Upgrade motherboard in emachines pc

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I have an emachines pc running win xp home. It came with recovery disks to reinstall the OS if needed.

I want to buy a new motherboard for this computer. I do not want to have to buy win xp for this PC.

If I do this:

Before you make the hardware swap you're going to want to change the IDE drive controller's driver. Go to your device manager, right click on the My Computer icon and go to properties. From there click the Hardware tab then click on the Device Manager button, that will open up a new window. Expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers section, right click on the your main IDE drive controller and select Update Driver. Once the Hardware Update Wizard opens, select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced), then select the "Don't search. I will choose the right driver to install." radio box and click next. From there select Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller and click next.

Once that's done, Windows XP will be configured to use the default IDE controller driver so that you can swap out your motherboard without having the scary blue inaccessible boot device screen show. Of course, once you're finished swapping out parts simply install the latest drivers for the new motherboard and you should be set.

http://65.24.134.81/KipSolutions/MovingXPNewMotherboard/MovingXP.htm



Will I be able to reboot to windows and then reset the IDE controlller to the new MB's drivers without having to lose what is on my HD? I recently (three days ago) did clean reinstall of Windows. So there isn't much on it anyways.

My fear is that my recovery disks won't allow me to reinstall windows because my hardware has changed. But I will be forced to reinstall because of the new MB.

Is my product key good if I use an XP disk borrowed from someone else?
 
Normally when you swap MB's it would be best to re-install windows , Drivers etc.XP may make you re.register because of the significant hardware change.
There are many other drivers than just the IDE controller to consider.
Also Emachines are not the most upgrade friendly.I would first go to their Web and see what they support for this upgrade.
Let us know what you learn their.
You cannot use another XP disk as your oem license will not be accepted by it.
 
also i thought ive read in many places that you can't reinstall the OS with the recovery disks because part of the OS is on the hard drive or something like that. wouldn't he have to get a whole new disk?
 
eMachines keys the recovery CD's to the stock motherboard so if you ever need to re-install XP you wont be able too. I think you're setting your self up for a big hassle. Newegg.com selld the full version of XP Home for under $90. Your CD key wont work with any other CD. Can you just upgrade your processor and memory?
 
Problem is I think the MB is going bad. I think it is overheating and shutting down as I have been having problems with it randomly shutting down.

I bought a new CPU for it, but it has more FSB than my MB handles so it is underclocking.

The WinXP that Newegg has for 90 is an OEM version. Aren't I stuck using that with the first MB I load with it? Can I reuse that key if I change MB's in the future?

Or would an Upgrade version work if I have a win98 install CD?

If I buy XP I want to be able to reuse it with out problems if i change hardware, or decide to pitch this PC at some point and build my own.
 
the oem version at new egg will work just fine, it willbe a stand alone license and not controlled by extraneous files written into oem's from manufacturers like Emachine. Don't buy the uprade lisence, although it is a full version it will always be tied to a legitimate upgrade qualified windows version.The free standing OEM xp has to be sold with some hardware and the only other diference is that you will pay a premium Support charge at Microsoft.
Since your Mb. is wacked go ahead grab the Oem XP and do all the hardware upgrades you need then you can do a nice clean install.
 
Hmm, perhaps it is not the MB overheating. Turned PC of last night. Four hours later wife tried to turn it on and it would not boot. I was able to finally get it to boot after 3-4 tries. A couple times it wouldn't even start up, just turn the fans on. Once it started to start up but then died.

Power shouldn't be a problem , I have a new 450w power supply in it.

Hmonitor says the Aux power is in the red at +2.51v

Only other thing I have noticed is that the Core voltage sometimes goes up to +1.66v and then turns red. +1.65V is OK.

Voltage readings are this:

+12: +12.86V, +5v: +4.89V, Core: +1.65V (+1.66 makes it red), I/O: +3.34v
-12v -xx.xxV, -5v -x.xxV, Aux +2.53V (always seems to be in red, no matter what it reads.)

