Mobo Compatibility

[snorkel]

I need to replace a motherboard and bought another one off Ebay. Don't ask why I don't just buy a different mobo - it's for a customer. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly the same as described when I got it.

They had an MSI K7T266 Pro 2 and the one I received is a K7T266 Pro

Question is - will it work? Will Windows XP accept it and boot with the installed drivers. I guess the most important thing is IDE drivers. The differences in the chipsets are as follows:


Chipset - Mobo A

• VIA® VT8366 (552BGA) Chipset
- FSB @ 200/266MHz
- AGP 4x and PCI Advanced high performance memory controller

• VIA® VT8233 (376BGA) Chipset
- High Bandwidth Vlink Client controller
- Integrated Faster Ethernet LPC (Optional CNR card support)
- Integrated Hardware Sound Blaster/Direct Sound AC97 audio
- Ultra DMA 33/66/100 master mode PCI EIDE controller
- ACPI

Chipset - Mobo B

VIA® KT266A Chipset
- FSB @200/266MHz
- AGP 4X and PCI Advanced high performance memory controller

• VIA® VT8233 Chipset
- High Bandwidth V-link Client controller
- Integrated Faster Ethernet LPC
- Integrated Hardware Sound Blaster/Direct Sound AC97 audio
- Ultra DMA 33/66/100 master mode PCI EIDE controller
- ACPI

Thanks for your help.

 

[G0AOZ]

Never actually tried it with the motherboards mentioned, but from experience I'd say you have about a 90 percent chance of it working ok. It'll usually cope with similar chipsets of the same manufacturer - it's when you have two that are completely and utterly different that it gets interesting!

Good luck.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[paparazi]

Both are installed with almost identical VIA chipsets, both are driven by the same Via 4in1 driver package.
I give it even higher than 90%, infact I would go as far as to say I would be very suprised if it didn't work straight away and without issue.


We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[snorkel]

I'll give it a shot. The one chipset is different, but it looks like the chipsets that are responsible for the IDE controller is the same on both boards, which I guess, means that it should at least be able to recognize the HDD and load Windows.

Thanks guys.

 

[snorkel]

Well.... The motherboard did not work. All I got was the Windows XP progress bar and then it stopped loading - no blue screen, nothing.

I'm going to try to get the exact same mobo and try it again. If that doesn't work, I'll have to get this company to buy a Windows XP license because they can't find any of their CDs or licenses. That's why I was trying to replace the mobo and get the PC to boot without having to reload windows. What a pain for everyone involved.

Again - thanks for the suggestions.

 

[G0AOZ]

Is the original motherboard still a runner? I have often found that using a PCI IDE interface card can sometimes get round these sorts of problems.

The one I've had most success with is a Promise Ultra 100 controller card. Plug it into the original mobo, but don't connect anything to it yet. Get Windows XP to recognise the new hardware, and add the relevent driver. Now reconnect the HDD to the Promise card, alter drive boot sequence as appropriate, and boot up into Windows. If all is well, close down.

Transfer card and HDD to new mobo, and try booting up with drive attached to the PCI card. If ok, let Windows find new hardware, install any relevant drivers, and reboot. If still ok, switch off, remove PCI card, attach HDD to mobo IDE i/face, and boot up.

Might work...

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[kmcferrin]

When I have had to move to a new motherboard on Windows XP, I do the following:

1. Make a backup/image of the hard disk.
2. Boot into safe mode, delete all devices shown in device manager.
3. Shut down the PC.
4. Swap out the mainboard.
5. Power on the PC with the new mainboard installed and let Windows detect all of the hardware all over again. Be prepared to point Windows to new drivers if they are not already installed or built in.
6. Resolve any lingering issues with devices listed with exclamation points in device manager.

The detection and installation process on the new mainboard will require several reboots, and you'll undoubtedly have to reactivate. But if you have a new system board then this will ensure that the old hardware is properly uninstalled and the hardware installed.

 

[BadBigBen]

How to replace the motherboard on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;824125

or:

copy the following from the XP CD to your DRIVER directory (usually C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers ), replacing all:

PCIIDEX.SYS
PCIIDE.SYS
INTELIDE.SYS
ATAPI.SYS

then copy the following into notepad and save it out as MERGEIDE.REG

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\primary_ide_channel]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="atapi"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\secondary_ide_channel]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="atapi"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\*pnp0600]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="atapi"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\*azt0502]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="atapi"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\gendisk]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="disk"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#cc_0101]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_0e11&dev_ae33]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1039&dev_0601]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase \pci#ven_1039&dev_5513]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1042&dev_1000]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_105a&dev_4d33]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1095&dev_0640]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1095&dev_0646]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1095&dev_0646&REV_05]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1095&dev_0646&REV_07]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1095&dev_0648]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1095&dev_0649]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1097&dev_0038]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_10ad&dev_0001]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_10ad&dev_0150]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_10b9&dev_5215]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
pci#ven_10b9&dev_5219]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabasepci#ven_10b9&dev_5229]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="pciide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_1106&dev_0571]
"Service"="pciide"
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_8086&dev_1222]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="intelide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_8086&dev_1230]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="intelide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_8086&dev_2411]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="intelide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_8086&dev_2421]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="intelide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_8086&dev_7010]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="intelide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_8086&dev_7111]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="intelide"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase
\pci#ven_8086&dev_7199]
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"
"Service"="intelide"

