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Thread ID: 76603	2007-02-06 20:22:00	To Begin Click On Your User Name - ????	Strommer (42)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
523232	2007-02-09 03:54:00	Many thanks Jen. The Trademe card is only 4 Mb, so it may be best to go with something like this: GeForce4 MX 400 PCI 64M for $80, or a 32 Mb card for $63.76. ??	Strommer (42)
523233	2007-02-09 05:59:00	A basic 4 MB card will suffice if you are only doing Word and printing. [edit]Second thoughts, the machine is running XP so it would be best to check out what video memory requirements it has. [2nd edit]Went and had a look, and XP only requires a super VGA adapter unless you want to view DVD playback in which case it requires a min of 8 MB of video memory. Wait and see what the more expert hardware people suggest. :)	Jen (38)
523234	2007-02-13 04:36:00	As of last Friday I was going to put in a new PCI graphics card. [In case anyone forgot, there is no video output - see above info.] Well, in the end we decided to put in a new MB with new RAM and CPU. There was some concern that the problem may be with the MB and not the graphics card, and besides we will have a better PC :) and I will learn more geek stuff :nerd: :D . What do I need to be aware of when putting in the new MB RAM & CPU ? I do know about using an antistatic strap, and I know that the CPU may need some sort of paste when mounting it (which I do not have and wonder if it will be supplied with the upgrade kit). And I know that the drivers will have to be updated, but what else? I have never done anything like this previously. I am assuming WinXP will boot up normally (from the old HD) and maybe it will ask for a reactivation or whatever. The upgrade kit is an AMD Sempron 3000 (with fan) on a Foxconn with onboard graphics, and 512 RAM. We don't need anything powerful - the old system was a 1.2 G Athlon with 256 RAM (probably only 4 or 8 Mb of onboard graphics) and it was fine as long as the staff did not open and print too many photos at one time. Thanks	Strommer (42)
523235	2007-02-13 04:45:00	Your current power supply maybe insufficient. At a guess it is under 250W? Your existing case will be fine as it is a standard size tower case. You will also need to completely reinstall the OS after changing the motherboard. Rarely does XP cope well with an abrupt change of hardware like that. The CPU might have thermal tape already attached so you may not need thermal paste. There is quite a bit of info out there on building a new machine which will aid you with the (re)assembly. Have fun, it is a great learning experience and well worth it. :)	Jen (38)
523236	2007-02-13 06:37:00	You will also need to completely reinstall the OS after changing the motherboard. Rarely does XP cope well with an abrupt change of hardware like that. What are the options for saving the data on the HD? Run Linux off a disk? Access the HD from another PC, e.g. my desktop? I had a gut feeling that I should have backed up the data using the CD writer, but decided to wait 'until after the summer holidays'. The HD has a Restore partition and a restore CD (we bought this from a uni student who got it from Farmers).	Strommer (42)
523237	2007-02-13 06:40:00	Jen, re: the PS. It is 250w and I was hoping it would be adequate. We tossed around various options: buy a new cheapo PC for around $800 - no, too much $$, or buy another second hand PC off Trademe, maybe $250 - $300, but then we may be back to where we are now, so we went for the upgrade kit and hoped we did not need a new PS.	Strommer (42)
523238	2007-02-13 09:35:00	Well I am not sure about your PSU. I guess you can try it and see how you get on. How much were you quoted for the upgrade kit? You can try to slave the current hard drive to your PC and copy across data that wasn't backed up. Just remembered something about PC Company recovery disks. Sometimes they are tied to the original motherboard BIOS and cannot be used on a different computer. Could make things a bit more complicated.	Jen (38)
523239	2007-02-13 20:02:00	Thanks again Jen. The upgrade kit was $179 without the extra RAM and GST. Best price we could find. I have a friend who will probably help me slave the HD to get the data off it, maybe using one of his PCs to do it. My hope is to make a drive image (onto CDs) using Acronis, then transfer it to the upgraded PC. When I succeed in doing this, I'll crack open a beer or two and slap a geek gold star on my forehead! Knowing that only about a year ago I opened a PC case for the first time, it will be quite an achievement. All due to PF1, :thumbs: I might add. If for some reason slaving the HD does not work, I wonder if we could not boot the upgraded PC using a Linux disk (I bought one last year just for this purpose, Knoppix I think) and get the data off that way? In the end even if we lose the data the staff will survive OK but it just means a lot more work for me setting things back up.	Strommer (42)
523240	2007-02-14 08:10:00	I am not sure what would be achieved by making an image of the current hard drive when you are already putting the same hard drive into the upgraded computer. You will have exactly the same problem with the driver conflicts from the massive hardware changes and possibly an unbootable OS either way you do it. What you need to do is to slave the drive onto another computer and then just copy the individual files you want to save off that hard drive to be burnt to CD. You can then try to use the old hard drive on the new machine, and if it fails to boot or remain stable, then try out your recovery disk to reinstall/repair Windows. Bear in mind there is a good chance the recovery disk will not work on a different motherboard.	Jen (38)
523241	2007-02-14 19:27:00	Jen, Speedy, GF, et . al . - a few questions from someone who has never replaced a MB: When a new mb is put into a PC, how are the new drivers added? Via the BIOS or some other way than doing it from Windows? I do not understand if Windows will start at all from an old HD but it does not seem so considering Jen's comments above . Or is it always necessary to boot from a WinXP installation disk? I have a WinXP CD somewhere from an old laptop - the PC being upgraded came only with a recovery CD that restores from a partition on the HD - but as Jen says this will probably not work as the partition will be matched to the old MB . About the drive image - I guess that I was wrong in assuming a drive image could be transferred to different PC's and not just the one that it was made from . I was in an internet cafe once and saw nearly all of the PCs being Ghosted at the same time from what I thougt was one image . Just found this on MS Knowledge Base: For Windows XP: To replace a failed motherboard with a new motherboard and to then reconfigure Windows to work with the new motherboard, do the following: 1 . Turn off the computer . 2 . Replace the existing motherboard with the new motherboard . 3 . Insert your Windows CD in the CD-ROM drive or the DVD-ROM drive, and start the computer from the CD . a . When you are prompted To set up Windows now, press ENTER, press ENTER . Setup looks for any previous installations of Windows XP on the hard disk and then displays a list of any previous installations that it finds . b . Use the arrow keys to select the installation that you want to repair, and then press R to select the To repair the selected Windows installation, press R option . Cr*p, cannot find a COA sticker on the PC . It was bought at Farmers, PC Company, according to the previous owner . Well well well, if a drive image does not work and a MS serial number is needed for Repair, then Linux here we come! :lol:	Strommer (42)
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