Do i need to format?

[silencer457]

I just bought a new motherboard and processor. Im upgrading from a PII 450 to AthlonXP 2000. I have windows xp. Do I need to format my hard drive before installing the new stuff or will windows xp cooperate with the new hardware?

[PartsMan]

A friend of mine said he needed to get in contact with MS when he did that. It's like on a point rating ... and Mobo's rank high. You know that user agreement thingy .... one user / one PC. Anyway this friend of mine got a new number and all was well but he had to talk to someone, it wasn't done on-line.

I'd reformat. Cleaner that way. In the long run.

[angelcat]

I agree with Shahani, reformatting is your best bet. Just make sure to save any info you wish to save first.

[nurdonsite]

yeah go for formatting and clean install.

[PartsMan]

That friend I mentioned didn't want to loose the info (business accounting records and such) on his HDD .... that's why he opted to get a new number instead of reformatting.

But, of course, **I** would *never* do such a thing !

[Sixpac_XP]

Personally in my experience it is always a good idea when you are switching motherboard chipsets to reinstall Windows (any version) fresh.

If you have a burner, back up your stuff (of course).

It easier to diagnose any problems (if you run into any) when installing Windows fresh then if you were to just switch hardware.