Re: Please help with 'legitimate' Motherboard Upgrade

From: Fred (Fred_at_no.Spam)
Date: 03/14/04 

Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 08:19:28 -0800

Unless MS has changed the rules you can always call MS for activation when
you make major chages to a system or build a new system with a different
configuration and explain what you are doing and they will grant your
activation. That being said I suggest that you go ahead with the activation
since you need to find out if just XP will run in the new configuration. It
is also possible that you have an activation key for your HP system that you
could use since that is the license you are trying to move. In some OEM
systems the activition key is contained on a sticker on the bottom or rear
of the cabinet.

"George" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E5FA01AA-7F35-4DFF-BF3E-647270418371@microsoft.com...
> I purchased an HP874N media center about a year ago. For a number of
reasons I would like to upgrade to a faster motherboard that supports
HyperThreading, gigabit LAN, and dual channel memory. I read all that I
could from this and other forums to prepare for the operation. I expected it
to be challenging but after spending my weekend on it I'm beggining to
wonder if it's even possible???
>
> I began by using Norton Ghost on my HP874n to replicate my native MCE hard
drive (thereby removing it from jeopardy). Just to be sure the ghosting was
successful I replaced the native drive in my 874 with the ghost drive and
everything worked great (pretty cool this ghosting technology). With hopes
now running high, I next took the video board and tuner card from the 874
and installed them in the new mother board (Epox EP-4PCA3+).
>
> That's when my problems began...and frankly I expected some at this point.
First upon booting I would get the Windows MCE splash screen and then the
system would reset and boot from safe mode. At this point I discovered it
stopped booting at the agp440.sys service. After hours of research I
overcame the agp440.sys problem by running recovery console off another
Windows XP Pro disk I have (had to use this because all I have from HP is
the revcovery disks). The next time I booted it passed the agp440.sys
problem and stoped at MUP.sys. Well, after hours more of research I
concluded that the only way around the problem was a "recovery install" from
recovery console (again using the Windows XP Pro cd I own). Everything
hummed along and when completed the system booted great...except now my
system loaded with the Windows XP Pro screen at login. Further, I wanted to
at least check to see if MCE was still functional but the system would not
allow me past the login screen until I acitivated the license with
Microsoft. That license is promised to another system I'm building so I did
not activate fearing I now would have lost it to a failed MCE upgrade.
>
> Finally, I attempted to do a clean install (still using the ghosted drive)
by using the recovery disks created on my HP874. Well almost immediately
upon running disk 1 I get an error message stating that 'the recover disks
cannot be used on this HP PC'. So here I am Sunday morning basically where I
started. Is there a technology solution here folks? If not, I am not
pleased! I have spent good money for legitimate MS software and feel I have
the right to keep up with the state of technology without having to go back
to the MS$ troughs every time. When MS comes out with MCE 2007 (or whatever)
and wants to charge $$$ for an upgrade I'll willingly fork it over...but as
long as I'm on MCE2004 I feel I should be able to run it on the system of my
choice.
>
> Any help, advice or comments greatly appreciated.

Relevant Pages

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