well troops looks like the old a7n8xdeluxe is ailing and will have to send back to asus under warranty(the agp red led is permanantly illuminated and still boots with some problems).so i started wondering how i would transfer my two sata drives on to a new motherboard and have winxp pro sp2(on my old sata hdds)rcognise the harddrives.no probs with clean install but this has existing operating system looking for the sil chipset at start.new motherboard new chipset new drivers.how can you load new drivers so that the hdds will be recognised? I thought maybe winxp disc f6 early new drivers from floppy then repair xp,what do you thing anyone had this problem.hope you can help.regards wombat

If you're changing MB's, a clean install of XP is by far your best option. Unless you are simply replacing it with another A7N8X. Perhaps if you reveal what MB you are trying to install we can be of some help.

rdgrimes thanks for the reply,havent decided what mothermoard to buy but if its such a hassle i may select a mbb with sil sata controller so i wont have to do two clean installs on the seagates 120g sata.regarda wombat

Hmmmmmm, not sure if that will work, as rdgrimes said a clean install is always best, i really would recommend doing a clean install aswell yeah its hassle now but it will more than likely save you from future headaches.