I have the same problem. My new MB is ASUS P4P800 Deluxe - much better quality than my present MB. I have identical 2 HD's - recently cloned from one to the other - and OEM ver. of Win XP Pro without a CD. Can the move be made to the new MB using Files & Settings Transfer Wizard without using a Windows CD? How? If I have to obtain aa XP CD does it have to be non-OEM?

If you've got a new motherboard, you should only need the driver disc for your motherboard's integrated devices, if it has any.

When you say "OEM", you should have a CD-- even OEMs ship Windows XP discs with their systems. But, a retail version, or another OEM's disc, should suffice if you're just copying files. You shouldn't even need to use the Files & Setting Transfer Wizard-- it should just work, and it should run the Found New Hardware wizard if it needs to.

I have a CD that came with the MB that has printed on it: "Intel 875/865 Chipset Series Support CD Rev. 52.04. This CD runs automatically if Autorun is enabled. Otherwise, run ASSETUP.EXE from the BIN folder." I had this CD in the drive and the PC never seemed to access it.

The man who sold me the PC never gave me a Windows XP Pro CD. Do I now need to buy one to get the MB to work?

I've talked with some people who know a lot more about this than I and I got conflicting stories. One guy said just run Files & Setting Transfer Wizard before removing the old MB and everything should work on the new MB. Others have said I need to reformat the HD and reinstall all programs. I wasn't given CD's for the programs. I have 2 similar 60G HD's - one was cloned from the other - so I can perhaps afford to experiment with one of them.

MS made it clear that with XP, they consider replacing a MB the same as having a new PC and they don't allow using an OEM Win XP CD with the new MB.

Before I go through the hassle of replacing the MB again, I would like to be prepared with a plan that has a reasonable chance of working.