motherboards

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jim

Hello All;

I am looking for a motherboard for an eMachines system,about 3 years
old,i am told the mb needs to be replaced,hope this helps;

AMD Athlon XP Processor1600+
Chipset: VIA KM 266 (heard this was important!)
MB ID#:MBEM2246AM37

not looking to spend a lot.

TIA

Jim
 
Hello All;

I am looking for a motherboard for an eMachines system,about 3 years
old,i am told the mb needs to be replaced,hope this helps;

AMD Athlon XP Processor1600+
Chipset: VIA KM 266 (heard this was important!)
MB ID#:MBEM2246AM37

not looking to spend a lot.

TIA

Jim
Click to expand...

Unless the eMachine's case is some odd-ball propritory case, I
would think either a standard ATX format, or if it is a micro, then a
Micro-ATX mainboard would work. You can still find Socket A mainboards
capable of running your CPU all over. The KM266 chipset may be hard to
find, but there seem to be many VIA KT266a, and better. I think
Nvidia's Nforce2 chipset was a great performer as well.
 
I have been using these biostar boards for situations like yours:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138019

The reason the chipset is important is if you don't use a similar chipset,
your restore cd's won't work because the image is expecting the KM266
chipset. If you were to put in an Nforce2 board for example, your restore
image (or your current installation of windows) probably would not boot.
This can be remedied by running a repair install, but emachines don't ship
with an XP disc. My experience is that the machine will boot and ask to be
activated (make sure you set the time and date before you let the machine
boot to windows). Activation will fail at first because of the key that is
embedded in the image. You will need to change the product key when it asks
you, use the key on the XP sticker on the back of the machine. After that is
just a matter of installing the drivers for the different hardware on the
new motherboard. I have had no problems activating these machines, but be
aware that you might. I have probably done 5 or 6 machines this way.
 
I am not familiar with Microcenter so I don't know for sure. I do know that
they are an older type of board that a retail store may not stock.
 
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