[dwtanimator]

Hello,

A couple days back my mother board died on me and I went about getting a new one since I didn't have the money for a new computer.

I'm currently awaiting it's arrival and have been reading various websites on how to install the motherboard and on how to set it up. I'm keeping all of my previous components including the already formatted harddrive.

I'm just curious if anyone has any helpful advice on things to do, not to do, things they recommend or don't.

It's a pretty major upgrade for my computer (going from a Pentium 4 to a Intel I3 2100) and I've read stories stating that it can be easy, or it can be very difficult.

Just curious what your experiences are and mostly anything that I should avoid doing at all costs?

Thanks.

 

[sobeit]

same motherboard model or different - you will need your operating system disks, if it is a different motherboard, then you may have to do a repair install because the motherboard drivers will be different. You also may have to call microsoft to activate.

as far as easy or hard - depends upon the case and the way it is setup. what motherboard did you order and what model of case or computer you putting it in?

 

[dwtanimator]

It is a completely different motherboard. The original is probably 6 or so years old. It is an older Sony Vaio (PCV-RS320) and the new motherboard is a MSI H61M-E33.

I know that the motherboard sizes are the same so I'm hoping that there won't be too much of a problem there.

I was worried at first if it would fit, but after reading a lot about the actual installation, I'm not so worried anymore.

I'm just hoping that I won't have too many problems once it's in and I'm trying to set it up with the rest of my components and windows.

 

[Markgg88]

Some stuff to keep in mind:

-This may seem obvious but I'll say it anyway. Before you touch any electrical components, ground yourself out with the case first to discharge any static electricity to avoid damaging anything.

-Avoid touching the circuit board or the back of the motherboard. You can grab the motherboard by the heatsink or by it's edges.

-When mounting the Mobo inside the case, make sure when installing the standoffs into the case, you only use mounting holes which have silver rings around them. You don't use the ones which have no silver rings around them. If you do this wrong you'll short out the mobo, so be especially careful about this.

Before installing the mobo into the case, I suggest you do a bench test: http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f15/how-to-bench-test-your-system-262998.html

 

[Wrench97]

What CPU and Ram did you get to go with the new board?

OEM cases may have proprietary connectors for the front panel, On the Vaio I'm not sure but I think they are.

Also Some OEM cases do not have a removable I/O shield(the part in the back of the case where the KB/Mouse/USB/serial ports are).

Lastly you're probably running the OEM version of Windows, the license is tied to the original motherboard, upgrading it will require upgrading Windows.

 

[Tyree]

Does your case use standoffs pre-molded in the case or removable ones?
New Mobo & CPU will require a Repair Install or a fresh install the latter being preferable.
Is your OS disc a System Restore type or a full version?

Edit: good catch on the I/O plate wrench97.

 

[dwtanimator]

Hmm...good questions about some of the parts and what nots being proprietary. I dont' have the answers for that yet, not something I've thought about it be honest. I'll definitely look into that.

I'm not sure about windows, but I do have a boxed Windows 7 that I had purchased about a month ago and just never got it installed. I guess this would be as good a time as any.

The stuff about the case I'll definitely need to look into.

Thanks and keep the questions coming...I may not answer all of them, but I'll certainly look into them.

 

[Wrench97]

You do realize the CPU and ram will not fit the new motherboard?

 

[dwtanimator]

Yes...I know that the old chip doesn't fit the new motherboard. I did purchase an I3 chip to go with that board and also purchased 8 GBs of DDR3 RAM, since the old machine used DDR2.

I also purchased a new tower just the just in case issue of things not completely fitting in the old one. The old one is kind of tiny and had a 300w power supply, so I went out and bought a 600w PS, but discovered that it was significantly larger than the old one and figured I made need a new tower. If everything fits okay in the old one, then I can always return the tower.

 

[Wrench97]

The new retail case will most likely also provide better cooling then the OEM case.

 

[Stu_computer]

i'm suprised no one asked about the psu.

i note in post #9 you mention it's a 6+ year old 300watt c/w the original case.
i definetly recommend you remove it and use the new psu only as that old psu will have degraded and it's not worth risking all that new hardware--not even temporarily.

 

[dwtanimator]

Re: New motherboard - IDE to SATA adapter help

Okay...update with an issue.

Everything was going well with the new motherboard until I decided to connect my PATA HD, DVD and CD. These are all IDE devices and the motherboard only supports the SATA format.

I went and bought some IDE to SATA adapters and have had no luck getting BIOS to recognize any of them. I tried each item on all of the settings (Master, Slave, Master w/Slave Present) and got nothing.

I'm now at a loss and probalby going to return the 3 adapters. I read various reviews about these devices on Newegg.com and Amazon and people either had luck or zero luck with them.

Has anyone here had any luck or have tried using these adapters before.

Edit: And "Yes", the drives do have power.

 

[Tyree]

Set all of the IDE drives to CS (Cable Select). Windows will recognize the devise on the far end (Black connector) as Primary(Master) and the device connected to the middle (Gray connector) as Secondary (Slave).

 

[Stu_computer]

can probably buy a sata dvd for about the same cost as the adapter

if you must use an ide hdd then get a Controller Card instead
Newegg.com - SYBA SD-VIA-1A2S PCI SATA / IDE Combo Controller Card

i see sata drives on sale every weekend though, much bigger and faster.

 

[dwtanimator]

Okay, I tried setting all of the drives to "Cable Select" and still do not get anything. I'll be honest, I think I've tried most of the configurations of the jumper settings together and the board never recognizes any of them.

I tried HDD on Cable Select, DVD on Master and CD on slave and had the BIOS set to recognize in that manner and still got nothing.

I purchased a new type of adapter, just to see if I can get the HDD working and will now have to wait for that to show up. Unfortunately, I did that before looking on this page and seeing the IDE Controller Card.

I really would prefer to use this drive as it is less than a year old. I'll eventually get a newer SATA drive, but right now I'm reaching the end of my budget and cannot afford many more major parts, let alone getting the information transferred.

I'm about at my wits end and starting to think that this trying to build a computer may have been the worst idea I've ever had.