# Mother boards

Category: Geeks r Us

## Post 1 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Friday, 21-Aug-2009 23:19:48

Hi All,
Just wondering what knowledge I need to have about the mother board in my computer before I go out & buy a new one? It seems to be going on me, & so I need to replace it.
What I know about it at the moment is that it contains a sound card built into it.
But what other knowledge do I need?
Also, would you all recommend getting a mother board by itself & a sound card by itself? In other words, should I buy them separately? Could that have any influence on why it seems to have gone bad on me so quickly?
Thanks!
Michelle

## Post 2 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Friday, 21-Aug-2009 23:49:25

Well if you are planning on replacing your motherboard, you need to know what size it is,in terms of ATX, micro ATX or etc. Also you need to know what processor is in your computer, what kind of memory, you have currently, what type of connection your hard drive and cd roms drive take to connect to it. These days its very hard to find a mother board with out sound video and other stuff built in and unless you are doing some high end audio or vidoe production its not worth it to by thos e compoments seperately . What reasons do you think your motherboard is going?

## Post 3 by season (the invisible soul) on Friday, 21-Aug-2009 23:59:14

when you said, it gone so badly on you, what do you mean by that. it could be problem with rams, and lots of other factor...
in my case, the board itself having problem, it had BIOS siren... and is back to the intel Muzium...
it depends on what you want to use it for. nowadays, mother boards particularly come with build in sound/graphic card is good enough for normal usage. but of course, if you up to things like broadcasting audio edditing and stuff like that, you might want to consider an external sound card. the general specs are there for now is like 8 to 12 USB pords, can carry up to 8gb ddr2 rams of memory, support core dual, core quat, Pentium dual-core processor etc etc.
there's some products up there that support up to 16GB ddr3 rams, and intel core extreme processer. but in personal level, i'm not too keen on those just yet.
it depends on what you want, and what sort of processer you running, and what casing and what prize you willing to pay for a new mother board.
few factor to consider.
1. what processer you running at the moment, and how old is your system.
2. what sort of ram you using. 533, or 667, etc etc.
3. what do you need in a mother board, things like how many USB pords, do you need firewire pords etc etc,
4. how much you willing to pay for. i believe you can get one fairly good board with around 50USD
if you thinking of replacing your motherboard, i highly suggest you go with Intel boards...
hope this help.

## Post 4 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Saturday, 22-Aug-2009 1:39:17

How do I get all that info?
What I do know so far is that I have a 9500 Quad Core Processor, & 3.2 GB of ram. I found that out by cleaning out my registry etc. I pressed a couple keys & it read everything off. So that's how I know that much, but I'm not sure how to get the rest of that info.
I don't know. The guy where I took my computer said he thought that's what it was. It's a loong story. Short version, computer guy a sucked & didn't know what he was talking about, so I switched computer stores. This new group of people said my DVD drive was burned out, something that pisses me off since I haven't even used the thing, & they disconnected it. After that they told me that if I still had problems, which I do, then it was "most likely the mother board" & it should be replaced.
My computer is still giving me blue screen errors, & JAW's is still skipping (along with my MP3 movies & my music. So I'm figuring it has to be the mother board, & obviously since it's still acting up, I know for a fact that the problem isn't fixed.
Thanks for your help thus far, I'm glad I was able to gain some of the info I needed after reading this!
As an aside, my comp is only a little over a year old, & there are no viruses/spyware problems, that's already been checked out repeatedly.
Michelle

## Post 5 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Saturday, 22-Aug-2009 4:12:02

it could be hard disc errors or something a windows re install could fix.

## Post 6 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Saturday, 22-Aug-2009 13:36:41

No, windows has already been reinstalled. I had everything backed up on my external hard drive before they did the reinstall. The external hard drive was also scanned before being backed up so windows could be reinstalled, & again, nothing.

## Post 7 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Saturday, 22-Aug-2009 14:07:08

well then it could be the drive going bad with bad sectors and all, Something like SpinRite should be able to fix it if thats the problem, also hard drives arean't that expensive so you may want to try a new drive first and well if thats not the fault you have a second drive you can use as an external. An easy way to do this (which may or may not be too technical for you) take out the HD you have in there now and take the external HD out of its case and put i it in your computer as the internal drive and install windows to that drive, if your blue screens go away t then you kow its the drive going. of course before you go that route make sure everything thats on the external is on the old internal as that will be come your temporary back up.

