Motherboard Died, New Motherboard same windows Work?

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tripleflip18

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Hello, Unfortunately i was replacing cpu today, bent a pin in a motherboard and it won't boot up for life. spend 7+ hours with a friend trying to fix it without any luck. Im going for Gigabyte 965P DS3 to P35 DS3R. everything will be exactly same. I have 1.4 Terrabyte RAID 0 on that system. I absolutely cannot afford to lose the information on that RAID. What do i do to get back all the information from that RAID. I have Vista 32 Ultimate. Can i just put a new mobo in and boot up like normal or do i have to do anything. Please help as this is extremely important. Thank you
 
If the new mobo has a different chipset, which is most likely, then in most cases, the OS will not boot properly. You will probably run into a blue screen while booting into windows due to driver issues. If that is the case, you would need your windows xp cd to do a repair installation.

Or you might get lucky and the OS will actually boot all the way to windows. But there are still drivers that need to be loaded.
 
Heh you have 1.4Tb full of data that you absolutely can't lose and you use Raid0? :D

Raid0 = the most sure way to lose your data.
 
If that info is vital then you have a problem indeed. Especially if you're running Windows XP. XP is especially sensitive to motherboard changes.


Was that me in your situation (which it wouldn't be because I wouldn't dare leave my data so vulnerable to catastrophe) Id be configuring the hardware in BIOS on that new board, and then booting from the Windows CD to run an in-place upgrade install BEFORE the system was allowed to try booting to Windows!

Note that well. Your best chance of success is to NOT let the system try booting into your existing Windows installation! You gotta ensure it boots from the Windows CD, to run an install.

An in-place upgrade install will redo all the hardware configuration, so the drivers for your new gear wiull be configured during the install (or you'll be prompted to load them.

Odds-on bet that activation will get blown out, and you'll need toi reactivate. But that's small price to pay for success.



Edit: Ensure that you are using a slipstreamed SP2 Windows XP install disk. If you haven;t got one then make one.
 
Finn said:
Heh you have 1.4Tb full of data that you absolutely can't lose and you use Raid0? :D

Raid0 = the most sure way to lose your data.
Click to expand...
Mark the calendar. I agree whole-heartedly with Finn.
 
djnes said:
Mark the calendar. I agree whole-heartedly with Finn.
Click to expand...

Ditto:)

I was under the impression that Vista was not as sensitive to mobo swaps.. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that not long ago there was a thread here (tried searching but it's still busted) where the op had a similar issue as the op here (minus the 1.4tb raid fiasco)... and the poster had no problems swapping boards.. I believe he was using a retail version of Ultimate..

You'll probably need to call in order to re-activate...

Again, I could be wrong... but uh... Good Luck..
 
Different mobo, different chipset, different raid controllers

You should look into getting another of the exact same mobo if you want your files for sure
 
ok ignoring the whole RAID0 for critical data mistake (someone just got sweap into the RAID hype...) The question is w.r.t. the data is it one of those fakeRAID setups? or is it with a real RAID controller?

I am more interested in that data-recovery.
 
Raid controller is built in on the motherboard. Again guys i don't have XP installed on it, its Vista 32 Ultimate. All i will be doing is swapping motherboard and i'll either need to log into windows/update drivers (thats what im hoping for) or I am asking you what I need to do to make sure i have access to all those files. Lots of Movies/home movies/pictures/ other important files. Do you think i'll be able to repair windows from vista CD?
 
Firstly, my apology for the earlier unhelpful post. I got distracted by the comment made by dragontales and thought you were using XP.

Secondly, I agree with eeyrjmr. Recovery of the data should be the central focus here, rather than getting Windows working.

Thirdly, some more info is needed in order that people can provide the best advice.

Is the Windows installation also on that RAID0 array, along with the data? I'm sure that's the first thing to clarify.
 
Were you using the Intel RAID controller or a secondary RAID controller?

If the secondary, hope and pray that the secondary controller on your new board is the same.

If not, then pray that Intel didn't change the metadata format too much between the old and new chipsets.

Assuming you can get the array back, Vista will be really confused for a few minutes, but then be fine.
 
Catweazle said:
Firstly, my apology for the earlier unhelpful post. I got distracted by the comment made by dragontales and thought you were using XP.

