If you do not get the same motherboard, chances are it will still boot and you can just update the drivers.
If it will not boot, a repair install of XP will fix it. No programs will have to be reinstalled and no data should be lost. Still a good idea to back up data before you start this.

 

I ordered the following from Newegg on Friday the 13th (Thanx Purplesky):
BIOSTAR P4M80-M4 Socket 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
I'll post again after I install it.

 

Hi there,
Please keep us updated on how the MB replacement goes.

I have a Compaq Presario S6010V with a bad MS-6577 M-ATX Rev. 3.1 (Giovani) that I am going to replace and I am curious as to the difficulty and what is needed to get it running. Mainly, if Windows will need re-activation. Trying to get all my questions together and will make a seperate post when I get reay to swap.

On a side note, I just did my 1st MB swap a month ago (emachine) and I used the same Bio Star P4M80-M4 Socket 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX for it and came out perfectly. Good luck!

 

Hello all!

I swapped out the mobo w/o much trouble. However, when it started to boot, the Windows XP boot screen came up, immediately went to the the "blue screen of death" & rebooted, almost too fast to see the blue screen. I thought it might be the CPU (the mobo manual had a line about not working with the williamette processor. I ordered a prescott processor suggested in the manual & installed it; same problem. I put in new memory; same problem. Epiphany! I booted off CD - no blue screen. Today, I ordered a recovery CD from HP for ~$16. When it arrives, I'll see if I can get the OS on the HD going again. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for the interest.

 

This is what I was talking about in my last post. If you change something like the motherboard it really confuses XP. A repair install will fix this. In most cases you will not have to re-activate Windows.

 

I got the replacement package; 8 disks. I put #1 in & it tells me I have the wrong version for the PC. I'm sure I ordered the correct package, so I suspect it doesn't recognize the motherboard.
I tried to do a repair from the software on the hard drive, but it asks which system to repair, & gives me 3 options:

C:\MinINT
C:\i386
C:\Windows

I tried each one, but don't know the administrator password. I very much doubt my friend knows either.
I put the hard drive on another system as a secondary disk, but am blocked access to the primary user information my friend wants me to salvage.
I put another hard drive in the system & installed XP from a CD I have, but will still need the original key from her install to make it Microsoft legal.
Any suggestions on how to recover the original disk or find the software key for the replacement.

 

Any more luck with this?

 

I too am having problems with the MS-6577. I am actually working on this for a neighbor who has BIOS ROM Checksum error or something along those lines, on a MS-6577 v4.1.

Anywho, so it sounds like you have an OS operating problem now. Is it that you can't get into the account with the stuff or is it a registration problem?