Mobo Swap Question

[ConcreteWaves]

So my old mobo fried and my tower is a big mammoth.

I'm looking off craigslist for a cheap but half decent mobo. Which means i'm also going to need a processor.

Couple questions: if my old processor was intel can the new one be AMD cuz i found some AMD Athlon x2's for bout 50 bucks.

Also, once i get the new mobo and processor with the cooling sealed on......what then? I heard I have to run BIOS, how do i do this? just turn on the comp?

Pretty much I know it's not as easy as just putting in a new mobo with processor and turning it on, and everything being there like it was before just faster n better, right? or is it? what will I have to do give me short simple steps to running a new mobo and processor and getting my computer up and running like normal. :nerd:

 

[oldskool]

Unless the computer is prehistorically old, then no, you cant interchange Intel and AMD's. In the olden, olden days there was some mobos that could do either. That was tons of years ago. So no, you cant switch 'em.

You can enter the BIOS screen after you turn the PC on (and before the splash screen) by tapping the Delete key, or it may be another such as F2. It depends on the computer. There are other possibilities, it depends. What make and model is it ?

 

[synergy]

Basically if you are replacing the mobo and CPU then you will need to reformat and reinstall you OS. So, backup your hard drive before you do or you will lose everything. You need to make sure your memory is compatible with the new board too or you will need to replace that. Your graphics card might not be compatible either depending on how old your computer is.

 

[ConcreteWaves]

How can I backup my harddrive if the computer is not turning on? That's why i'm doing a mobo swap.

So i'm going from an Intel(R) Board to a DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D 939 nForce4 AMD with an AMD Athlon x2 64 from an Intel chip.

So I'm going to need to backup everything and reinstall OS? Or just configure BIOS? or wha wha? This is going down tomorrow so some answer before mid afternoon tomorrow would be appreciated. Otherwise >.> I'm wingin it. LOL.

If anyone can give me a step by step process to what I need to do, would be great.

 

[Hefemeister]

The best thing to do would be to do a reinstall.

The next option is to perform a repair install if you have windows xp.
How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install

Both methods will require you do install your new chipset, lan, sound, etc. drivers.

 

[baron5]

How can I backup my harddrive if the computer is not turning on? That's why i'm doing a mobo swap.

So i'm going from an Intel(R) Board to a DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D 939 nForce4 AMD with an AMD Athlon x2 64 from an Intel chip.

So I'm going to need to backup everything and reinstall OS? Or just configure BIOS? or wha wha? This is going down tomorrow so some answer before mid afternoon tomorrow would be appreciated. Otherwise >.> I'm wingin it. LOL.

If anyone can give me a step by step process to what I need to do, would be great.

Go to a local computer store and get them to backup all the data you need on the hard drive, or alternatively you could get a friend to hook it up to his computer and backup what you need on a few dvd's or a external hard drive.

Then just reinstall you operating system once the computer is all hooked up, which basically involves going into bios by pressing the del key at startup and setting the first boot device to your cd drive. Then reboot ad follow the instructions, once you install all the drivers for your motherboard and put all your data back on the new computer you all good.

Also you need to upgrade the bios to support the amd x2, you can follow the instructions on the DFI site for that, unless you gettin a killer deal it might be better to get a x2 and cheap am2 socket motherboard.