Replacing parts on a HP pavillon

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zed Rafi
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Zed Rafi

Hello all,

My brother's computer crashed a while back, and i've been lazy about
repairing it. I've now gathered the courage to starts buying the
replacement parts and repair the damn thing.

The computer completely crashed; it displays a blank screen upon power
up (no bios text or anything). After opening up the case, i noticed
brown goo had seeped out of some of the capacitors on the MOBO, so i
figured the MOBO is the problem.

anyway, the specifications of his computer are here:
http://tinyurl.com/juy2y

the spec page on the HP site does not mention the socket type of the
MOBO, so it's kindda hard for me to choose a replacement
motherboard.... I want to buy it off ebay. Could someone point out to
me which characteristics i should be looking for in a replacement
motherboard?

anyway, i've also been told that HP cases are not compatible with
non-hp motherboards (size and power-up/reset buttons)... is that
correct? does that go also for the PSU?

thanks a lot for your time and help
 
Zed Rafi said:
Hello all,

My brother's computer crashed a while back, and i've been lazy about
repairing it. I've now gathered the courage to starts buying the
replacement parts and repair the damn thing.

The computer completely crashed; it displays a blank screen upon power
up (no bios text or anything). After opening up the case, i noticed
brown goo had seeped out of some of the capacitors on the MOBO, so i
figured the MOBO is the problem.
Click to expand...


What the heck is it with HP motherboards and bad caps? It seems like every
time I see leaky caps the board was from a Pavilion! Are they trying to
manufacture the stuff to fail???

anyway, the specifications of his computer are here:
http://tinyurl.com/juy2y

the spec page on the HP site does not mention the socket type of the
MOBO, so it's kindda hard for me to choose a replacement
motherboard.... I want to buy it off ebay. Could someone point out to
me which characteristics i should be looking for in a replacement
motherboard?

anyway, i've also been told that HP cases are not compatible with
non-hp motherboards (size and power-up/reset buttons)... is that
correct? does that go also for the PSU?

thanks a lot for your time and help
Click to expand...


Personally, I hate HP mid-towers. Those cases drive me nuts. They always
seem cramped and always collect tons of dust and other crap. I don't know
about the buttons, but sometimes you are really pressed for layout space in
there. I wouldn't try to put a non-HP board in one of those things. You'd
end up losing a fraction of a inch somewhere and it wouldn't fit. You'd
have RAM sticking in your power supply or CD drive or something.

It should be a Socket A if that helps.

I'd get a new mobo, and a new case, then just flop everything into the new
case and do a repair install or whatever you need to do. If you get the
right board, and a good heat sink & fan you can even overclock it a little.
No miracles, but it would be worth doing since you're shopping for a new
board anyway.

Good luck!

~e.
 
visions of effty said:
What the heck is it with HP motherboards and bad caps? It seems like
every time I see leaky caps the board was from a Pavilion! Are they
trying to manufacture the stuff to fail???
Click to expand...

Mindless conspiracy theory.
Personally, I hate HP mid-towers. Those cases drive me nuts. They
always seem cramped and always collect tons of dust and other crap. I don't know about
the buttons, but sometimes you are really pressed
for layout space in there. I wouldn't try to put a non-HP board in
one of those things. You'd end up losing a fraction of a inch
somewhere and it wouldn't fit. You'd have RAM sticking in your power
supply or CD drive or something.
It should be a Socket A if that helps.
Click to expand...
I'd get a new mobo, and a new case, then just flop everything into
the new case and do a repair install or whatever you need to do.
Click to expand...

Could get messy, its got a recovery disk system.
 
Zed Rafi said:
Hello all,

My brother's computer crashed a while back, and i've been lazy about
repairing it. I've now gathered the courage to starts buying the
replacement parts and repair the damn thing.

The computer completely crashed; it displays a blank screen upon power
up (no bios text or anything). After opening up the case, i noticed
brown goo had seeped out of some of the capacitors on the MOBO, so i
figured the MOBO is the problem.

anyway, the specifications of his computer are here:
http://tinyurl.com/juy2y

the spec page on the HP site does not mention the socket type of the
MOBO, so it's kindda hard for me to choose a replacement
motherboard.... I want to buy it off ebay. Could someone point out to
me which characteristics i should be looking for in a replacement
motherboard?

anyway, i've also been told that HP cases are not compatible with
non-hp motherboards (size and power-up/reset buttons)... is that
correct? does that go also for the PSU?

thanks a lot for your time and help
Click to expand...

