Replacement motherboard advice

[prospero]

Ladies and Gentlemen
I hope this question isn't too lame but here goes:

My sons computer is giving almost constant BSOD's with various messages
I have changed the RAM, PSU, Video card etc and reinstalled XP. I am left with the Mobo.
I have decided to change that but do not want to spend a lot of money and do not want to buy any other "bits" so can someone help me with compatability as I am not sure what is best.
Comp is only used for surfing and general work not games.

Current mobo Asrock K7VT2
2*Crucial 512mb (These have been tested and exchanged with others)
Athlon 2600+XP CPU
Asus 9550GE/TD Graphics

Thinking about the following :
K7VT4A Pro (Cos I have found one cheap)
ASUS A7N8X-X
Or am open to other suggestions my main criteria are low cost (I have just moved house) and compatability with current equipment.
Best Regards
Chris

[TwoRails]

Hi prospero,

No such thing as a lame question... I've done a number of builds with the A7N8X Deluxe, it's a great board; never did a build with the "-X" version though, and don't know what the diff is off the top of my head.

Before I pop in a new mobo, however, I think I'd research the BSODs more, as a new mobo may not fix the problem. Why not post more details and see what folks have to say?

TR

[prospero]

Thanks for the support.
As for the BSOD's I am at a loss to explain them as I have tried most things.
They were happening every single time I booted normally after a couple of minutes and each time seemed to be a different reason: Page file not found in non paged area, NTFS sys etc..
The problem has been getting worse.At first it occurred once a week getting gradually more frequent until now when it occurs every 2 mins.

I re-installed XP and it happens slightly less often (About once every 20 mins) but I am sure it is not a software issue because of this re-installation. As the mobo is the only thing that I haven't changed I guess that is it.
Best Regards
Chris
PS Does your reply indicate that the ASUS will be compatible with my CPU??

[kilgoretrout]

Have you run the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostics on the hard drive or swapped out the hard drive and cables? If not, I'd try that before buying a new mb.

[TwoRails]

Originally Posted by prospero PS Does your reply indicate that the ASUS will be compatible with my CPU??

Even the early Dlx versions (1.0) supported the 2800+ right out of the box. The newer revs (2.x) support even more CPUs and a faster FSB. Here's a link to the "X" vesion:

http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l...19&modelmenu=1

and the Deluxe version:

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...16&modelmenu=1

for your comparison

However, I'm still reluctant to say it's a mobo problem, though...

TR

[prospero]

Gentlemen
As this problem has been ongoing for a while (Over a year) I have over time checked and changed everything. I shall of course check again before making an order. I have scoured the forums and Microsoft Knowledge base and I think I have eliminated everything else except the Mobo. Any advice gratefully received.
Chris

[TwoRails]

I'm not a fan of Asrock, so I'd probably upgrade just to get rid of it. You'd be happy with the Asus. Either way, good luck!

[glc]

The A7N8X-X is a very good reasonably priced board. XP should be reinstalled after the swap to do it right, it's not going to boot unless you change the IDE drivers to standard dual controller first anyway.

[prospero]

Gentlemen
Thanks for the help, I shall double check my "bits" and then order the ASUS. I was intending to re-install XP after my upgrade anyway. Do I understand that this will sort out the IDE controllers?
Thanks for all your advice and I shall update this thread with further news.
Best Regards
Chris

[blue60007]

Have you run the hard drive diagnostics? What about doing chkdsk /r in the recovery console? Sure sounds like a hard drive problem. What model/brand of hard drive? I'd hate to see you get a new motherboard, and still have the problem.

[prospero]

Thanks for your concern. I have 2 Hard drives a Western Digital and a Maxtor. I have installed XP on both and disconnected them one at a time to test whether the problem persists. No matter which HDD is connected I still get the problem, It occurs more of less randomly and each time the code is different. I have even sent an error report to Microsoft, they merely tell me that it is a driver error.
I have spent the morning exchanging graphics cards, cables and reloading XP, nothing helps so I guess I shall be ordering a new mobo on Wednesday (Tomorrow is a vacation in hard working Europe : )
Any more suggestions gratefully received.
Chris

[prospero]

Gentlemen
As an update, I have installed the new mobo Asus A7N8X-X. It is working fine and has solved the BSOD problems however I do have a couple of questions if you had some time:
1 I have installed XP and the Graphics card (Asus 9550GE ) drivers as well as the drivers that came with the Mobo. The mobo drivers were for the NVDIA chipset and USB 2.0. I am not 100% sure the chipset drivers installed as the install screen only flashed up quickly and then dissapeared.
The device manager shows that the following are yellow question marked : Ethernet controller
Multimedia Audio Controller
SMI Bus controller
As a result there is no sound or ethernet. I would have thought that XP would have installed basic drivers. Any advice on drivers for these would be helpful.

2 In the previous system the AthlonXP CPU showed a speed of 2400+ (Which is what I bought it as) with this Mobo the BIOS shows 1800. Why would this be??

Thank you guys for your continuing help
chris

[glc]

1. The chipset drivers did not install.
2. The FSB is set too low.

[prospero]

Thank you for the reply.
I have solved the sound problem by a quick visit to the NVidia website but if its not a stupid question how can I resolve the CPU undereading problem?
Best Regards
Chris

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by prospero ... how can I resolve the CPU undereading problem?

Check in the bios and see how the cpu is recognized. You'll probably see that it is detected as a 266 fsb. Change the fsb to 333 to match your cpu. It might list fsb options as 100/133/166/200. If so, you should chose 166.

[prospero]

Thank you.
I am at work at the moment but I shall try this when I get home.

[prospero]

Gentlemen
I have now resolved all of my problems and learned a bit too so thank you very much.
Chris