Mobo Questions

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Magniitude

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Hi, I'm planning to get a new motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131573


Questions:
1. Will it fit in my Dell Dimension 2400?
2. What steps do I have to do to remove all my stuff( processor, sound card, HD, etc.) safely.
3. Will my HD be erased?
4. PSU connections, etc.

This would be my first time removing and changing a mobo, so I have not the slightest clue to go about doing it.

Thank you very much, and Happy Holidays.
 
1. It should fit except for the CPU cooler duct.
2. Static Discharge protection & Don't slip the screwdriver.
3. No - but you will have to reinstall the OS and drivers.
4. Should be standard.

Get a new case anyway - they are cheap enough.
 
1. Yes, it should fit, and should work with your ram, cpu, and current drives.
The cpu duct may or may not work. I suspect with some slight modification it should work. It might hit the chipset heatsink on the new board, but a dremel to the duct will fix that.
If it doesn't work, then you'll want a new cpu heatsink fan(socket 278 compatible), since the duct serves as a cooling device for the stock cpu heatsink.
2. First back up all your important data to cd, dvd, or external backup drive. You might end up losing your data and requiring a clean xp install, so take precautions. Try following the microsoft guide to motherboard replacement, here. (upgrade existing, xp)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;824125
Once the pc is powered off and unplugged, then replace the board. To do this, do these steps.
Open the case, and touch metal to ground yourself, so you don't fry something with static.
You should remove the cables connected to the motherboard, like the power and data wires, remove your current pci cards, your ram, and then your cpu. To remove the cpu you have to unspring the metal clips that hold the heatsink on, then remove the heatsink from the cpu. Then you pull up the cpu release lever and pull the cpu out. Put the cpu in a safe place, and be careful of the pins. Unscrew the motherboard screws, including the ones that are around the cpu, and then the board should be loose. Carefully remove the board. Make sure the new board has all the same mounting holes, and if the new board doesn't have as many remove the extra standoffs, so they don't short out(likely the four cpu standoffs need removed). Remove the old i/o plate from the case, and put the new motherboard's plate in. Put the cpu and ram on the new board outside the case. Put the new board in carefully and line up the mounting holes. Screw down the board once it's in properly. Then install your pci cards, and your data and power cables. You will also have to connect the front panel connectors, like the power button and leds. I don't know if it's possible to connect the case's usb/mic to the new board.

EDIT: It is possible to connect the front usb to a new motherboard, once you know what wires are the right ones, it just involves rearranging the wires in the connector to match the new motherboard.
Read this thread for more info.
https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic49138.html
If you are reading this and need help switching your dells case or motherboard, I'm more than willing to help.


The power button doesn't matter which way it goes on the motherboard power button pins, but leds do.

The picture shows how to tell which wire of the led is negative. You might just be able to reposition the wires in the cases front panel connector block to connect the new motherboard.

If the replacement guide instructions don't work, and your pc still won't boot, then try doing an xp repair install(not recovery console), and if that doesn't work, as a last resort, format the hd and install xp fresh.
If you need more help, feel free to ask.

You could just get a new case, but it is possible to reuse your old one.
You probably will need new thermal grease, artic silver 5 is good.

If you think you might ever want to overclock your cpu, you could get this motherboard instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138262
It might be harder for you to install though, as an asus likely has better instructions than a biostar.
3. Not unless you format your drive, or cause it phyical harm.
4. Psu in the modern dells like this are atx standard, although with a new graphics card, it might be getting low on power. It should be a 200 or 250w psu, I guess it should be ok with the new setup.

I did this to my 2300, so it's possible.
Check my gallery here for pics of it, if you want.
 
If you need any help, let me know.
Here're some before/after pics of my "transplant". (click for larger view)


In the process of replacing the board, I also seriously modded my case, so it now has 2 rear fans, 1 front intake fan, a floor mounted hard drive, a side panel window(with 2 fans), and an antec 350w psu. I also repainted the case.
I have a whole lot of pics of my project so if you want to see something, let me know and I'll post it if I have it.
 
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