Rather than buyinig new Mobo why not have a go at replacing the capacitors?
All you would have to do is snip the bad ones off and solder (or otherwise
fix
(wrap wires)) similar sized capacitors. Maybe you could scavange them from
old electrical equipment you have lying around, so it wouldn't
cost you anything at all, and quicker than buying on ebay!!

It might not work but you have nothing to lose if you are going to bin the
board anyway.
It would also give you something to brag about if it did wotk!!!
 
"Zed said:
would that mobo do the trick?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1187840&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

it seems to get good reviews (good value for price)

one little thing: the spec page says it supports PC2700 memory.
However, my bro's old system's got only PC2100 DDR if i recall
correctly. Will it still work and just simply operate at a lower speed
to accomodate the slower memory?

thanks a lot
Click to expand...

The FSB and the memory clock should go hand in hand. A FSB266
processor should run the memory at 266 too. 266*8=PC2100.
Should not be a problem. Only the recovery disk/tattoo would
be a problem.

The Southbridge is also slightly different, and if you are
lucky, maybe the same driver will work for both. I would
clone the disk to a backup disk, in case there is trouble.
Worst case, you restore from the clone, and do a Repair Install.
Best case, it just works.

Paul
 
Hello all,

My brother's computer crashed a while back, and i've been lazy about
repairing it. I've now gathered the courage to starts buying the
replacement parts and repair the damn thing.

The computer completely crashed; it displays a blank screen upon power
up (no bios text or anything). After opening up the case, i noticed
brown goo had seeped out of some of the capacitors on the MOBO, so i
figured the MOBO is the problem.

anyway, the specifications of his computer are here:
http://tinyurl.com/juy2y
Click to expand...

Pretty much useless, we don't care what the specs are, only
what the chassis and power are like, which would require
extensive documentation or real pictures.


the spec page on the HP site does not mention the socket type of the
MOBO, so it's kindda hard for me to choose a replacement
motherboard....
Click to expand...

What CPU is it?
probably socket A

I want to buy it off ebay.
Click to expand...

That might be a poor idea, if you're spending all this time
to do it, why take the risk with ebay parts? Socket A
boards aren't that old yet, you should be able to find one
online.

Could someone point out to
me which characteristics i should be looking for in a replacement
motherboard?
Click to expand...

mATX
Socket A
At least 133MHz/DDR266 FSB
Integrated video
Integrated audio
Integrated NIC (Network adapter).

I'm assuming the system still used all the motherboard
features. If on the other hand, the user had installed a
video card upgrade, it wouldn't be necessary for the
replacement board to have integrated video, but most mATX
boards do.

anyway, i've also been told that HP cases are not compatible with
non-hp motherboards (size and power-up/reset buttons)... is that
correct?
Click to expand...

Not really but it depends on your definition of compatible.
You need to measure the available space in the case, how
wide the board can be without interfering with the drive
rack, and where the two overlap (when seen from the side),
how tall any parts can be on the board at that point.

I'd expect most mATX boards to fit, and the case does have a
standard, removable rear IO panel (though you'd need to make
sure whatever you buy has a matching IO panel too).

The PSU should be standard. We don't know that you need a
new PSU at all so you might as well try the original first.
Note the specs on the PSU label, or whether it has an ATX 4
pin connector. If it has no 4 pin 12V connector or it isn't
rated for many 12V amps, this might effect the motherboard
selection.

does that go also for the PSU?

thanks a lot for your time and help
Click to expand...


Until we have further into, the best generic answer is to
buy a name-brand (like MSI, Abit, Asus or Gigabyte) nForce2
board, mATX, "IGP" type which means it has the integrated
video. You could get a more similar board to what it had
already, a KM266 based board, but they're a little slower
technology than nForce2, less upgradable, and the video is
much slower for gaming (not that nForce2 is fast as any
modern video card, but at least it can play old games).

However, if the HP system uses quickrestore type of factory
HDD image to install the operating system or software, you
may not be able to use that anymore since the replacement
board won't be an HP brand (the board bios has a string to
identify it).
 
Hello all,

My brother's computer crashed a while back, and i've been lazy about
repairing it. I've now gathered the courage to starts buying the
replacement parts and repair the damn thing.

