Upgrade thoughts, will this work?

[steves85]

So im studying my A+ and its goin well. learnin alot.
Just wondering, i have a slow computer running XP. Its old from like 2003 or something like that. Now is it possible to upgrade the mobo and CPU and just plug in my HDD and everything will be normal except faster because of the new cpu and mobo.

Provided my HDD is compatable with the new mobo.

Is this possible, or is there a certain way to do it that i have missed?

 

[philbar71]

Nope, if you change mobos (unless it's the exact same model) then you must AT LEAST do a repair install of windows. (Xp only I believe) Because if you dont windows will try to load all the drivers for the old mobo and they wont be compatible, thus making it bluescreen or not boot, ect.

 

[-RockMan-]

Yes but not for too much longer, some or most new and current mobo's will have one IDE port or possibly 2.
It's highly unlikely you'll get a mobo with 2 ide slots as IDE standard is being faded out by the end of this year.
The current and new standards are SATA and SATAII interface connectors.
To be honest if you have a IDE cable that will support 2 hdd's or a hdd and optical drive your good to go for now.
Do realize sata interface is better to deal with and provides better speed output then a IDE connection.

For the A+ as long as you give yourself enough time to prepare for 2009 edition of comptia A+ you should great.
It paid off for me greatly just the 220-702 is all I need to master for my certification.
Give Mike Myers book a try you won't regret it.

 

[Trotter]

Google SYSPREP. It will render your installation system neutral (just like it was just installed driver and hardware-wise). It does require activating XP again, just like a repair installation.

 

[steves85]

Thanks for the quick replys. Okay so if i do a repair install with a XP boot disk i should be good to go.

Yeh its IDE connected and yeh i know sata is the way to go, just seeing what mileage i could get out of this old rig.

In regards to the A+ im doing mine online through a learning provider here in Australia. Only thing is tryin to remember all the darn CPU's in order and what their specs are. The rest seems to stick.

Thanks again