error10

Not always. You just may need a new license key if it's OEM Windows. But if you go X48 to P45 or something similar, you shouldn't need to reinstall Windows, just rerun the Intel chipset utility and install any missing drivers.

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Crooksy

you don't even need to reinstall your OS i went from abit fatal1ty 650i to an asus striker 2 formula 780i and had no issues.

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[pi]

Ok, so it seems that I should just reinstall, but I've got some varying opinions.

I'm going from the abit IP35 Pro to DFI LanParty DK X38 T2R

Obviously, the Northbridge Chipset is different (P35 to X38), but Southbridge Chipset is the same (ICH9R). My current audio chipset is Realtek ALC888 and the DFI board has Realtek ALC885. Onboard LAN is changing from Realtek 8110SC to Marvell 88E8053. The abit board also has a JMicron JMB363 controller for the eSATA ports, but my new PCIe SATA controller runs on JMicron JMB363 as well. Currently, I have no eSATA devices though.

So beside the NB chipset, the audio chipsets are also different. I am going to be adding an X-Fi Xtreme Music to my rig once I get it (early next week), so I will probably use onboard audio on the DFI for a couple days (unless it would make this process far easier to just wait until I have the X-Fi as well, but adding the two of them at the same time seems like it would cause more issues to me).

My copy of Vista isn't OEM, it's a Student/Faculty version. It has "Not for retail or OEM Distribution. Not for Resale." on the disc.

If all it will take is changing those few drivers, I would like to do that and avoid reinstalling all my programs, since I can't seem to find all my discs right now (my iso backups were on a recently-failed 1TB drive that I need to RMA).

Also, in device manager, I have an "Unknown device" listed that won't install drivers or anything. It's listed as "on PCI bus" under the general tab, and ACPI\ABT2005 *ABT2005 under Details>Hardware Ids. Says it's in power state D3. I have no idea what PCI device isn't working right now, as my only PCI devices (4850 and wireless card) are showing up fine. Should I try running uninstall on this and see what prompts come up?

Also, could updating any particular drivers remedy my 1TB drive failure issues? Is there any hope for the drive to be readable on this board, the new board, or the external that I have ordered? Or should I just give up and RMA it?

[pi]

Back from vacation bump?