Installing new motherboard... reformat or reconfigure?

[Bad^Hat]

Alright, I'm getting conflicting information here, so I need some informed opinions (and what better place to come ). I recently bought a new motherboard and CPU, and they've been sitting around waiting to be installed since, because I can't seem to get a straight answer about whether or not I'm gonna need to reformat to install them properly.

The first place I called said they'd need a couple of hours to install the new parts and "reconfigure my Windows system" (oh, Windows XP, by the way). I trusted their word on it since they've proven to be reliable in the past, but the couple of hours they needed to do it was gonna be way too expensive (almost as much as the mobo itself :x), so I gave them a miss.

Secondly I asked a friend of mine who's recently put together/upgraded 2 of his home computers. He says he was recommended the same thing by another place, and simply had them put the motherboard in, then took it home himself and "reconfigured". Which basically comprised of popping in the XP CD and selecting "repair". He'd done this on both his systems after installing new motherboards and they're running soundly. He offered to do it on mine for free, but I didn't wanna put him in a position where he might have to replace my parts should something go wrong.

The last guy I asked about it is sort of my go-to guy when it comes to tech stuff, and he's offered to put it in for real cheap, and I know he's reliable since he used to do it for a living and he's done the exact same operation on my system before without fault. HOWEVER, he's telling me, quite unequivocally, that I MUST reformat my system before he does it, because simply reconfiguring/repairing could lead to an unstable system.

Is he right, and should I worry, or is it just an "off-chance" thing? Really want this stuff in there and working properly, but a reformat is gonna be a right pain...

 

[JNightshade]

Hmm...

well, when I upgraded from an Athlon XP to an Athlon 64, I reformatted my drive... but just for a clean start. On the other hand, a friend of mine made the same switch, and just popped the new mobo and processor straight in. According to him, it worked perfectly, and he hasn't had a problem since.

Your call.

 

[Bad^Hat]

I'm due for a reformat at some stage, but I usually take my time with backing everything up, and I really just want those parts in there so I can use them. Spent good money on them and they've been sitting there for going on a month now (alright, I take my time with alot of things ).

 

[hungryduck]

the best thing to do is to reformat....then put everything in....then install windows....is basically the best way to avoid annoying/confusing errors and windows complaints....

 

[bryanf445]

Yea I usually get a blue screen whenever I try just popping in a new mobo, so I just reformat

 

[Bad^Hat]

Yea I usually get a blue screen whenever I try just popping in a new mobo, so I just reformat

Without repairing?

 

[bryanf445]

Without repairing?

most of the time, but I usually just do a fresh reformat

 

[Glirk Dient]

If the mobo is a different chipset than your old mobo then you do need to reformat.

 

[Garfield_]

New mobo, cpu, graphics and in some cases a new soundcard requires a fresh start to work properly and avoid future issues.

 

[gweedodogg69]

First back up all your pr0n. jk, but back up all your files and whatnot and reformat after installing the mobo/cpu. Windows acts funny if you install a new motherboard and stuff such as the "invisible LAN port". I had this happen to me after replacing a motherboard with a different one. XP had saved the existing LAN port and it's static IP somewhere and when I set my static IP with this new motherboard it said some bogus stuff about "causing problems with existing static IP".

 

[JFry]

I beleive Glirk is right. When windows is installed it sort of "attaches" itself to the main components in your system. They do this as a means of preventing piracy.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Dang. Alrighty, format it is, thanks for the help guys.

 

[Barney Fife]

The last guy I asked about it is sort of my go-to guy when it comes to tech stuff, and he's offered to put it in for real cheap, and I know he's reliable since he used to do it for a living and he's done the exact same operation on my system before without fault. HOWEVER, he's telling me, quite unequivocally, that I MUST reformat my system before he does it, because simply reconfiguring/repairing could lead to an unstable system.

Well, the "Go-To guy" really knows something, and that is the fact; Once you swap the only thing that kept your PC together (BIOS) for a new and meaner Sheriff (New BIOS) you have to reformat (Quick Format since it not a raw disk) is the only way to go. If you repair OS you will end up "And I promise you this" with unstable system. That is if BIOS finds the boot-sector, or the HDD, or the CPU, or the V-Card, Or Memory, to began with.
No two BIOS will perform the same, and just because your friend's (Which I doubt) is working normal, doesn't mean yours will do the same. The very first thing you will see, after booting system with new MB is your IRQ going berserk, followed by your devises and devise drivers. What else do you want to see to go wrong for you to be convinced?

So I agree with "Go-T0-Guy" on this.

Hmm...

well, when I upgraded from an Athlon XP to an Athlon 64, I reformatted my drive... but just for a clean start. On the other hand, a friend of mine made the same switch, and just popped the new mobo and processor straight in. According to him, it worked perfectly, and he hasn't had a problem since. Your call.

In this case, you only had to reset CMOS by either jumper setting or removing battery for few minutes.

 

[Barney Fife]

Sorry.

 

[Asus]

I always reinstall the OS if I do a system upgrade that includes the motherboard. IMO it is simpler.
Mainly because the old install has old drivers and I have had blue screens in the past before I could put the new stuff on. There are ways to prep your install so when you put the new stuff in it works fine but that is more bother.

The only time you are forced to reinstall (besides driver issues) is if it does not see the harddrives correctly which may be the result of a different controller.