapping help please!!

R

roger2

n00b
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
23
hi guys, i want to swap the motherboard in my dell 9150 to one whic hcan definately hold a core 2 duo conroe, when i do this, would i have to format my HD, or reinstall windows or would everything be normal and smooth sailing with the mobo swap, and would it just be an issue with installing drivers for the mobo, pls help i would like to know what to expect, my current mobo, no one is too sure it would work with a core 2 duo even tho it has a pentium d so a mobo swap sounded like the best solution.
 
Completely agreed. Anytime you do a motherboard swap, always load a fresh OS on it for max stability. The only time you can get away with a swap without reload is if your swapping out for the same exact brand and model of board due to component failure. Otherwise fresh OS load or image required for best results. There are certainly ways around that, but none of them are garunteed to work, and even when they do there's no garuntee for long term stability.
 
Format and clean install is always safest and most reliable, but if you'd like to avoid the back-up part of that process, and you're using Windows XP, you can try a repair installation. Boot from the Windows XP CD, proceed to install normally, and before the partition/format screen, the installer should detect your current installation and offer the repair option. You'll need to re-install Windows updates and updated drivers, but it'll save you from backing-up your data and re-installing your programs.
 
Does Dell use proprietary PSUs? I have heard about some companies doing that, and that would probably make it a bit harder to upgrade.
 
ilikecake said:
Does Dell use proprietary PSUs? I have heard about some companies doing that, and that would probably make it a bit harder to upgrade.
Click to expand...


Actually... he'll have a harder time getting a standard board to fit in the case without some serious modifications. Most of the holes won't line up, the P/S may not have the right length cables, etc. The P/S may or may not work... and if it doesn't it can/will destroy your board when you hit the power button. OP - if you really want to upgrade get a new case and power supply. It'll run you about $150 more but it'll be well worth it.
 
If you have an Intel chipset, and are planning on getting a newer Intel chipset, you can probably just get the newest chipset drivers from Intel, install them, and then you'll probably be able to get away without a reformat.
 
Poncho: Not always true, but definitely something to be wary of. Also. I've seend Dells with funny fans in them (odd diameters, strange power connectors).

kirbyrj: True. Worth a try before a repair or fresh install, anyway.
 
Poncho said:
Actually... he'll have a harder time getting a standard board to fit in the case without some serious modifications. Most of the holes won't line up, the P/S may not have the right length cables, etc. The P/S may or may not work... and if it doesn't it can/will destroy your board when you hit the power button. OP - if you really want to upgrade get a new case and power supply. It'll run you about $150 more but it'll be well worth it.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Really, by that time, just build a new machine and Ebay the old Dell. Makes it easy to copy data from one to the other that way too.
 
i did the same thing but i turned my dell e310 into not a dell e310 u need to reformat adn reinstall windows i would get a new psu cause the ones that dell gives u are like 260 watt
 
Guys I have swapped out mobo's many times with out a reload, had normal benchmarks and total stability. You can try it and worst case you format anyway. The trick that works for me was booting in to safe mode and uninstalling everything possible from device manager and related mobo and hardware software from add/remove if any(not for newbs), swapping the mobo and restarting. Make sure to disable all startup programs in msconfig too before rebooting. I even swapped an nforce 4 board with a asus pw5-dh conroe board and all went well. Just back up as you would before a format and you risk nothing but a little wasted time if it fails. If it works you save tons of time reloading all those damn 5 gig games and a million patches for them ! Oh yes, you will have to reactivte xp because of the hardware change and after a couple of times that means calling them and reading off long, long ,long code ! That has been the worst part of it every time.
 
I just swapped out a 965 board for a 975 board and had no issues. I also placed that same 965 board in a previous NF3 install and only had to do a repair install of WinXP even after uninstalling the chipset drivers prior to the switch. For some reason, it kept on wanting to find some NVStrap.sys (IIRC) on bootup even in safemode and would freeze on me.
 
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