The computer completely crashed; it displays a blank screen upon power
up (no bios text or anything). After opening up the case, i noticed
brown goo had seeped out of some of the capacitors on the MOBO, so i
figured the MOBO is the problem.

anyway, the specifications of his computer are here:
http://tinyurl.com/juy2y

the spec page on the HP site does not mention the socket type of the
MOBO, so it's kindda hard for me to choose a replacement
motherboard.... I want to buy it off ebay. Could someone point out to
me which characteristics i should be looking for in a replacement
motherboard?

anyway, i've also been told that HP cases are not compatible with
non-hp motherboards (size and power-up/reset buttons)... is that
correct? does that go also for the PSU?

thanks a lot for your time and help
Click to expand...


As for the power, LED and reset buttons, yes those are a
possible issue. I have a somewhat similar empty HP case
here that has a single row 8 pin connector for the power and
LEDs on the front. It is not compatible with most
motherboards. If yours is similar, you can take a needle or
X-acto knife and gently pry up the plastic tabs on the
connector just enough to slip out the wires, then take a
knife and cut the connector lengthwise to make it into 2 or
3 smaller connectors.

Next put the wires back in to match the pinout for your new
motherboard (as seen in the new motherboard manual). If
you don't have enough positions available by cutting up the
original connector, you may need to find an old system being
trashed somewhere and take the connector off of it. Even
very old AT systems often had a few of these plastic
connectors you can salvage, as HP did use a standard size,
just a proprietary pin positioning (on "some" of their
boards, I don't know for sure about yours).
 
Rod Speed said:
Mindless conspiracy theory.
Click to expand...

Well, a joke, actually.

Could get messy, its got a recovery disk system.
Click to expand...

I forget. Yeah, those are nearly worthless unless you get the exact same
board. If you want to talk about conspiracies let's talk about M$ refusing
to ship OEM disks with new PCs within the last 6 or 7 years! That drives me
nuts! You get an OS with a very limited capacity for upgrades, which really
helps devalue your hardware in the long run. Essentially, you can't
"transfer" your license to the "new" computer. The only work around is
paying an arm and a leg for OEM discs. It keeps you in the market for a new
budget system with the same shitty pre-installed OS. It's like paying for
something you don't get.

I'd use it as an excuse to get a nice, hacked version of XP and call it
even.

~e.
 
Only the recovery disk/tattoo would be a problem.

i don't care, because the recovery disk provided with the original
system had Windows Me on, which is total crap.

I'm going to reinstall everything from scratch.
 
visions of effty said:
Well, a joke, actually.



I forget. Yeah, those are nearly worthless unless you get the exact
same board. If you want to talk about conspiracies let's talk about
M$ refusing to ship OEM disks with new PCs within the last 6 or 7
years! That drives me nuts! You get an OS with a very limited
capacity for upgrades, which really helps devalue your hardware in
the long run. Essentially, you can't "transfer" your license to the
"new" computer. The only work around is paying an arm and a leg for
OEM discs. It keeps you in the market for a new budget system with
the same shitty pre-installed OS. It's like paying for something you
don't get.
Click to expand...
I'd use it as an excuse to get a nice, hacked version of XP and call it even.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I do that just to avoid the activation stupidity too.
 
Zed Rafi said:
would that mobo do the trick?

it seems to get good reviews (good value for price)
Click to expand...

tigerdirect has some who pour scorn on their operation.
one little thing: the spec page says it supports PC2700 memory.
However, my bro's old system's got only PC2100 DDR if i recall
correctly. Will it still work and just simply operate at a lower speed
to accomodate the slower memory?
Click to expand...

Should be fine.

BUT you may need to buy an XP license because that system
uses a recovery system that may well refuse to allow other
than the original motherboard. Or get a hacked XP CD anyway.
 
Yeah, I do that just to avoid the activation stupidity too.
Click to expand...


Well the guy said it was packaged with Windows ME. That right there solves
that. No reason to keep the recovery discs, therefore no reason to get the
same motherboard. Hell, if the guy has been putting up with ME for a few
years, Microsoft should have to give *him* some money!

~e.
 
Well the guy said it was packaged with Windows ME. That right there solves that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, noticed that after I had posted that.
No reason to keep the recovery discs, therefore no reason to get the same motherboard.
Yep.

Hell, if the guy has been putting up with ME for a few years, Microsoft should have to
give *him* some money!
Click to expand...

I've never agree with that line about ME, it did work pretty well.

