Can I change my m/b without losing recording data?

[Zogg]

I noticed that in my system I have a LOT of devices on the same interrupt. I only have 1 extra PCI slot, and moving one board didn't help. Some of the devices using this interrupt are onboard as well.

So, I'm thinking about picking up a new motherboard. The one I have uses an older SiS chipset, so I'm thinking a nice Intel 865 or similar.

Anyway, I have 3 hard drives with lots of recordings. If I make this change and have to reload XP and BTV, will I lose the metadata on my recordings, or does that only happen if you move the files?

Thanks,
Z

[jkoon]

Shouldn’t loose the metadata.

Might also want to take a look at this:
http://kb.snapstream.com/?kbid=99&p_...bmcgdXA*&p_li=

[Neilm]

If you simply change the m/b, but retain your hard drives as they are, you won't lose any data, including your BTV data. A m/b transplant does not require a reformat of the hard drives- Windows XP has all the drivers it needs for basic operation, and it will load these the first time you start the system after the rebuild. You will then need to run the m/b setup/utilities disk to enable the abvanced features.

But if you do a clean installation, you need to take precautions to retain data.

I did a m/b (and case) replacement 2 weeks ago after the old Shuttle m/b failed, and everything worked fine after the restart.

[jsereda]

XP doesn't always take to new motherboards properly. different Hals's and such might cause your first bootup to be a blue screen of death. I think this comes from Mass Storage device's on different chipsets.
I figured out a way with sysprep to force hardware enumeration and scan for new mass storage device drivers. You can also specify it to load all the device drivers with out user interaction from a location on your hdd.
Do a google search for "Sysprep HAL BMSD"
You should get some good hits, and if you do this you can be sure you won't have a problem when you install your new motherboard.

[Zogg]

jsereda, thanks for that tip, that is the missing link I have been missing since moving to XP.

With Win98 I could switch m/b's with no problem as Neilm suggested, but with XP I always get the BSOD, and that's why I was concerned about this.

I'll look into this more and probably go ahead and order a new m/b from Newegg.

Thanks all,

Z

[sixt5cuda]

It is time-consuming, but you should be able to replace your motherboard, without re-installing Windows and all your other software. You need to perform a "Repair Installation", detailed on this web page:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm

When complete, you will also need to re-install Windows XP Service Pack 2.

[jkoon]

Originally Posted by sixt5cuda

It is time-consuming, but you should be able to replace your motherboard, without re-installing Windows and all your other software. You need to perform a "Repair Installation", detailed on this web page:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm

When complete, you will also need to re-install Windows XP Service Pack 2.

I have heard about this but I always wondered if that left behind much ‘junk’ from the previous motherboard (unneeded drivers/files/etc). I just can’t imagine that it would be as stable as a clean install.

[nanook105]

I agree with jkoon here and would look at this as a chance to clean up your OS drive. I've had to do this a couple of times, and I usually buy a new HD, partition off about 30GB for the OS and install. Connect the previous drives and you are good to go. Since I don't store any BTV data on my OS drive, I usually reformat the original and then use it for recordings. Since 3.5, I have never lost my metadata.

[jsereda]

Originally Posted by jsereda

XP doesn't always take to new motherboards properly. different Hals's and such might cause your first bootup to be a blue screen of death. I think this comes from Mass Storage device's on different chipsets.
I figured out a way with sysprep to force hardware enumeration and scan for new mass storage device drivers. You can also specify it to load all the device drivers with out user interaction from a location on your hdd.
Do a google search for "Sysprep HAL BMSD"
You should get some good hits, and if you do this you can be sure you won't have a problem when you install your new motherboard.

Also after you get the new system up and running you can run the command "sysprep -clean" to remove all those old unused device drivers.

The method of booting with the XP cd and using the repair option does leave behind a lot of stuff and I have had bad luck doing it that way. Sysprep has never failed me once I learned how to use it correctly. Most of the ghost images I use I make sure I use sysprep -bmsd on and I can load the ghost image on any computer.