;Add driver for Atapi (requires Atapi.sys in Drivers directory)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi]
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"Group"="SCSI miniport"
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Tag"=dword:00000019
"Type"=dword:00000001
"DisplayName"="Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller"
"ImagePath"=hex(2):53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,
44,00,\ 
  52,00,49,00,56,00,45,00,52,00,53,00,5c,00,61,00,74,00,61,00,70,00,69,00,2e
\ 
  00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00

;Add driver for intelide (requires intelide.sys in drivers directory)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IntelIde]
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"Group"="System Bus Extender"
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Tag"=dword:00000004
"Type"=dword:00000001
"ImagePath"=hex(2):53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,
44,00,\ 
  52,00,49,00,56,00,45,00,52,00,53,00,5c,00,69,00,6e,00,74,00,65,00,6c,00,69,
\ 
  00,64,00,65,00,2e,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00


;Add driver for Pciide (requires Pciide.sys and Pciidex.sys in Drivers directory)

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PCIIde]
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"Group"="System Bus Extender"
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Tag"=dword:00000003
"Type"=dword:00000001
"ImagePath"=hex(2):53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,
44,00,\ 
  52,00,49,00,56,00,45,00,52,00,53,00,5c,00,70,00,63,00,69,00,69,00,64,00,65,
\ 
  00,2e,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,00,00

then merge the above into the REGISTY... when done, turn power off and replace the mobo...

in your case I would try to boot into safe mode or do a repair install as per Microsoft... a new activation in both cases is may be necessary...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[snorkel]

Guys - I appreciate your posts. The situation is that the original mobo is dead and the customer does NOT have the windows activation key. It seems they can't find any of the keys for any of their home built systems. So, doing a procedure that requires a new activation is NOT possible. I guess I just need to get the exact mobo to make it plug and play or else have them buy a license!!!

I tried to extract the Windows Key from the hard drive using a BART PE disk and a procedure I found on the internet

http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=48&threadID=196113&messageID=2036038

but it seems that the keycode I found matches the key code on another PC that is running.

Is there some way that their IT guy could have used the same code on each machine he built for them????

Regardless, I am suffering now for what somebody else did for them (to them) previously and they didn't know enough to demand that each PC be properly licensed and have the key codes written down somewhere.

 

[G0AOZ]

...the original mobo is dead". Try copying Magic Jelly Bean or Belarc Advisor onto the hard drive first. Then, with your HDD attached to the new motherboard, you should be able to boot up on a BART-PE CD, or as I do, on Winternals ERD Commander. See if either M-J-B or B-A will install/run and get your licence key info. Then apply BadBigBen's fixes, and try rebooting. Since the mobos are nearly identical, you might get away without having to reactivate. Whatever,it's worth a shot...

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[BadBigBen]

Is there some way that their IT guy could have used the same code on each machine he built for them????

Yes, if...

1.) He was lazy...

or

2.) they are Corporate Editions of XP PRO, meaning they paid for a more expensive Liscence which covers more than one install in a Business Environment... in which case NO ACTIVATION is necessary...

the customer does NOT have the windows activation key

unless he wrote it down when they where activated over the phone, of course not... Activation is not equal to Liscence Key...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[snorkel]

Is there any way I can find out if the license is a corporate license?? Then I could just reload and re-activate and there would be no issues with not having a key code.

 

[kmcferrin]

You still need a key for the Corporate Edition. You just wouldn't need to activate if it were the Corporate Edition.

The Corporate Edition is only available via volume licensing. So they would have record of purchasing it via volume licensing, and you would have to get the license key from a volume licensing website (like eopen.microsoft.com, or the corresponding Enterprise or Select sites). Generally, if a company is using volume licensing then they know it.

There isn't really a way to check from within Windows since it is largely dependent on the license key.

 

[Sleepsalot]

Go to

http://www.majorgeeks.com

download aida32 run it on one of the other machines they have under the OS part it will tell you the CD key. You may want to check a couple to see if they are the same. The program can be run from a usb drive it doesn't need to be installed.

Life is a big Roleplaying adventure.

Wayne

 

[cdogg]

You can get a free utility here that will scan your system and show you the Product Key that was used for installation:

http://www.download.com/3001-2094_4-10627866.html?idl=n

You still have to know the type, so that you can obtain a Windows installation CD that matches your key. So once you use the utility, make a note of the "Product ID" and then go to this link to see what kind of license you have:

http://wiki.djlizard.net/Product_IDs

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
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