Hardware failed. Anyway to keep my recordings on new h/w?

[Dsmevolution]

My motherboard died completely on my HTPC and there's no getting it running again. This means I am buying a new motherboard and processor to replace it. Problem I have is that i've got TONS of shows DVR'ed that we've yet to watch and i'll soon find my head in a guillotine if I don't find a way to save them.

About 90% of the shows i've recorded have the "No Copy" flag set from the broadcasters so I figure I am pretty much screwed. Anyway to get past that and still be able to watch them on the new build?

HELP!

[cwinfield]

You can probably get a new cpu without triggering drm, you do however need to use the same model mobo and just use your existing hardrives windows installation. My mobo has died twice under two different configurations and I just replaced the mobo without triggering playready. Now it might be difficult to track down a new or refurbished motherboard depending on what you currently have.

[DavidinCT]

You can probably get a new cpu without triggering drm, you do however need to use the same model mobo and just use your existing hardrives windows installation. My mobo has died twice under two different configurations and I just replaced the mobo without triggering playready. Now it might be difficult to track down a new or refurbished motherboard depending on what you currently have.

Yea, exactly, same exact model motherboard and you can change a CPU....Then you SHOULD be safe. If your going to change your MO to a different model, you could try to do a repair to windows but, I would almost bet that would not work.

Good luck, this is can be a tricky one...

[Dsmevolution]

Yeah, a quick search and I couldn't find a replacement Mobo. Went out today and bought a combo deal for $129. Going to lose all my recorded shows, but if I wait until I can find an exact replacement, i'll be without TV for who knows how long. Just have to face the music and accept whatever yelling I get for losing all the recorded TV lol

[Crash2009]

What, exactly is wrong with the MB? They can be repaired, you know. Puffy caps can be de soldered and replaced. I/O ports can be soldered back together. Some "shorts" can be washed off with windex and 100% alcohol. Most things, aside from being split in half with an axe are fixable. If you cant find a repairman where you are, PM me and I'll give you the phone number to mine.

On a different note, if you end up having to buy a new MB, Buy two this time.

I know this is a family emergency, but go get some cable boxes, and take your time with the new build. Don't forget to make an image.

[Dsmevolution]

What, exactly is wrong with the MB? They can be repaired, you know. Puffy caps can be de soldered and replaced. I/O ports can be soldered back together. Some "shorts" can be washed off with windex and 100% alcohol. Most things, aside from being split in half with an axe are fixable. If you cant find a repairman where you are, PM me and I'll give you the phone number to mine.

On a different note, if you end up having to buy a new MB, Buy two this time.

I know this is a family emergency, but go get some cable boxes, and take your time with the new build. Don't forget to make an image.

All the caps looks good, I honestly couldn't find the physical fault anywhere. What was happening was the the first bios splash screen would come up, it would go to a blank screen and then bring up the splash screen again. I took out the memory to see if the POST would give the no memory beeps and nothing, it acted exactly the same. So since the POST obviously wasn't working, it had to be a fault somewhere at the very core of the mobo that I could not diagnose.

I've already gotten a new mobo and processor and reimaged the OS drive, so it's a done deal at this point. I'll take the advice though and buy a second mobo in case this happens again.

On the plus side, the new mobo and proc seem to have fixed a lot of the issues I had before. My TV and all the extenders are much more stable than before and I haven't had to do multiple reboots a day to keep it going. I'm guessing my original mobo had been going for a long time.

[Crash2009]

I would try 2 things before I tossed it. Pull the board from the case, remove the CPU and the Battery. Spray both sides with Windex (the real stuff, not the dollar store stuff) scrub both sides of the board with a tooth brush, then blow it off with compressed air. Then spray it down with some pharmaceutical, 100% alcohol, and blow it off again. I usually let them dry for a few hours in the sun. Re-paste the CPU, and maybe you get lucky. It's worth a shot.

[Navy699]

Ouch.

On second thought, it might not be as bad as it seems. If your hard drive(s) are still working, there may be a workaround. When you get your new motherboard and CPU, plug in the hard drives from your old machine, ensuring of course that you set your new BIOS to use your Windows (C:\) drive as the boot drive.

DO NOT REINSTALL WINDOWS. USE THE WINDOWS INSTALLATION THAT'S CURRENTLY ON YOUR C:\ DRIVE.

Oops- I just re-read your post and saw that you already re-imaged your OS drive. Any chance you have a backup of your old Windows install somewhere? You need to revive your old Windows installation, not your broken motherboard. You need to find some way to recover you old Windows installation from a backup.

Your keys enforcing the no-copy requirement should be tied to your previous Windows installation. Moderators: please note, this is not circumventing DRM or facilitating piracy. It's simply allowing a user with a legitimate copy of Windows to change out hardware in his computer and continue using the software and media for which he has existing rights and licenses, using procedures allowed by Microsoft.

You may run into a few issues, which can likely be resolved.

1. Driver compatibility: Your new CPU shouldn't cause too many issues, but the new motherboard probably will. Windows should automatically install most of the new drivers needed. You may have to reboot a few times to get it all working. If your computer refuses to boot, try safe mode. You may have to download a few drivers from the motherboard manufacturer or use the install CD that comes with your new board.

2. If your computer loads the drivers and runs well, that's good. If it chokes, you may find that "installing" your old C:\ drive into a virtual machine provides gets it to work well enough to set up a DLNA server for your "new and improved" HTPC. That's an advanced topic, and the cure might be worse than the disease unless you really know your way around virtual machines. Your best shot is to put a lot of effort into getting your old Windows install working on your new motherboard.

3. Windows activation:
a. Your copy of windows may automatically accept your hardware upgrade without complaint. That would be ideal. Reusing as many components from your current box as possible (especially items with a MAC address such as ethernet cards, wifi cards, and PCI TV tuner cards) reduces your chance of having to re-activate windows.
b. You may have to manually re-activate windows by entering your software license key.
c. If all else fails, Microsoft has a phone line where you can manually activate Windows. See http://support2.microsoft.com/kb/950929/en-us. You may get a Microsoft touch-tone robot or a human that can help you activate Windows.

Good luck.