Secondly, I agree with eeyrjmr. Recovery of the data should be the central focus here, rather than getting Windows working.

Thirdly, some more info is needed in order that people can provide the best advice.

Is the Windows installation also on that RAID0 array, along with the data? I'm sure that's the first thing to clarify.
Click to expand...


I split 1.4 into 150 gig and something like 1.2terabytes. So yes its on Raid0. I've just searched "swapping motherboards" and got two results that guide you through it. They say its very simple and they do it everyday. Simply to a Repair, basicly it doesn't erase any of your information just reinstalls Windows and all new drivers needed. have any of you guys done it with success? Also I'd really love to just log back into windows because thats so much data that i don't even have another hard disk to back it up 2. Ofcourse if I have no choice i'll back up the most important info and reinstall Vista.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
Were you using the Intel RAID controller or a secondary RAID controller?

If the secondary, hope and pray that the secondary controller on your new board is the same.

If not, then pray that Intel didn't change the metadata format too much between the old and new chipsets.

Assuming you can get the array back, Vista will be really confused for a few minutes, but then be fine.
Click to expand...

Ok just read on a bit on new motherboard. Seems I have same raid controller as on the old Motherboard. But now with this new motherboard there are also drivers for "Intel ICH9R SATA RAID Driver " where as Older and New motherboard both have "GIGABYTE SATA2 RAID Driver " with drivers being same. Im a bit lost here and not too sure

again, old motherboard is GA-965P-DS3 & NEW GA-P35-DS3R

The reason why i didn't get same motherboard was because with this new one i will have option of upgrading to new cpu when that comes out.
 
dbwillis said:
Different mobo, different chipset, different raid controllers

You should look into getting another of the exact same mobo if you want your files for sure
Click to expand...

x2

XP even BSODs on chipset changes sometimes. Vista wants to revalidate after even a CDRom changes (yes, it actually happened to me). I activated Vista 4 times in 3 days for various upgrades (DVDRW, RAM, 2nd HD) each time was a PITA.

Good luck with that .... wouldn't suprise me if the same mobo didnt even work :s
 
tripleflip18 said:
Raid controller is built in on the motherboard. Again guys i don't have XP installed on it, its Vista 32 Ultimate. All i will be doing is swapping motherboard and i'll either need to log into windows/update drivers (thats what im hoping for) or I am asking you what I need to do to make sure i have access to all those files. Lots of Movies/home movies/pictures/ other important files. Do you think i'll be able to repair windows from vista CD?
Click to expand...

right so a FakeRAID/FirmwareRAID

First thing I would do would be to make an image of both disk, a full bytewise image (the *NIX command "dd" is perfect for this) but do you have any additional storage todo this?

Second, get a board with EXACTLY the same chipset for the FakeRAID controller, where the data is stored in RAID0 with these FakeRAID's is upto the chip/driver and can differ between manufactures (RAID1 is different ;) )

Then plugin and enable RAID in the BIOS, But don't initilise the array!!! and reboot and prey

Try booting, it may just boot, failing that safemode (vista have safemode).
Get yr data off!!!


Oh and keep backups!. As the saying goes there are two types of people: Those that keep backups and those that have never had a HD crash

There is a reason why my critical data lives on my file-server, mirrors on my linux setup, regular DVD's burnt as well as a 140Gig HD that is boxed away for storage

if the data is such you cannot afford to lose you need more then one copy of it.
 
last time i had a HD break was back in 98, ever since then went through prob 10 hard drives all good. and no i don't have 1.2 ter of hard disk space, but if i could just get the raid drives to show up with maybe other OS on different drive i could burn the important data, is that possible?
 
Basically, since both the RAID controllers are recent Intel controllers, plug it in and see if you get lucky and it sees the data.
 
tripleflip18 said:
I split 1.4 into 150 gig and something like 1.2terabytes. So yes its on Raid0. I've just searched "swapping motherboards" and got two results that guide you through it. They say its very simple and they do it everyday. Simply to a Repair, basicly it doesn't erase any of your information just reinstalls Windows and all new drivers needed. have any of you guys done it with success?
Click to expand...
First up, repair installs are NOT foolproof. They can, and sometimes do, lead to loss of data ot inability to access your data. People who say they"do it every day" are most likely exaggerating. People who claim that it "always works" are full of BS.