## Post 8 by season (the invisible soul) on Sunday, 23-Aug-2009 21:50:08

it could be other problems as much as mother board problems. try to check your ram sticks, and try what the last poster suggest.
if you want to have emore information about motherboards, you can go to intel's website to have a look. but in general, your problem could cause by lots of other factor, not necessary to deal with motherboard. did you get the whole brand new computer last year or partly upgrate?

## Post 9 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Tuesday, 25-Aug-2009 1:28:49

How sure are you that it's a hard drive issue as opposed to a mother board issue? Either way it'll be alot for me to have fixed, bc I can't do the work myself. I'm not technologically inclined in any way! Lol.
I just got my second blue error alert this evening since I've had it home.
As I said, the guys at the shop didn't mention the hard drive at all. Their pushing for the mother board.

## Post 10 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Tuesday, 25-Aug-2009 1:31:01

No, all brand new, at least according to the guy at the old shop (the shop where I was going before I dropped him for not fixing this & making me pay up the wazoo for it), & he said they were all brand new parts.

## Post 11 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Tuesday, 25-Aug-2009 14:05:58

Motherboards is usually the last resort and if it was the motherboard chances are you would have more than blue screens, and if its the motherboard and you are having blue screens may be try a bios update. But likely its a HD or Ram issue. Also if you can have some one read you the error code that the blue screen gives you you can google it or post it here and one of us can try to parse the meaning for you. Well a motherboard repair would be a more costly repair which means more money for the tech/store.

## Post 12 by b3n (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 26-Aug-2009 11:55:45

Its probably not a motherboard issue.
Get someone to remove the heatsync and reapply thermal paste and see if that helps.
To be honest, we could spend days trying to diagnose this, but what your computer really needs is for someone to swap parts around untill they can tell you what the actual problem is. Perhaps someone from the usa on here could point you in the right direction for a good computer repare person or offer to do it themselves?
Fyi, a good computer person will tell you what the fault is, not what they think it is; if you'd bought it to me, I would have told you conclusively if it was or wasn't the board.
With out meaning to bash you, this topic is pretty pointless anyway. If someone is going to install a motherboard *correctly*, then there going to kno what board you'll need for your components.

## Post 13 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Wednesday, 26-Aug-2009 19:04:31

B3n,
Not really pointless, since I was looking at getting a mother board from
newegg.com
& therefor would have to have the knowledge I need to buy it myself.
Thank you.

## Post 14 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Wednesday, 26-Aug-2009 19:05:30

Monkey,
Thank you. I've already copied the error down & will do that as soon as I get the chance.

## Post 15 by Jesse (Hmm!) on Wednesday, 26-Aug-2009 23:52:42

Ok. Let me weigh in. It honestly sounds like you have a bad block of memory somewhere. That's the first thing I'd try to replace. Next would be the hard drive, but if it were that, it probably would be doing other weird things, not locking up. The fact that you're getting the death screen tells me it's more tan likely a circuit somewhere, probably ram. Find out what kind you have, replace it, then proceed.

## Post 16 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Wednesday, 26-Aug-2009 23:56:12

Ok, thank you! I appreciate it.

