Before I attempt anything...

[Marker]

...on installing a new motherboard/cpu on an old system, I'd like to know some things that I would appreciate answers for. : | Thx for answers to any of these.

Is the technology (e.g. wires and stuff that connects to other stuff, HDD and optical and psu) of today just about the same as from 2003?

Can I use any old phillip screwdriver to screw down the mobo? Or how about a metallic swiss army knife?

Instead of using one of those grounding leashes and antistatic gloves can I just touch my metal pc case ever so often?

Is a cloth just as effective as a can of duster when it comes to cleaning the pc case inside? Or maybe a antistatic wet nap?

Lastly, it doesn't matter if my pc had an intel cpu/mobo, and im changing to amd, right?

[[Jett]-Liqdfire]

...on installing a new motherboard/cpu on an old system, I'd like to know some things that I would appreciate answers for. : | Thx for answers to any of these.

Is the technology (e.g. wires and stuff that connects to other stuff, HDD and optical and psu) of today just about the same as from 2003?

Can I use any old phillip screwdriver to screw down the mobo? Or how about a metallic swiss army knife?

Instead of using one of those grounding leashes and antistatic gloves can I just touch my metal pc case ever so often?

Is a cloth just as effective as a can of duster when it comes to cleaning the pc case inside? Or maybe a antistatic wet nap?

Lastly, it doesn't matter if my pc had an intel cpu/mobo, and im changing to amd, right?

Q. Is the technology (e.g. wires and stuff that connects to other stuff, HDD and optical and psu) of today just about the same as from 2003?

A. I guess that really depends on what type of hardware you buy now or bought in 2003. Floppy drive interconnects have not changed at all in the last 10 years or more, unless you count external USB floppy drives. SATA drives have become more popular over the last couple of years, but I doubt you could buy any new - at least not reasonably - memory, cpu or motherboard from 2003. Most SATA drives take a different power connector, but there are adapters for that.


Q.Can I use any old phillip screwdriver to screw down the mobo? Or how about a metallic swiss army knife?

A. Theoretically, you could use any philips screwdriver. I personally prefer one with a magnetic tip, makes getting some of the screws in the tight places a little easier; however, most techs will tell you not to use them, I have never had a problem from that.


Q.Instead of using one of those grounding leashes and antistatic gloves can I just touch my metal pc case ever so often?

A.I have never used a grounding strap, I do keep one of my arms resting on the case pretty much all of the time I am working inside a case. The purpose of a grounding strap is to keep the free electrons built up on your body from discharging violently and frying components. You accomplish the same thing by touching the case, and providing an equalization between you and the case.


Q. Is a cloth just as effective as a can of duster when it comes to cleaning the pc case inside? Or maybe a antistatic wet nap?

A. NO, cloth, dust and exposed components do not mix. Using a cloth to remove dust can generate large amounts of static electricity. Get a can of duster, or an air compressor.


Q. Lastly, it doesn't matter if my pc had an intel cpu/mobo, and im changing to amd, right?

A. Your case and PSU do not care who makes your mobo or CPU. Now your mobo does care, and your ram cares a little, mostly to make sure the type of ram is supported by the mobo / chip. As long as you are changing those parts in unison you will be ok.

[Marker]

so its basically only the standard to serial ata change and that's it?

[[Jett]-rush2049]

I 2nd all that was said.

But I like to use a bunch of q-tips and maybe a bit of rubbing alcohol to clean the dust... (or even my finger some times) but a cloth is no good...

The techs that say using a magnetic tip screwdriver is bad, are just depriving themselves of effortless installs.

As far as grounding goes I also just touch the case (before unplugging it from the wall, because that is the actual ground)... and then generally avoid rubbing socks against carpet while working on the machine...

I also like to keep the mobo resting on top of an antistatic bag while working on it, the one it comes with would work fine. Then when it gets put in the case you don't really have to worry... just by placing it in the machine you touch the walls enough to prevent any accidents.