Just surfing Mainboard temp is 36C, CPU is 36C, HDD 39C
 
your e-machines CD may give you problems unless you are running an ECS or PCChips mobos. I've used their recovery disk to install on both types. My original mobo was an ECS L7VMM with an AMD XP2000+. The PCChips board was running a P4 Northwood. It was a M952 model. They did however both have VIA chipsets, though one was VIA KM266, and the other was VIA PT800 Both installs were carried out with the same disk. The PC was eMachines T2080. It may work with boards from other makers, though I'm not prepared to say so.
 
This mobo is an ecs l7vmm with via km266 chipset. So you think if I bought another ecs with a km400 chipset I might be ok using my recovery CD?
 
Yes. you can check out the PCChips boards as well. They are a little better than the ECS boards although both companies are owned by ECS. Chips is their better line. Stick with a VIA chipset board, and it should work fine. Post back and let me know how it worked out after you get the new board. On the chance that it doesn't work, you should find out about the companies return policy before you buy it, so you aren't stuck with a board you can't use.
 
OK, installed new mobo, and all seems to work well. I was able to reactivate windows using my current code without issue. I also installed the mobo without needing to reinstall windows. All went smooth.

Also, the computer seems to work better. I had installed a game that everytime I booted it up the computer would crash, but with the new mobo it worked fine.

So it seems, at this time, that all is now well.

Thanks for the help.
 
For anyone who is interested, I replaced my mobo with an ECS KM400-M2. After replacing the mobo, i did NOT have to purchase Win XP, my OEM disks installed just fine.
 
emachine - mobo swop out

Hi - I am interested to learn of your experiences. I have a UK purchased emachine (820) that has an ALASKA3 mobo. I too have the discs that came with the unit (bought from new and yes, OEM)

Could you give me any tips as to what mobo I could use (it appears to be different manufacturer than that noted in yours and earlier threads) to overcome exaclty the same issue. (my mobo is ont he way out, not quiet, but close). Hopefully........
 
The only thing I can recommend is to make sure you get the same brand mobo and the same chipset if you can. This will help, but not guarantee, that XP will accept it.
 
Alaska3 is made by Trigem a Korean company. Looking on their web site, it wasn't very user friendly. What chipset does it have? Have you asked eMachines cust service? Like I said in an earlier post, the boot from the OS installed with the recovery doesn't seem to be dependent on the BIOS chip. In otherwords they are fairly user kind in terms of upgrading. I would suspect a mobo with the same model chipset would work, but if it is a VIA, since all the chipsets work on the 4 in 1 package you could try upgrading to a more robust chipset. I upgraded my mobo on my old T2080 from a VIA chipset on an anthlon XP 2000+ ECS board, to a P4 478 pin Intel PC-Chips board also with VIA and loaded the OS off the recovery disks no problem. The Microsoft Genuine Advantage BS tool also had no problems, as did the activation.
 
vdtol/luvhuffer - thanks for your responses. Emachine UK cust service, now there is contradiction in terms. I would probably have more luck with my daughters' talking doll (can I say that?) - (ask many different questions and you get the same response ("the serial number is tied to the oem"). I am away from my home desktop at the moment, but will check chipset when back and post.
 
LOLz Ya the serial number is tied to the OEM and won't work, UNLESS you buy the mobo from them for an unrealistic price.
 
I'm very new to the repair part of computers. I'm running an emachine, purchased about 4 years ago. Can't afford to replace it right now, but would like to have it up and running. I've been told the MB needs replacing -- it's a via km266. What else do I need to replace?
 
EMachine T2240

I need a schematic diagram or a color picture of a Emachine T2240 motherboard.
I installed a refurbished motherboard, but think I may not have hooked some of the wires up correctly and thought a schematic diagram or a color picture of a working Emachine T2240 would help.
 
The original mobo is an IMPERIAL-GLVE(EMA):845GL(B1),W/LAN. Good luck finding a diagram. Can you be more specific about the wiring problem and the kind of replacement mobo you purchased?
 
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