Yes, I've done this with success, although the circumstances in which I've personally done it didn't involve RAID arrays. Matter of fact, I've written and published guides just like the ones you've mentioned.

Also I'd really love to just log back into windows because thats so much data that i don't even have another hard disk to back it up 2. Ofcourse if I have no choice i'll back up the most important info and reinstall Vista.
Click to expand...

Here's the thing. You don't actually have to get that exisiting Windows installation working again to resolve this situation. To be quite honest, trying to do so will increase the risk of data loss, so a different approach is probably advisable. As mentioned earlier, the central focus here is the protection of your data, if that data is crucial and irreplacable. You need to retain the capacity to access it should things go awry.

My suggestion, and what I'd do in your situation, is to begin by grabbing a diffferent drive and install Windows to that. Any drive will do. A cheapie, an old one. It only needs to hold an OS installation.

Disconnect the drives which hold your crucial data. Connect a different drive, to the other SATA controller or even to an IDE controller of that's what the drive is. Install Windows with only that drive connected. That gets your machine operational.

Then you can connect the RAIDED drives back up - to the Gigabyte controller - and try accessing your data again. Should things go awry and you not be able to access the data via Windows you've retained the capability of running file recovery software to recover your data.

LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
Were you using the Intel RAID controller or a secondary RAID controller?
Click to expand...
According to manufacturer specifications, motherboard manual, and the fellow's comments in this thread the original motherboard doesn't provide RAID for the Intel controller. It's only offered for the Gigabyte controller. The motherboard planned as a replacement includes RAID for both controllers.

MadJuggla9 said:
XP even BSODs on chipset changes sometimes. Vista wants to revalidate after even a CDRom changes (yes, it actually happened to me). I activated Vista 4 times in 3 days for various upgrades (DVDRW, RAM, 2nd HD) each time was a PITA.

Good luck with that .... wouldn't suprise me if the same mobo didnt even work
Click to expand...
Vista is actually better at handling a motherboard change than XP was, but there's still risk involved. That's why I've advised that getting an OS installation operational on a different drive is the sensible first step. The RAIDed drive can be reconnected to the Gigabyte controller afterwards and steps taken to access/recover the data. The Windows installation on it won't then be bootable, but that won't matter.

tripleflip18 said:
last time i had a HD break was back in 98, ever since then went through prob 10 hard drives all good.
Click to expand...
Last time I had one 'break' was in 2005, and the breakage had nothing to do with the quality of the drive. A power flick trashed a drive, it just happened to be one which through circumstances and carelessness had work data on it which wasn't mirrored elsewhere, and I had to rebuild an entire month of work output! The possibility of a drive failing through a drive fault is only ONE of the reasons why data redundancy is important.



Anyways, I'll repeat the advice.

1. Go get another drive, to put a working OS installation.
2. Disconnect the RAIDed drives from the Gigabyte controller.
3. Connect the new (or new secondhand) drive up to a suitable drive controller, making sure that controller isn't the Gigabyte RAID one. Install Windows to it.
4. With a working OS in place, connect the RAIDed drives to your gigabyte RAID controller, and follow eeyrjmr's advice about enabling the array in BIOS. It is especially important to note that bit about not 'initialising' the array!
5. If you can then access your important data, good and well. Begin making arrangement to back it up elsewhere, so you're never left in this situation again should catastrophe revisit.
6. If you can't access your data via Windows, you can begin investigating data recovery solutions.


7. Finally, with everything attended to, your data accessed or recovered, and better arrangements in place to ensure that it's backed up elsewhere safely, you can confront the decision to get Windows back on a RAID array if you like. Wipe the system and start over. But this time around, be sure that you've got that crucial and irreplacable data mirrored elsewhere ;)
 
Catweazle said:
First up, repair installs are NOT foolproof. They can, and sometimes do, lead to loss of data ot inability to access your data. People who say they"do it every day" are most likely exaggerating. People who claim that it "always works" are full of BS.

Yes, I've done this with success, although the circumstances in which I've personally done it didn't involve RAID arrays. Matter of fact, I've written and published guides just like the ones you've mentioned.



Here's the thing. You don't actually have to get that exisiting Windows installation working again to resolve this situation. To be quite honest, trying to do so will increase the risk of data loss, so a different approach is probably advisable. As mentioned earlier, the central focus here is the protection of your data, if that data is crucial and irreplacable. You need to retain the capacity to access it should things go awry.