## Post 17 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Thursday, 27-Aug-2009 9:40:35

Ok, here's the exact copy of what Microsoft tells me:
Microsoft.com
Blue screen error caused by a device or driver
You received this message because a hardware device, its driver, or related software has caused a blue screen error. This type of error means the computer has shut down abruptly to protect itself from potential data corruption or loss. In this case, we were unable to detect the specific device or driver that caused the problem.
Troubleshooting
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following troubleshooting steps might prevent the blue screen error from recurring. Try them in the order given. If one step does not solve the problem, then move on to the next one.
Step 1: Download and install the latest updates and device drivers for your computer
Use Windows Update to check for and install updates:
Go online to the Windows Update website:
Windows Update
Note
If Microsoft Update is installed, you'll be taken to the Microsoft Update website.
Click Custom to check for available updates.
In the left pane, under Select by Type, click each of the following links to view all available updates:
High Priority
Software, Optional
Hardware, Optional
Select the updates you want, click Review and install updates, and then click Install Updates.
If you recently added a new hardware device to your computer, go online to the manufacturer's website to see if a driver update is available.
If you recently added a new program to your computer, go online to the manufacturer's website to see if an update is available.
Step 2: Remove any new hardware or software to isolate the cause of the blue screen
If you received the blue screen error after adding a new hardware device or program, and downloading updates didn't solve the problem, try removing the device or program and restarting Windows. If removing the new device or program allows Windows to start without the error, contact the device or program's manufacturer to get product updates or to learn about any known issues with the device or program.
Step 3: Scan your computer for viruses
Many blue screen errors can be caused by computer viruses or other types of malicious software.
If you have an antivirus program installed on your computer, make sure it is up to date with the latest antivirus definitions and perform a complete scan of your system. Check your antivirus product's website for information on getting the latest updates.
If you do not have antivirus software installed on your computer, we recommend using a web-based scanner to check your computer for malware. Many of the top antivirus software providers offer this service free of charge on their websites.
To see a list of Microsoft and third-party providers of antispyware, anti-malware, and antivirus software, go online to the following website:
Security software: Downloads and trials
To see a list of antivirus software vendors, go online to the following Knowledge Base article:
List of antivirus software vendors
Tip
Consider scanning your computer using more than one web-based antivirus scanner, even if you have an antivirus program installed on your computer. This will help make sure that you are using the most up-to-date antivirus definitions and allows you to benefit from the different strengths of each antivirus software manufacturer. If you do run multiple antivirus products, make sure you run only one product at a time. Running multiple antivirus products simultaneously can produce incorrect results.
Step 4: Check your hard disk for errors
You can help solve some computer problems and improve the performance of your computer by making sure that your hard disk has no errors.
Click Start, and then click My Computer.
Right-click the hard disk drive that you want to check, and then click Properties.
Click the Tools tab, and then, under Error-checking, click Check Now.
To automatically repair problems with files and folders that the scan detects, select Automatically fix file system errors. Otherwise, the disk check will report problems but not fix them.
To perform a thorough disk check, select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. This scan attempts to find and repair physical errors on the hard disk itself, and it can take much longer to complete.
To check for both file errors and physical errors, select both Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Click Start.
Depending upon the size of your hard disk, this might take several minutes or longer. For best results, don't use your computer for any other tasks while it's checking for errors.
Note
If you select Automatically fix file system errors for a disk that is in use (for example, the partition that contains Windows), you'll be prompted to reschedule the disk check for the next time you restart your computer.
For more information, go online to read the following article:
How to perform disk error checking in Windows XP
Step 5: Restore your computer to an earlier state
If the blue screen error occurred after installing a system or program update, consider using the System Restore feature to remove the changes. System Restore uses "restore points" that have been saved on your computer to return your system to a point in time before the problem began. This won't fix the problem, but it can make your computer work again.
Do one of the following:
If Windows doesn't start:
Restart the computer and, when the screen becomes blank during startup, repeatedly press F8 until the Windows Advanced Options Menu displays.
Use your arrow keys to select Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and then press ENTER.
For more information about safe mode start up options, go online to read an article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Click to read KB315222
If you are prompted to select a version of Windows, select the correct version, and then press ENTER.
Log on to the computer using the Administrator account or an account that has administrator credentials.
Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
[systemroot]system32restorerstrui.exe
(Where [systemroot] is the drive and directory where your Windows system files are located -- for example, "C:Windows")
Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore the computer to an earlier state.
Or, if Windows starts:
Log on to Windows using an administrator account.
Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore.
On the Welcome to System Restore page, select Restore my computer to an earlier time, and then click Next.
On the Select a Restore Point page, click the most recent system checkpoint in the On this list, click a restore point list, and then click Next. You might receive a message that lists configuration changes that System Restore will make. Review this list, and then click OK.
On the Confirm Restore Point Selection page, click Next. System Restore restores the previous Windows configuration, and then restarts the computer.
Log on to the computer as an administrator.
When the System Restore Restoration Complete page appears, click OK.
Advanced troubleshooting
The following steps can help determine what is causing a blue screen error and provide additional options for solving the problem. Try the above troubleshooting steps first before trying these advanced troubleshooting steps.
This section is intended for advanced computer users, such as software developers and network administrators. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting procedures, we recommend that you perform these steps with someone who is.
Step 1: Start Windows in safe mode
Restart the computer and, when the screen becomes blank during startup

## Post 18 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Thursday, 27-Aug-2009 10:29:04

Hmmm yeah forgot about drivers too, i would try that one drivers are usually under hardware/optional when you do windows updates. Also check disc is another one .. Start it before you go tobed or something it should be done in the morning.

## Post 19 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Thursday, 27-Aug-2009 10:31:42

Hmmm yeah forgot about drivers too, i would try that one drivers are usually under hardware/optional when you do windows updates. Also check disc is another one .. Start it before you go tobed or something it should be done in the morning.