Posted: 8/7/2002 4:15:09 PM EDT
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Got a new HP XT983 and she's up and running fine. Question: I have a bunch of stuff from my old unit I want to swap over: FireWire card, scanner card, memory, second HD, and a new video card. Can I swap it all at once? I installed it one piece at a time so I'm not sure what happens in a major swap. Thanks for the help. BP |
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AS a general rule, I always install one item at a time. Check the system, fully reboot, and use the card/device/software prior to installing the next item. Saves ALOT of time troubleshooting for a failed piece of hardware. Dunno why, but most of the time, Windoze will have a problem auto-detecting multiple pieces of hardware and installing all the drivers. Slow and easy, take your time, one piece at a time. TRG |
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Yes. When you turn your PC back on, it will ask you for the drivers for each item, one at a time, where necessary. If you are running XP, you will probably want to go to each manufacturer's website and download the latext XP drivers for each of these BEFORE doing the install. Unzip each package into its own directory, and when asked for the driver for that piece of hardware, browse to the proper folder for the updated drivers. You will definitely want the latest drivers for the video card, if nothing else. -Troy |
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bushwaH!! half the fun is putting everything in at once and troubleshooting the problems and making it work :) okay.. nevermind what i say :) i build my own computer when i need to so thats why i dont do the "one card at at time" thing.. but it probably is a good idea.. cept it takes alooooot longer.. |
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OK,thanks for your help. A couple more questions. Video card: I have a 3DFX PCI card that I can install but I also have an AGP slot. Should I upgrade and if so what should I get. Lets keep price reasonable. I have PC100 memory in the old girl and 133 in the new. I know I can install the old stuff and it will all run at PC100 speed. Is 256 at 100mhz better than 128 at 133? Third question: The firewire card was a Studio DV unit. The software never ran worth a crap on hte old girl so I never used it. Can I install that card and use another program, say Premier? If not, what is a good DV Firewire card that comes bundled with Premier? Thanks. Man, this board is FILLED with smarties!! BP |
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Q: Video card: I have a 3DFX PCI card that I can install but I also have an AGP slot. Should I upgrade and if so what should I get. Lets keep price reasonable. A: Nearly any AGP card will smoke your old PCI card - $100 will buy a lot of video card. If you're into gaming you'll want to spend more. Q: I have PC100 memory in the old girl and 133 in the new. I know I can install the old stuff and it will all run at PC100 speed. Is 256 at 100mhz better than 128 at 133? A: Depending on your OS may be. NT, Win2000 and XP manage their memory more efficently than the old Win95/98 code did so extra RAM is much more worth the money. I'd run the 256 Mb or spend the $39 and get new 133 MHz speed RAM. Q: The firewire card was a Studio DV unit. The software never ran worth a crap on hte old girl so I never used it. Can I install that card and use another program, say Premier? A: You'll want to see if your card has drivers for your current OS (which I assume is XP). Q: If not, what is a good DV Firewire card that comes bundled with Premier? A: I use the Ospry-500 DV card at work ($900) and that doesn't include Premier. [url]http://www.realnetworks.com/products/osprey500/features.html[/url] |
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If you don't game a lot, don't bother with your video card. If you do like to game, definitely upgrade, I would suggest something fromt he gforce 4 line, or even a 3 if you want to save some bucks. Is 256 at 100 better than 128 at 133? Most definitely. the 33 mhz difference in your memory speed will not even be noticeable to you, but to have 256 meg of memory, espesially under XP is well worth losing the small amount of speed. Of course XP, like all windows operating systems is such shit that no amount of memory will trully make it good. As to the DV card, have not tried what you're talking about but I would imagine that it should work fine. |
| With older versions of windows (9x) I always installed one piece at a time and made sure it ran correctly before putting in the next one. I don't know about win 2k, but XP's hardware recognition is amazing. I did massive upgrading on my system a couple months ago and installed XP pro for the first time. It detected everything in one shot, even my old and relatively unpopular sound card. Later when I plugged my printer in (without rebooting) a little icon popped into the system tray telling me it was detecting new hardware. A few seconds later it disappeared and my printer worked. MS sucks sometimes, but I find XP impressive. |