Tho XP certainly leaves it for dead.
 
On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:06:50 GMT, "visions of effty"

If you want to talk about conspiracies let's talk about M$ refusing
to ship OEM disks with new PCs within the last 6 or 7 years!
Click to expand...

Whatever gave you that idea? I've seen plenty that had one.
Most were your bog-standard OEM XP Home. It costs a couple
bucks more though, so OEMs will save that $$ when they
can... too few people think to check that before ordering,
apparently.

That drives me
nuts! You get an OS with a very limited capacity for upgrades, which really
helps devalue your hardware in the long run.
Click to expand...

Huh? It's still XP, for all it's good and bad aspects, and
should have the necessary XP files on the drive to
facilitate PNP.
Essentially, you can't
"transfer" your license to the "new" computer. The only work around is
paying an arm and a leg for OEM discs.
Click to expand...

You couldn't transfer your license to a new computer if you
had the OEM discs, that's what an OEM disc is- non
transferrible (to another system).

HOWEVER, you are licensed to use the version of XP that came
with the system, regardless of whether it was on an OEM CD
or a restore disc. The license is not tied to the media, if
you want to use an alternate installation source it just has
to be same version- accept the system's license key.
It keeps you in the market for a new
budget system with the same shitty pre-installed OS. It's like paying for
something you don't get.
Click to expand...

Well you do save $ on that OEM system, and they have that
practically worthless support, and replacement/warranty...
so you are getting what you paid for, and if you don't like
what you paid for then of course it makes no sense to pay
for it.

I'd use it as an excuse to get a nice, hacked version of XP and call it
even.
Click to expand...

There is no need to hack the OS, the system's license
doesn't just disappear... but, it IS an OEM license, not
full so it is for that system only.
 
kony said:
On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:06:50 GMT, "visions of effty"



Whatever gave you that idea? I've seen plenty that had one.
Most were your bog-standard OEM XP Home. It costs a couple
bucks more though, so OEMs will save that $$ when they
can... too few people think to check that before ordering,
apparently.
Click to expand...


Right. I have too. It seems to be losing popularity. I exagerate.

Huh? It's still XP, for all it's good and bad aspects, and
should have the necessary XP files on the drive to
facilitate PNP.


You couldn't transfer your license to a new computer if you
had the OEM discs, that's what an OEM disc is- non
transferrible (to another system).
Click to expand...


Yeah, but in reality it's easier with the OEM discs. Am I getting the
terminology wrong? I don't think of Restore Discs as OEM, but I'm certain
that they are. Except the ones you make yourself. I wouldn't think of
those that way, just because you can make changes before you make them.

HOWEVER, you are licensed to use the version of XP that came
with the system, regardless of whether it was on an OEM CD
or a restore disc. The license is not tied to the media, if
you want to use an alternate installation source it just has
to be same version- accept the system's license key.
Click to expand...


Well, I know. You used to be able to send $10 bucks in and get the OS on
media too. Not anymore. Right?

Well you do save $ on that OEM system, and they have that
practically worthless support, and replacement/warranty...
so you are getting what you paid for, and if you don't like
what you paid for then of course it makes no sense to pay
for it.
Click to expand...


Right. Right.

There is no need to hack the OS, the system's license
doesn't just disappear... but, it IS an OEM license, not
full so it is for that system only.
Click to expand...


Right, right. I know, but how do you upgrade a motherboard, and transfer
the license? You don't. Not anymore. They tie that to the machine, don't
they? New motherbard = new system. No?

(hic!)

Cheers!

~e.
 
Right, right. I know, but how do you upgrade a motherboard, and transfer
the license? You don't. Not anymore. They tie that to the machine, don't
they? New motherbard = new system. No?
Click to expand...


It depends on who you ask. It never hurts to read the EULA
on the system HDD. OK, it may hurt a little, but if it
doesn't specify motherboard, many will end up taking the
interpretation that if the rest of the system was static but
only the board changed, it is the same system, not a
_second_ system.
 
Its more complicated than that, legally.
It depends on who you ask. It never hurts to read the
EULA on the system HDD. OK, it may hurt a little, but if it
doesn't specify motherboard, many will end up taking the
interpretation that if the rest of the system was static but only
the board changed, it is the same system, not a _second_ system.
Click to expand...

And legally its just a repaired system, whatever MS likes to try and claim.

Doesnt matter what the EULA says, thats the law.
 
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