To format or not to format....

That is the question. When replacing, upgrading mb,ram,vid card, cpu. Is it unwise to try and boot to an existing OS and driver setup...Or better to boot to an empty hard drive?

its not unwise, its just gonna give you issues. It'll boot, but you'll want to make sure once you get it booted get all the info and files you need off, and then format.

I always format and install. That way I know that I only have one set of drivers for the hw I have (no stragglers!)

You can boot into last config, but there is the hassle of installing drivers etc.. Windows wants to reboot a million times each time it finds new hw, so why not just start fresh on a new setup?

I decided formatting and starting fresh was better....and it worked out flawlessly. I formatted and reloaded windows BEFORE the rebuild without loading any drivers....and first boot on new rig went perfect.....thanks again guys.