[[Jett]-Liqdfire]

so its basically only the standard to serial ata change and that's it?

No, there has been a lot of changes between the cpu, mobo and ram interconnects, as well as video cards.

[[Jett]-RANGER]

I put a couple PC's together and the only thing comes to mind is no jumpers on the MB's now and having the right HD cables (serial/ide). And the power supply cables are a little different now too.

[Marker]

-Liqdfire;6298']No, there has been a lot of changes between the cpu, mobo and ram interconnects, as well as video cards.
yeah, tho i just meant when it comes to cables. i think i can buy an ide-to-serial adapter

as far as i observed, all of the following cables look the same between the old and new stuff: hdd, pwr and optical LED lights, front usb panel, front audio, optic drive, case fan, main power and 4-pin connectors...

oh wait, i can use a 20-pin on a 24-pin mobo right? or maybe i'll just buy a newer psu.

[[Jett]-rush2049]

yes a 20 pin will work for a 24 pin mobo, as long as you have an adapter, but you might have to worry if the powersupply is underpowered

[Marker]

ok, and what are jumpers? there are 3 jumper settings that i see, but idk what they are for

[[Jett]-rush2049]

If you baught your motherboard there should be a manual that explains what they do, or you can lookup the motherboard online and see what they do.

One of them is probably for resetting the bios, the other two I don't know, one could be for ram voltage, but it is best to look them up and see what they do, and or what to set them as.

Jumpers are little peives of plastic with a metal lining inside, they cover 2 pins and thus connect them together, this usually tells the motherboard (cd drive, hard drive) what setting you want. Modern motherboards have fewer and fewer of them as all the settings are controlled in the bios.

[Marker]

ok nvrmd about the jumpers, i see now that i don't have to do anything with them cuz theres these plastic jumper things on the pins, i assume i don't need to worry about touching these then

and do i need a tube of thermal paste? or is the white square under the big metal thing w/ the fan the thermal stuff?

[[Jett]-Liqdfire]

ok nvrmd about the jumpers, i see now that i don't have to do anything with them cuz theres these plastic jumper things on the pins, i assume i don't need to worry about touching these then

and do i need a tube of thermal paste? or is the white square under the big metal thing w/ the fan the thermal stuff?

If you purchase a retail box cpu it generally comes with a fan with pre-applied thermal paste. The paste is a generic paste, I generally replace it with some type of Artic Silver thermal paste; however, for most installs it is sufficient.

[[Jett]-Willow]

Those plastic jumper things on the pins are the jumpers themselves, you should not have to mess with them seeing how almost all mobos now a days have softtouch bios. The mobo manual will be well documented in terms of jumpers if they need to be messed with.

However, if you're using IDE hard/optical drives, you may need to check the jumpers on them.

[Marker]

-Willow;6314']However, if you're using IDE hard/optical drives, you may need to check the jumpers on them.

yeah about that, i have 2 options:
A. use one IDE cable to plug in both devices and name one the master and the other the slave and reconfig the jumper
B. connect my hdd via the ide and the optical drive to an ide-sata adapter and connect to an sata port on the mobo, then config the jumpers

thing is... i have NO CLUE where or how to configure these 2 jumpers
------

and thanks to all helping me out, up to this point you have been great

[[Jett]-Liqdfire]

Just put both of the drives on the same IDE cable, and set the jumpers to cable select. You should be set. If you look on the general region where the jumpers on the back of the drive you should see it marked CS or CSM, those are the two jumpers for cable select.

[Marker]

i'd put them on one ide cable but they are too far to reach ea other and share a connection

tried using an ide-sata adapter to connect the optical but when i turned it on nothing happened. also i was able to use the power button, but it wouldn't force shut down, and the power LED didn't light up, the hdd LED stayed on the whole time; all 3 fans were working fine and i could open/close the disc drive

BIOS was supposed to start up...
did i have to move the bios jumper from my old mobo to the new one? if so where would i put it?

