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My new Intel D875PBZ has just arrived. The question is 'how easy is it to install a motherboard?' I have all the install docs from Intel website but I've never done it before. Or should I pay for a pro to do it?
Any advice?

It's not too difficult - I recently upgraded my MOBO.

Some prerequisites:

Have a clear, flat space to work on
Decent lighting
Be clear-headed
Philips screwdriver with a good tip
Be sensible about static - personally, I 'discharge' myself by touching a cold tap (or some earthed piece of metal) prior to working. Others are more religious about it and wear an anti-static strap. Cold, dry winter days are the worst for building up static!

Disconnect the external cables from the PC

After opening the case, lay it side-down (so the MOBO's flat)

Start by removing any PCI/AGP cards
Next, disconnect the power supply cabling
Then, disconnect the IDE and floppy cables
Lastly, disconnect the case connectors (HDD light, power switch etc). The order isn't really important.

The MOBO will be secured by several cross-headed screws - remove these.

Carefully lift the MOBO from the case.

Before installing the new MOBO, pre-install the CPU & fan and memory.

Ensure that the mounting points are suitably located from the new MOBO.

Reverse the above procedure:

Install the MOBO and its *fixing screws*.
Connect-up the IDE/Floppy cables, case connectors & power supply leads. Next, install the AGP card (might have a securing clip similar to installing memory), then the PCI cards and their screws.

That's about it! Re-connect the external gear and start it up.

NOTE: carefully read the MOBO's documentation with regards to its correct configuration (inluding BIOS settings)

HTH,

Royston

i'd add that it would be best to reinstall everything including the os(format and reinstall after backing up everything you want to save),following the install order in tips and tricks forum.

even using the old install,be sure to install the mobo drivers from the disk that is included with your board or off the intel site.

Very true.

The system isn't guaranteed to boot with a new MOBO. It's worked once for me, but not the last time ('Blue Screen of SHTOP!' on start-up). So make sure you back-up any important data before upgrading the MOBO!

Royston

Thanx to you both. I'm going off-line now, fingers crossed not too long.
Cheers,

I wouldn't go myself inmediately to do it, it is advisable to read before. Get to the net and read tutorials about it, they'll show you pics and follow ups that can help a lot.

Don't do it straigh, WATCH it carefully and be aware of the different parts. Don't bend the board as many people do when installing, this may cause that some extremely thin cables and connections to brake.

Take your time and if posible, work with lots of light around you.

Most of the time you don't have to install a new fresh system. At least when I upgraded from p4te 1.8 to p4p800 2.8 I didn't have to change a thing.
But when I installed a new XP sytem some weeks later I noticed a significant sysstemresource improvement.
so it never hurts to install a fresh install (with all the known tweaks) when upgrading to a new mobo.

Jerome

Well I've done it. Needed a complete fresh install of XP pro but seems OK. The only problem is installing the RAID driver. This won't install then freezes the computer on the 'starting Windows' screen. Any ideas or views.
Thanks for your cautionary thoughts, well heeded.
Wish you all well

Why do you need raid?
If you don't really need it its better not to install it and diable raid in your bios.

Jerome

not needed.

Understood....
I just thought RAID was the new form application accelorater from Intel...Anyone?
Or did I misunderstand??

you misunderstood. raid is for arraying multiple drives,either as one super drive(but at reduced reliability) or as redundant realtime backup....

Thanx Gary,

_________________
Ricardo (of the Clan 'Ricardo')

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ricardo on 2004-03-02 08:11 ]</font>