Motherboard Cd - Possible To Format Without It?

I want to format my PC which is running Windows XP, unfortunately I lost my motherboard CD that came with my computer. I am not posting from the PC I want to format. My questions basically: How can I format my PC without the motherboard cd available? Is it possible to download it from the net? What options do I have. Please help. Thank you for your help in advance.

Are you referring to your XP operating system CD that you would use to reinstall XP? You'll need that, and there is nowhere that you can download it. Does your machine have a backup partition for preloaded windows operating system? If so, you may be able to burn a set of System Restore CD's to accomplish the above purpose. If you are referring to MotherBoard Chipset Drivers, you can ordinarily download them via the computer manufacturer's Website.

I have the Windows XP installation CD. I am talking about the Motherboard CD that came with the PC when I bought it, that contains the drivers and the rest. How do I determine the manufacturer? I don't have any documentation with my PC.


I would guess that by chipset drivers, you mean the Mother board CD, right?

I just downloaded and ran Belarc Advisor software "Advisor.exe" from http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html but I couldn't get much help from there as it doesn't give the motherboard trademark that I could use to possibly look through the internet for some downlads.

And, hey, thanks for the quick response.

Download Everest 2.20 (free)
It's similar to BelArc Advisor, but has a more convenient browseable report.

You can get it from MajorGeeks:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Install and Run Everest 2.20.
________

In the Report: Computer - Summary - will give you most the information you'll need.
In the Report: MotherBoard - Chipset - Everest will actually give you a link to the manufacturer's website.
_________

Since you have your XP CD, and now are able to download Chipset Drivers, you're pretty much good to go.

You may have some third-party Devices and/or hardware that you will need drivers for.
Again you can use Everest to browse your machines Devices (PCI and others)

Download
Motherboard Chipset Drivers
DirectX9.0c (from Microsoft downloads)
Any additional peripheral Device Drivers,
JAVE Runtime Environment 6 here: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp

have a Firewall and AntiVirus installation CD ready or download Zone Alarm and AVG AntiVirus to CD prior to your reinstall.

Keep us posted with your progress.

Best Regards

I am currently not close to the PC I want to format. I will be doing it tomorrow. But in the mean time I will download and test drive it on my current PC for which I have the motherboard CD already handy. Then I can check the accuracy of the information before I use it on the target PC. I appreciate your help. If I have any problems or questions downloading and running it on this PC, I hope you don't mind If I ask further questions. Thanks

Learning is what TC is all about. I respect your "test drive" approach to using new software.

Ok, I ran Everest 2.20 on this PC and it looks it's reporting accurate manufacture information as well as correct system info as far as I can tell. Looks very great piece of software. Thanks for recommending it.

Only problem I have is: When I format and reinstall Windows XP on my other computer then I am not sure what to download and run. There's so much info being generated by Everest 2.2 software. So I just want to be sure what to download before formating the PC. You mentioned something about BIOS!!! Isn't the BIOS part of the motherboard download or do I have to download it seperately? How about the Chipset?

Sorry for asking these questions, that might be obvious to expert, but since I am no expert please understand where I am coming from.

I will use all the information you supplied in this thread to help me get my other PC reinstalled properly once I get it formated, so I would appreciate if you have any advice as to the steps I would need to do it properly.

Thank you again for your help.


EDIT: Do I need to download PCI drivers too?

I didn't mention BIOS and doubt that you would have to make any changes in your system Basic Input Output System (BIOS) also referred to as CMOS or simply SETUP.

I have no idea what components your machine has, but the items you will most likely want to install are as follows:

XP Installation CD

then in the following order:
Motherboard Chipset Drivers
DirectX9.0c (from Microsoft downloads)
Any additional peripheral Device Drivers,
JAVA Runtime Environment 6 here: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp

Firewall - I use Zone Alarm (free), but Sygate, Commodo, Kerio are all good (and free)
AntiVirus - I use AVG AntiVirus (free)
AntiSpyware - AVG AntiSpyware (free) and Spybot Search & Destroy (free)
____________

Burn the files to a CD for easy installation.
__________

If you have other Devices, like DVD (Power DVD or Interactual DVD) or CD-RW software like Nero or Roxio, then have the paid version CDs handy.

If you have Printer, download the appropriate drivers from the manufacturer's Website.

Some USB devices have their own software, for instance External Hard Drive.

Generally cameras, microphones, speakers, keyboards, mouse, all will function just fine with the drivers installed by XP.

Wait until you are online to get add-ons like Flash Player or Shockwave, or google toolbar.

You'll have to be more specific about your concerns, if you have devices beyond what I've listed above.

Best Regards

Edit:

EDIT: Do I need to download PCI drivers too?

What PCI Cards does this machine have?
Network Interface Card (NIC) ?
Sound Card ?
Graphics Adapter ?
Dial-up Modem ?
Others ?

Ok, that's very useful information. Since I am not close to the PC at the moment I can not give correct answers to your questions. I will get to it sometime within the coming 24 hours. I think I have enough information to get to formatting and re-installing. Thank you.

Just to let you know the PC is all formatted and running fine now. Thank you for your support and help.

Good Work! And thanks for letting us know that it turned out well. Best Regards Edit: It's always a good idea to Defrag the Hard Drive after completing installation. You can run a Full Tests at www.pcpitstop.com to get an excellent overview of your machine's functioning. The Test Results are browseable and include, CPU, Memory, Internet performance, Video Acceleration performance, Hard Drive Performance, Windows Operating System and software performance, and Security. You can post your Full Tests Results - TechExpress link, back here into this Forum for assistance with the review if you prefer.

Thanks for letting me know about the defrag process. Unfortuantely, I am not near the PC that was formatted. I will try that when I get to it. Sorry for not responding in time because I was away from internet. Again thanking you much for your help.