Will new hardware effect hard drive

[EvilAerosolCan]

Like the title says, if I replace things in my system, will the old drivers on the harddrive conflict with the new stuff and make me need to format or anything crazy like that?

[Mr.Guvernment]

They can - it is best to

1. boot info safe mood - uninstall drivers for hardware iuf you can
2. uninstall hardware from System / hardware / device manager area

shut down - install new hardware.


I find it best to do a fresh format - you avoid any "possible" driver conflicts later on and know you have a fresh clean install with no worries.

[FireFox]

I find that you are safe replacing most hardware on a good install of Windows as long as it is not the MB itself. When it is the MB, it is ALWAYS recommended that you do a clean install of WinXP.

As Mr.Guvernment stated above, that would be the ideal situation when upgrading a video card or a sound card.