computer problems...again...

[MkVenner]

ok i just got a new mobo, cpu and ram, installed it in the case, plugged it all in, started the computer up, it goes throught the standard start up, gets to the screen where it asks me to choose my OS, i choose and it just goes blank...

restart and start it in safe mode and it just goes through all those lines, stops on one of them and thats it...

any ideas?

[athon]

is your hard disk in exactly the same IDE location as it was previously? ie. if it was ide2 master, is it ide2 master now? If not, try making it the same as it was - that'll cause problems with bootloaders.

Athon Solo

[Maarten]

You have to reinstall Windows if you installed a new motherboard.

[MkVenner]

thought u might say that...good thing i backed up recently....

[switchback]

once you reinstall windows im sure you will enjoy the benifits afterwards. even if it is such a pain installing it.

[Juht]

Anytime you install a new motherboard, you are typically dealing with an entirely new set of system devices. Windows has always been bad at adjusting system drivers when you swap motherboards. But mostly it's a lot like *nix where you configure your kernel for your devices, swap motherboards and you'll see *nix not boot either. (Btw that's when you boot to floppy/cd and recompile the kernel for your new shite)

While planning ahead and expecting to reinstall is usually the safest for the widest range of user abilities, you can fix this problem with the newer Windows.

Athon is right, you essentially need to fix the bootloader, sometimes even if the ide channel your hdd is on is the same as on the old motherboard. But also the old motherboard drivers will cause you some headaches when Windows loads up.

Here are two things to try: (I'm assuming WinXP here, if it's not, please be more specific of your problem next time)

1) Fix the windows bootloader and see if that gets you in. Boot from the Windows setup CD. When you've gotten through the boot to RAM and you see the Welcome to Windows Setup screen, hit 'R' to enter the Recovery Console. When it asks which installation to load (most people have only one) enter the number of the windows installation you're trying to recover (usually '1'). When it asks for the administrative password, enter the admin password you specified during setup (WinXP Pro) or just hit Enter (WinXP Home, unless you changed your admin pass). When you get to the command prompt, type 'Fixboot'. When that process finishes, type 'Exit' and reboot your computer. See if you can boot windows now.

2) This is what i've done in the past and I've managed one WinXP installation across 4 motherboards doing this. Repeat the steps above until you get to the Welcome to Windows Setup screen. Hit 'Enter' to continue with windows setup. If the setup can read your hdd and finds a WinXP installation, you'll have an option here to hit 'R' to REPAIR your installation. Don't confuse this with the Recovery Console at the main screen. The repair option will write a new bootloader, delete your system files and reinstall them, keep all your registry settings so you don't have to reinstall apps, and will redetect devices and install appropriate drivers (this is what you want). Everything from here is pretty self explanatory. Remember, the repair will effectively whipe out any Windows Updates you've done, so be sure to reapply them (they're still on your computer or go to windowsupdate.com).