MotherBoard

[boofhead]

I bought a new MB and CPU for my Sony desktop computer. Can I just put it in, with the present cards (video, modem etc) together with the same hard drives, CDROM and such, and expect it to work when I turn it on, or is there more to it than that? When do I run the motherboard driver disk? Am I at risk of losing the lot and not being able to restore the original config?

[5711N0205W]

You are in danger of losing the lot, I have heard of upgrades (mobo substitution) of this type that have worked but have not seen a 100% success myself.

Better option is to wipe the HD and start again from scratch (IMHO). Make a back up of your data (you have already of course:) ) so you can restore it later.

[stagger]

Presumably you have the installation discs for all your software and some way of backing up your data files? It's a bit of a gamble trying something like this unless you do!

This is an upgrade rather than a simple motherboard replacement? So in order to give some advice on where you might run into difficulties...

What was your old system like? How old?
What Sony model (in order to find out motherboard type)?
What processor?
How much RAM (how many modules)?
What type of hard drive?
What type of video card?
What type of sound Card?
What type of modem?

If these were all Sony standard features then a Sony model number might be sufficient to find out the details.

What new motherboard + processor did you get?

[knackeredII]

As long as your new motherboard physically fits your casing, the changeover is not a big deal, as long as you are prepared.

When you change over all the components, the system is going to sense the change and want to load new drivers for them. These items are the ones that typically appear under 'System devices' in Device Manager (Control Panel/System/Device Manager). These usually come on a CD with the new motherboard. Depending on which version of WIndows you are running, this can be messy or not so messy.

Basically, the first time you boot up, Windows will go looking for these drivers, so it's a good idea to copy the contents of that CD (or at least the drivers on it) to an area on your C: drive where you can point it to when it asks. You need to do this before you dismantle your old system. WIndows XP or 2000 may even recognize the devices without asking for any drivers.

The rest of system isn't changing so will be recognized as before.

Another way to do it, or if you have any problems, re-install Windows over the top of itself. This will keep your settings but pick up any new devices, but again have the drivers ready.

[spannersatcx]

Have to disagree in that changing a MOB + CPU is no big deal, you have to be aware of numerous things,
is the MOB the same format i.e baby AT, ATX etc
Is the power source/connector the same
if going to an AMD CPU you will almost certainly need new power supply
Is the type of memory for the new MOB the same as the old
Is your existing Video card PCI or AGP
Is your sound card PCI or ISA
There are probably a few other things that you should check

BEFORE you buy a new MOB and CPU! ;)

[stagger]

spannersatcx is correct - there may be hardware incompatibilities to worry about.

When it comes to RAM - older pentium systems typically use 72-pin SIMMs, while newer systems use 168-pin DIMMs.

As for video cards - if you're upgrading an older system the most likely problem would be that the old video card fits in a PCI slot so you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the AGP slot on the new board.

If your old sound card or modem is ISA form then you could be in trouble if the new board doesn't have an ISA slot.

[boofhead]

Lots to think about here. I have a Sony 528 desktop which uses SDRAM and the new MB is a Soyo with DDRAM, but both use Pentium CPUs (P3 to P4). Form factor is the same, although the power supply might be dodgy and I will try to fit a larger unit.
I thought I could first set up the computer in the original Sony box, using a new HDD and install Windows 98 (same as the old one). then if I replaced the HDD with the one from the original unit, would it recognise it and run? If I have to change all the drivers, could I put it all back using the original MB without trouble? Or would it not then work. Can I use Norton Ghost to copy the HDD and play around with a clone instead, so that if all fails I can restore the original config? The new MB can run four hard drives as well as two CDROMs, so I want to make it work if possible, but I have been stuck with a bunch of useless junk before when I have set out to do something I was not familiar with, and since the computer really belongs to the little woman, she would not be impressed if I had to re-load Windows and all her programs again.
But any way it works out, thanks for all the help.

[stagger]

Right I just had a look at your system's specs. Assuming it is a Vaio PCV-R528DS 500 MHz Intel Pentium III. By Sony 528 is this what you meant?

If it is then...

Memory
You most likely have 128 MB SDRAM (perhaps just a single module). Exact type can vary but I expect it supports 100 MHz but critically it'll be a 168-pin DIMM. Now your new Soyo board most likely only has has 184-pin DDR SDRAM sockets so you're going to have to buy some new memory.

Video
Probably a ATI Rage 128GL with 16 Mbytes SDRAM @ 125 MHz. I could be wrong but I think this should work fine in the AGP slot of your new board.

Sound
You probably have on-board sound - with no separate PCI card. If this is true then you'll need a new sound card.

If you are buying a new hard drive why not just do what you suggest - a clean install on that. Then assuming everything is working nicely - plug in the old drive as a secondary drive and copy across all the file you need to the new drive. Of course you'll need to reinstall all your software on the new drive.