My suggestion, and what I'd do in your situation, is to begin by grabbing a diffferent drive and install Windows to that. Any drive will do. A cheapie, an old one. It only needs to hold an OS installation.

Disconnect the drives which hold your crucial data. Connect a different drive, to the other SATA controller or even to an IDE controller of that's what the drive is. Install Windows with only that drive connected. That gets your machine operational.

Then you can connect the RAIDED drives back up - to the Gigabyte controller - and try accessing your data again. Should things go awry and you not be able to access the data via Windows you've retained the capability of running file recovery software to recover your data.


According to manufacturer specifications, motherboard manual, and the fellow's comments in this thread the original motherboard doesn't provide RAID for the Intel controller. It's only offered for the Gigabyte controller. The motherboard planned as a replacement includes RAID for both controllers.


Vista is actually better at handling a motherboard change than XP was, but there's still risk involved. That's why I've advised that getting an OS installation operational on a different drive is the sensible first step. The RAIDed drive can be reconnected to the Gigabyte controller afterwards and steps taken to access/recover the data. The Windows installation on it won't then be bootable, but that won't matter.


Last time I had one 'break' was in 2005, and the breakage had nothing to do with the quality of the drive. A power flick trashed a drive, it just happened to be one which through circumstances and carelessness had work data on it which wasn't mirrored elsewhere, and I had to rebuild an entire month of work output! The possibility of a drive failing through a drive fault is only ONE of the reasons why data redundancy is important.



Anyways, I'll repeat the advice.

1. Go get another drive, to put a working OS installation.
2. Disconnect the RAIDed drives from the Gigabyte controller.
3. Connect the new (or new secondhand) drive up to a suitable drive controller, making sure that controller isn't the Gigabyte RAID one. Install Windows to it.
4. With a working OS in place, connect the RAIDed drives to your gigabyte RAID controller, and follow eeyrjmr's advice about enabling the array in BIOS. It is especially important to note that bit about not 'initialising' the array!
5. If you can then access your important data, good and well. Begin making arrangement to back it up elsewhere, so you're never left in this situation again should catastrophe revisit.
6. If you can't access your data via Windows, you can begin investigating data recovery solutions.


7. Finally, with everything attended to, your data accessed or recovered, and better arrangements in place to ensure that it's backed up elsewhere safely, you can confront the decision to get Windows back on a RAID array if you like. Wipe the system and start over. But this time around, be sure that you've got that crucial and irreplacable data mirrored elsewhere ;)
Click to expand...

Wow, thank you so much, that def sounds good. a lot of work but as long as i can pull the data out It will have to do. Again thank you Catweazle! I'll let you guys know how it goes.
 
My friend did something like this earlier, not really the same as breaking but replacing his motherboard. He stupidly used raid 0, I told him for years to get rid of it or he would be sorry, well he doesn't use raid 0 anymore. The new raid controller could not read his old raid array, and i doubt your new motherboard will be able to read anything off of those hard drives.

People really need to learn not to use software raid, I am not even saying raid 0 is bad, but raid on any software controller is asking to lose data(I really hope you don't learn the hard way).

I really hope I am wrong and it works, but the best bet is to some how fix your old motherboard. This is also why i really hate Intel's new pin layout, if the pins were not on the motherboard you wouldn't be in this type of crap.
Good luck in recovering your data!
 
Catweazle said:
First up, repair installs are NOT foolproof. They can, and sometimes do, lead to loss of data ot inability to access your data. People who say they"do it every day" are most likely exaggerating. People who claim that it "always works" are full of BS.

Vista is actually better at handling a motherboard change than XP was, but there's still risk involved. That's why I've advised that getting an OS installation operational on a different drive is the sensible first step. The RAIDed drive can be reconnected to the Gigabyte controller afterwards and steps taken to access/recover the data. The Windows installation on it won't then be bootable, but that won't matter.
Click to expand...


Does vista have the same system restore/reload of the OS that leaveas user data alone like all other version of windows? I have not yet performed one on vista. I'm sure I'll accidently go into recovery console or it's equivilent at some point by accident. Thats good to know it takes to new boards well though ..... activation would definately be a concern IMO.

