paa wrote:
> [CUT]
>> Perhaps if you were to describe the "result that I am looking for" (and
>> what you hope to achieve after that), you would get better advice.
>
>
> I am a pc repairer....
Then you'd know that the brute force removal of all drivers would be
just about the most damaging thing you could do.
> and often I need to change motherboards. Customers
> prefer to keep/preserve own OS with all customizations and data.
> Everything it is saved their HD, but Windows XP don't start if the old
> devices dirvers are already present on the customer OS stored on the
> HD. I tried to remove manually all third party drivers and some OS
> drivers before change motherboard and the result it is been fantastic.
> The only difficulty it has been to do everithing manually, it took me
> very long time. I also tried to delete hardware informations in the
> registry, but this method it is a mess imho. I also tried to delete
> the OS drivers directories, it is another mess. So, now I think it is
> clear what and why I search a solution tu purge drivers. Now I hope
> that an expert user can give me a valid suggestion because I am unable
> to find right solution via web search engines.
>
Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore 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/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341
Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html
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
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