On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:35:41 +0100, Rune <aut### [at] runevisioncom> wrot
e:
> My question is - how big is the impact of inserting a new motherboard
> in an existing computer? Will the computer start up like nothing has
> changed or is a re-install of Windows necessary? I'm very reluctant to

> the latter, so I might wait a bit longer if that is the case.

Having replaced faulty motherboards in I-don't-know-how-many computers, 
I  

will share my experience (I am assuming you have WinXP):

- If the new MB has the exact same chipset as the old one, chances are  

good that Windows will start normally. Some new devices will be detected
,  

and you might even have to install/reinstall a few drivers.
- If the new MB has a different chipset, the odds are worse. If Windows 
 

starts, there will be a lot of new devices found, but no big worries. If
  

Windows does not start (BSOD with error 0x0000007B is common) you might 
 

get it up and running again by doing a repair install. Following a repai
r  

install, you will need to install some drivers as well as all Windows  

updates.
- In some rare cases, the hardware is so different that even a repair  

install can not salvage your Windows installation. A full reinstall will
  

be needed.

Regardless of how you get it up and running again, you will need to  

reactivate Windows.


> The other question - how do I find a motherboard compatible with all m
y
> other hardware? I guess processor and graphics card is the only real  

> issue?

Also memory type, number of memory slots, number of PCI slots etc.


> The motherboard in question is a Asus A8N-SLI SE / nForce4 SLI / Sata 
 

> 300.
> So which newer model supports all the same things that this one does?

I do not know if the situation is different where you live (Norway?), bu
t  

over here (Sweden) there are very few MBs still available for socket 939
.  

It has been almost completely phased out.

Possible alternatives (these can still be found in online stores):

ASUS A8V-VM SE
Downsides: Micro-ATX format, so only two memory slots and two PCI slots.
  

Only two SATA channels. No Gbit LAN (only 10/100). No SLI.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=260&l4=0&model=
1524&modelmenu=2

ASRock 939NF6G-VSTA
Downsides: Micro-ATX format, so only two PCI slots (four memory slots  

though). Only one ATA133 connector. No Gbit LAN (only 10/100). No SLI.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=939NF6G-VSTA



-- 

FE

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