[Problem]Can I Use same boot disk in different MOBO same model?

I was considering upgrading my CPU in My P5E and run an image of th
original Boot Disk (in my case an XP3 System HD) and If all else failed
I would put the original CPU and HD back on my mobo and get back t
SQUARE ONE. Would this be a plausible solution?

But Now I find that I would have to upgrade my BIOS for the CPU
received. which makes things even thornier. So I am considering have
Backup P5E to be placed on order to replace the original board if m
mobo should crash and burn. The new P5E might presumably have the newe
BIOS upgrade or at least different from the Revision I have now. (No
sure If I would want to venture soldering in a new BIOS chip to recou
my failure.)

So The MAIN QUESTION IS. If I upgrade my BIOS and the original mob
craps out, would I be able to get the exact same model with the sam
BIOS REV or a newer REV for that matter and attach the original boo
disk and CPU, and THEN be back to square one? I would plan on writin
down my BIOS settings before doing any of this and entering them befor
reattaching My original System disk and CPU.

I know you can't switch out different types of Boards with you
original system disk. But you could change out your Ram and perhaps you
CPU, right? Any clarification on these issues would be appreciated

 

There are two issues, booting and activation.

If you use the same motherboard model, plug the hard drive into the same port
type on that motherboard, then the OS already has the driver to boot with.
So that won't cause a problem. You'd be careful of course, to duplicate
the BIOS settings, such as IDE, AHCI, RAID, the boot order, on the new
motherboard. (Use a digital camera to log how you've set up the BIOS.)

Windows requires re-activation when a significant hardware change happens.

http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

"1. Display Adapter
2. SCSI Adapter
3. IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
4. Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address <--- new mobo, different MAC addr
5. RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
6. Processor Type <--- new processor model
7. Processor Serial Number (PSN only existed on one processor)
8. Hard Drive Device
9. Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
10. CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM"

The network adapter carries a fair weighting, as it is a leading indicator
of a hardware change. Windows will likely prompt you to re-activate
online. No phone call should be needed (unless you've been activating
like crazy lately). I changed to an entirely different motherboard
model, and moved WinXP, and I was able to re-activate online over
the network. Windows warned me that I had 72 hours (3 days) to
complete the re-activation, which was not a problem.

Occasionally, I've read accounts of someone triggering re-activation,
and the OS became completely hosed (locked up to such an extent, it
wasn't possible to do anything to connect to the network or the like).
If your previous motherboard was broken, even if you had a clone of
the hard drive for safety, it might not help you, as your broken
motherboard would make it hard to go backwards and retrace your steps.
So while I think the risks are very low, for what you're doing, there
is still a tiny risk the process will not complete. In such a case,
you would contact Microsoft by phone, and talk to an activation or
support specialist. If their activation scheme breaks your OS, they
should fix it, immediately.

Paul

 

Why do you expect a problem with updating the Bios? Why should the motherboard
crap out? Even changing the motherboard shouldn't be a major risk. I've done it
just by deleting the drivers first, so that windows will rebuild them as needed.
I've read of a number of other options.