Question on reinstalling XP.

[dimtim]

Hey guys I just built a brand new computer, and I took the main hard drive out of my old PC and put it in my new one and surprisingly it started up completely normally. My question is, should I reinstall XP to adapt to all of the new hardware changes or is it fine the way it is? I'd rather not reinstall if I don't have to, but if it's going to slow down my PC or something I would be more then happy to.

Thanks for the input
Tim

[guns1inger]

Check the device manager and see if everything is installed and OK. If it is, suck it and see for a few days. Personally, I would be backing everything up immediately, just in case.

[Nelson37]

I would definitely re-install. Actually just Install after removing the old Windows directory. If you keep the Windows directory, then wipe out all hardware in device manager.

I explain this to customers as its like moving to a new house, gives you an opportunity to sort through all the old crap and get rid of what you don't need. Never fails that there is old software that hasn't been used in quite some time.

You are now loading and running all kinds of drivers that are no longer needed, the chance of some sort of conflict is pretty high.

If you trade in your old car for a new one, would you put the old transmission and engine into the new car? If so, what's the point?

Did you get a new HD in the new machine? It will almost certainly be higher performance than the old one.

[Billf2099]

Welcome to one of the nice thing about windows. Windows noticed you had changed some hardware and loaded in what it thought you needed to run it. This happened when I replaced a computer under my hard drive back in the Win98 days. So your next steps are to run the software that came with your MOBO, video card, sound card, etc.
Run the installation disks. It seems like there's about 10 reboots in your future but that will insure your equipment runs with the best drivers, not just the ones Windows takes a guess with. Sometimes the best thing is to download the latest driver packages from the manufacturer's website. A note of caution. XP requires 'activation'.
At some point you might be required to 'reactivate' this computer because of the hardware changes you made.

Good Luck!