Motherboard Swap

[Flintstone]

OK, here goes. I've never tried this before, but I've heard responses both ways. I'm looking for a consensus, if one can be found.

I need to swap out a motherboard and in the process, a processor and memory. From an MSI, KT3 UltraII, 2500 Barton combo to a Gigabyte GA-K8U-939 with an A64 3200+ combo. The new rig will have better memory, but the same hdd and video. Now the question:

Can I do a repair install of XP Pro, or do I need to format and reinstall EVERYTHING?

This box is for 2 children of a friend of mine that are 3 and 6 years of age. I'm hoping this will last a few years of school and play. Your comments will be most appreciated.

Flint

[profdlp]

Do the hardware swap, then make sure that you boot up into Safe Mode only.

Remove everything in Device Manager that you possibly can.

Then reboot and boot from the XP CD and proceed to the Repair Install.

This has worked for me every time I've tried it. :)

PS: It helps to make sure that you have all the drivers handy for the new hardware.