The other point I strongly disagree with. 85% of XP 'not booting into windows' problems have a solution of doing the repair option. If the repair option is not available a chkdsk in recovery console and a fixmbr will allow the repairing option when bypassing the recovery console option. It's caused problems maybe on 1 or 2 machines i would have to assume in the last couple of years Ive worked for a repair company (Im sure there have been more but they are very rare). If that not it, its usually a bad HD or occasionally memory. sfc /scannow does wonders sometimes if you have access to your desktop.
 
Does vista have the same system restore/reload of the OS that leaveas user data alone like all other version of windows? I have not yet performed one on vista. I'm sure I'll accidently go into recovery console or it's equivilent at some point by accident.
Click to expand...
Vista will most definitely upgrade itself. I've tried that to test! But to enable an upgrade install to be performed you need to pop the DVD in the drive and run the Windows setup from WITHIN Windows.

That won't help if you're trying to repair a system which won't boot, of course. If the rig won't boot to desktop you can boot from the Vista DVD and access the 'Recovery' tools. Here's a guide explaining how to use System Restore from the DVD. The Startup Repair option available there is also useful.

The other point I strongly disagree with. 85% of XP 'not booting into windows' problems have a solution of doing the repair option.
Click to expand...
Whilst I'd question the figure you've provided there, and contend that In-Place Upgrade repairs are less frequently successful than you claim, it doesn't really matter. The simple fact is that they're not 100% foolproof.

There's already the fact to contend with that the Windows install is sitting on a RAID array. Then there's the fact that it's Family movies and such which are at risk.

Sorry, but advising procedures which introduce yet another element of risk isn't the way to go in this particular circumstance ;)
 
Catweazle said:
Whilst I'd question the figure you've provided there, and contend that In-Place Upgrade repairs are less frequently successful than you claim, it doesn't really matter. The simple fact is that they're not 100% foolproof.

There's already the fact to contend with that the Windows install is sitting on a RAID array. Then there's the fact that it's Family movies and such which are at risk.

Sorry, but advising procedures which introduce yet another element of risk isn't the way to go in this particular circumstance ;)
Click to expand...


On your first point (unquoted), I was talking about the repair option, I just wasn't familiar with the Vista naming of it. Definately helps on HD goofs on integrity with windows files.

From the quoted text; I think your assumin I meant upgrade for some reason (again, sorry for the ambiguity). But, there is always data 'at risk'. Turning on a PC puts a HD at risk. As far as my figures go for repairing the OS by skipping recovery console in XP and choosing the repair option, they are right. I do this daily.

I just don't see a risk in verifying the integrity of the windows files when it doesn't touch other personal data via the repair option. However, the first step I'd take in this RAID configuration is a chkdsk on both drives, the a repair. What else are you to do other than format if you cant get it to boot to windows?

Sorry if it sounds demeaning (completely did not intend it to be taken as such), I think we both somewhat missed each other's point or missed the contextual representation of what the other person was trying to explain.
 
Hi guys, once again thank you for guiding me through it. I am thankful to you! But i got some great news. It was day time and I thought I'd take a look at my motherboard again and see if i can fix it. So the lighting was much better as i took motherboard outside and one pins tip somehow broke off! so aparently it wasn't making contact with the cpu. So i pushed the pin up and lined it up as good as i could. Put everything in and voila! Beep, beep, lol booted right up, i could almost not believe it. I said in earlier post my system leaked as i was taking it apart and fried my PCI USB expention card, it actually went on fire lol, so my lowest PCI is black and computer is working fine :) Amazing.

So i have a working system now, have all the information nice and almost safe. I bought 2 Seagate 500gb from fryes, and will back everything up on weekly/monthly basis, better be safe then sorry. I learned my lesson and good thing is i didn't learn it in a terrible way. Getting my new MB from newegg, can i just refuse the package and get my $ back? or do i have to RMA it?

Oh and got my new CPU Overclocked 6420 to 3.6 stable at 1.52v, pushed it to 3.7 but temps were in high 60's so i backed it down. 24/7 Its running 3ghz at 1.26! Haven't tried but bet it could run stock at 1.2volts. My previous 6400 did 3.4 at 1.56v. 3ghz I had to bump Volts to 1.36. So def a better processer.

Thanks again guys!
 
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