Ok, first of all you cannot move an nt based os like xp or win2k to another system and expect it to boot. Unless the same chipset is used on the mb, it will not work.

There is a procedure for moving the os, however it starts with the old board still installed. Since you do not have that, the only two options are as follows.

1 Do a repair install of xp.
2 Do a clean install of xp.

Note if you still have the old system [and it works] you can do a successful swap. Post back if you want detailed instructions on how to do this.

 

Thanks for the reply.
I've put the HD back in the original system so everything's back to as it was so info on
a swap would be helpful.

 

Ok, here is how you move an os / swap mb without reinstalling.

During this process, DO NOT reboot. Just tell it later.

1 Uninstall any software that is dependent on the old board. This would be things like onboard sound, onboard nic, monitoring software, etc.
2 Next go to device manager and select IDE / ATAPI controller; Select primary and right click. Choose to update driver. Have the wizard show all compatible and choose standard ide. Repeat for the secondary ide. Note this is very important if you want it to boot with the new board.
3 While in device manager, remove anything dependent on the old board; things like floppy controller, usb controller. If you miss one here, no big deal. Changing the ide controller is the important item.
4 Disable any AV software. You do not have to uninstall it, however you should disable it so it does not start with windows

Now shutdown and move the drive to the new system. Power up and xp will detect your hw and load any drivers it has. Once you have started the system, you will need to load drivers in this order. Note reboot now when prompted.

Load chipset / mb drivers.
Load nic, sound drivers.
Reload video driver.

You are good to go.

 

Thanks for that.I'll get to work.

 

Another possibility along the same lines is boot into safe mode and delete every device in device manager and then reboot into Windows and let XP fined and replace all the hardware.

 

Rich since the old system most likely had chipset drivers installed, there is a good chance it will still load the proprietary driver. That is why I have people change to a standard [MS] driver for the ide controller. This makes sure the system will boot.

 

I hear ya...crj.

 

I should have added that you will need to reactivate xp since the mb swap will trigger the need to reactivate due to the numerous hardware changes.

 

OK,did everything as per the proceedure,transfered the HD and surprisingly made
no difference.
Have now put HD back in old PC to get online.
If I select Maxtor HD as 1st boot drive option,message says 'Windows did not start succesfully due to change in hardware or software followed br options to boot in Safe Mode,last known configuration that worked,load Windows normally.
Choosing any of these cause a quick blue screen flash with text (too quick to read) and then PC restarts, basically going round in circles.
I made sure I carried out step 2 properly (IDE controllers) although there is a SIS PCI IDE
controller but not sure whether to remove this.

 

This is an ide drive correct? It will not work with a sata drive.
Next the ide must be set to standard ide not sis, nvidia, or anything else; just standard ide.

 

The HD is an ATA hard drive.Just looked in the manual.

 

Go back and recheck the ide driver. It must be standard ide not sis or anything else.
If it does not work this time, I would give up and clean install.

 

I made in my past this operation.
The only mode to pass an hard drive from a computer (with xp o 2k) to another is;
Install a supplementary ide controller ( a chip raid is ok)
install the driver of this controller
connect the hard drive to the controller and configure it
move the controller and the hard drive on the new computer
after a few operation of check for new drivers (mother board or graphic) start normally
Alex

 

I forgot:
after the operative system finish to see the new computer you can plug the hard drive on the mother board and remove the raid controller

 

Thanks for the input.I've heard of RAID controllers but haven't installed one before.
I may have to do a clean install of Windows.I remember before I've managed to over
install or install alongside with Win 98 and then if all's OK,delete old installation.
With XP Pro it has warned be that installing on same partion as existing installation
would cause problems and possibly delete current 'My Documents' folder.
My HD is partitioned into C and D drives,Windows currently on C drive (6 Gig) and
a few audio files on D drive (30 gig).
I'm considering a clean Windows installation on drive D and then transferring files/programs over.Would this work OK?

 

I'm considering a clean Windows installation on drive D and then transferring files/programs over.Would this work OK?

Yes, that would work. Another option would be to just slave the drive to the system you are using now; burn your doc, etc to dvdr, cdr, put them on a flash drive, etc.
Reinstall your drive and clean install windows. When you are finished, copy the files to your drive.

 

Thanks.Which ever way,would Windows have to be installed on another partition as
another idea was to use drive D for tempory storage and try to put Windows on drive C.
It looks as though this can't be done or Windows doesn't advise it.

 

NT based os like win2k or xp can be installed on any partition D, E, F, or whatever. They do however write some files to the root of the boot drive.

 

Many thanks for the help.Should be able to sort it now.