---
oh shh was i supposed to do something the the bios before installing the new mobo? and i didnt make a back up. i hope i can reinstall the old board and then see whats up

[[Jett]-Willow]

i'd put them on one ide cable but they are too far to reach ea other and share a connection

tried using an ide-sata adapter to connect the optical but when i turned it on nothing happened. also i was able to use the power button, but it wouldn't force shut down, and the power LED didn't light up, the hdd LED stayed on the whole time; all 3 fans were working fine and i could open/close the disc drive

BIOS was supposed to start up...
did i have to move the bios jumper from my old mobo to the new one? if so where would i put it?

---
oh shh was i supposed to do something the the bios before installing the new mobo? and i didnt make a back up. i hope i can reinstall the old board and then see whats up

1. Ok, so if you're using 2 cables. The PRIMARY HDD, needs to be put on MA (Master )jumper setting. If there is another thing on that cable, set it to SL (Slave). Plug HDD IDE into Primary IDE Slot on Mobo. Optical cable into secondary.

2. As for the lights and switches being messed up, it sounds like you plugged the wire's leads into the wrong pin, this is a quiet common error. Double check and try again.

3. You should have to do nothing to MOBO on first install, once booted up, enter bios and confirm everything is working.

[Marker]

no, i can't use one ide cuz the 2 devices are too far frm ea other; i'd use 2 ides but the mobo only provides 1 ide connection

so i didn't have to do anything like back up the bios or insert a disc? hmm i guess that's not the problem then

also, i heard that you cant replace a mobo of a pc made by a brand-name manufacturer... anyone can confirm this?

[[Jett]-Willow]

no, i can't use one ide cuz the 2 devices are too far frm ea other; i'd use 2 ides but the mobo only provides 1 ide connection

wire's leads? wrong pin? i kno i connected cables to the right places it seemed to fit into (20-pin to pwr; 12v to that 4-pin slot on the mobo; 4-pin's to ea ide device; so forth)

so i didn't have to do anything like back up the bios or insert a disc? and i heard that you cant replace a mobo of a pc made by a brand-name manufacturer... anyone can confirm this?

The Case's lights and switches run from a wire, with a plastic plug on them, to the motherboard's switch and led leads.

[Marker]

ur talking about the HDD and pwr LED and pwr switch cables, right? i made sure i got em right

could it be unacceptable ram? the mobo box said it could take ddr2 800, so i got 1gig of pc2-6400 by kingston. however, when i looked at the manual for the mobo it had a list of usable memory by companies, and i didnt see kingston in the 800 section.

[Marker]

ok ive got it narrowed down to what may be the potential problem

a. my version of xp home doesn't support multicore cpu's (dual in my case), if that is possible for sp1 or less if there is

b. i didnt install an amd driver beforehand

c. weak power supply, tho i think a 380w psu should support an avg mobo, cpu, and onboard stuff, and so forth

d. the thing that i said about my RAM not being exactly compatible even tho its ddr2 800

e. combination?

sry for the double-post
i'm also thinking about borrowing a friends oem xp cd and installing over on my old hdd, and then just using the cd key of the pc im trying to upgrade instead so that i have a pc that will run off a "independent" version of winxp home... if i can make it official whether or not that can be done >.<

[Marker]

ok so i have a simple 160gb hdd; how much should i partition???

[[Jett]-Willow]

ok so i have a simple 160gb hdd; how much should i partition???

all of it. Making multiple partitions on one HDD is nice to organize, however if you're drive fails, all the partitions fail.....

[Marker]

hmm really? i partitioned 20GB to install xp because everywhere i see says it's nice to partition for the os

[Marker]

Yesssssssss.... Ok, so as of now, I am using my computer that is fresh from transplant surgery. It's an overall success. :cool:

Much thanks to Liqdfire, Willow, rush2049 and RANGER for giving me help and further comments... and for not harassing me cuz of my n00bish pc-building skills. :)

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