6 year old motherboard

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by GroomLake, Dec 17, 2006.

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  1. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    What I’m worried about is my 6 year old motherboard going south. If I have to buy another motherboard and it is not exactly the same how can I restore properly?
     
  2. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    My motherboard is a Jetway 531CF. Where am I supposed to purchase on of these rare boards? On Ebay?
     
  3. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    I have had two drive failures and recovered perfectly. But what about Motherboard failures when a look alike board is not and option?
     
  4. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    Just searched ebay and they don't have any. Seriously, is your motherboard going bad or are you just wondering "what if"?

    I don't know your budget situation but I would consider a 6 yr-old system to be ready for upgrading and if the MB fails what about the state of the other components? Nobody can predict how long they may run could be hours could be years. If you don't have or want to spend the money then it is a different story.

    You can look into Microsoft's Sysprep which removes references to PCI bus devices and you can look into doing an XP installation repair - or are you running Win98? Naturally the best way of doing it is to get the new MB and re-installing Windows and your apps. This is by far the best way since you don't have to worry about any carried over system garbage and it is a chance to get rid of the junk you don't use anymore.
     
  5. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    My motherboard is still running strong. I was just breaking out in a cold sweat thinking about reinstalling all the software I have running on my computer. I am one of the 70 million still running Win98.
     
  6. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    Are you saying upgrade my motherboard and reload WIN98 and all my software? Do you think I should purchase two like mother boards for security?
     
  7. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    No, why go looking for trouble. Your machine is working and you are or should be making regular backups of your system particularly data files. If you buy a new MB you will also have to buy the correct memory, a video card, etc. Might as well buy a new box.

    Why buy 2 motherboards? If one fails at 6 yrs or later why would you want some obsolete MB that is 2 generations behind the technology unless you are running mission critical software that has to undergo extensive qualification.

    Another risk is that you could install your 2nd MB and have it fail in a couple of months.

    Right now your MB is at least 2 full generations out of date and that is being charitable and your OS is 3. While you may have a lot of prized apps that you run there are probably a lot of things on your PC if it is like most that haven't been run in years.

    So, keep backing up, particularly the data you can't replace at any cost like spreadsheets, jpgs, mpegs, documents. In addition to having these files in an image or backed up by another program, I often use Windows to copy to another HD or Nero to burn to DVDs so I don't have to rely on any program to read a proprietary format. When you decide your system has had it, buy a new one. At that point you will also have to decide if you want to try and run w98 (if possible) and your existing apps or upgrade them if necessary to run on Vista or whatever.

    In a previous life as a system manager we tried more than once to freeze systems (not PCs) and it never worked for very long. Hardware failures, new software or hardware requirements sooner or later meant either HW or the SW had to be upgraded. Unfortunately, it can be costly if you have various apps that must run and what's worse you may find you can no longer run an app on a newer system.

    You have to decide what is best for you.
     
  8. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    I guess the thing that was shocking to me was the fact that I am covered as far as a hard drive going down but now covered as far as my motherboard or some of its components, going down. Computers are easy to build. That is not the problem. User data backup of some type not relying of 3rd party programs to restore also is not the problem. The problem is restoring your OS (and registry) to a new motherboard and be operational without much effort and aggravation.

    It looks like I should build a backup system that would support my OS and programs. This is something I didn’t think about.
     
  9. techtype

    techtype Registered Member

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    Well, there is a new program by Laplink:

    These types of migration programs produce mixed results but Laplink has a good reputation.
     
  10. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    LAPLINK is not the answer to upgrading motherboards. They tell you upfront that they do not migrate operating systems. My Windows98 has every update on it that Microsoft ever released except for the last update that practically rendered WIN98 worthless. All the Office 2000 products have also been updated. I can reinstall all my third party software without to much trouble but it is the hours I have pored into maintaining Microsoft software that has me worried.
     
  11. techtype

    techtype Registered Member

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    Well as you define your problem better, I refine my answer:

    http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=46581
     
  12. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    Thank you for your input. Now I think I am going to be sick.
     
  13. Notok

    Notok Registered Member

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    Why not upgrade to something newer so that you can migrate at your leisure, and to a newer operating system? You could get something for $300 or so, if your budget is limited... and you could get that on monthly payments if needed. Even in the times I've been unemployed I've been able to come up with $15 or so per month. Seriously, the piece of mind would be worth it, not to mention the ability to use current software.
     
  14. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    I am 89 years old and only know WIN98. What would a newer operating system do for me?
     
  15. Notok

    Notok Registered Member

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    I think it would be worth it. I wouldn't say that it's any harder to use, but it is 100% more stable and therefore a whole lot easier to keep using. On your part there wouldn't be a lot different in day-to-day use. Initial configuration of the operating system may be a little different for some things, but they're mostly in the same places and still intuitive enough to get to know. The hardest thing to get used to, however, is not saving everything every 5 mins for fear of crashes ;) Ultimately what it would do for you is to give you a lot more freedom and peace of mind. Since pretty much everything is compatible, you'd have a lot more opportunity to find solutions for anything you might need, and would find it a lot easier to find help and support.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2006
  16. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    I am 76 and can't walk & chew gum at one and the same time. Even so, I successfully and easily switched from Win98 to WinXP last July. I did so for several reasons. Here are just a couple of them...

    1- I like to try out new programs and many of the newest, best, most interesting programs won't run on Win98.

    2- Moving to WinXP guaranteed that I can wait at least 3 or 4 years before being forced to change operating systems again. That is, Microsoft will continue to provide security updates for XP for that long. (Security updates for Win98 have already been discontinued.)

    As to my experiences in switching to WinXP, here are some highlights...

    1- WinXP has a button that enabled me to switch the appearance of my desktop so that it looks exactly like my Win98 desktop, instead of the WinXP default desktop (which I detested on sight).

    2- All my favorite shortcuts (keyboard commands) work exactly the same as Win98.

    3- Under WinXP, all the programs I used under Win98 run exactly the same (controls etc), run faultlessly, & run a tad faster (nice!).

    4- The Ctrl+Alt+Delete combination works the same except it produces an hugely improved Task Manager. MUCH better than Win98.

    5- I am once again receiving full support from Microsoft for all updates etc.

    In summary...

    A- As far as I can tell, the main differences in XP versus 98 are increased stability, better support, and lots of excellent new built-in tools.

    B- In my experience, the USAGE differences (controls, appearance, etc) between XP & 98 don't amount to a pool of warm spit.

    I enjoyed the upgrade/change. Maybe you will too. Best of luck and much aloha... bellgamin
     
  17. wilbertnl

    wilbertnl Registered Member

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    Last edited: Dec 19, 2006
  18. Doug_B

    Doug_B Registered Member

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    To each his own. I prefer the Win98 example to the WinXP example you included. I'd like to confirm that these example images are properly labeled. I'm not familiar with Cleartype per se.

    Doug
     
  19. Notok

    Notok Registered Member

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    Indeed it is. It's also kind of hard to really get the whole feel from such a small sample, but cleartype really does make text a whole lot easier on the eyes. It's primarily made for LCD screens, but is equally as nice on CRTs. It's one of those things you don't really think about, but once you've been using it for a while you wonder how you ever got along without :)
     
  20. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    Thank you all for your time and efforts. I believe you have convinced me to switch to XP. Only one thing bothers me is this. You keep saying XP is a more stable system. I don’t understand why this is an issue. My WIN98/SE has never given me that problem. I have had many tasks running without a problem. Of course I have every fix known to man kind on the system.
     
  21. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    Here is the specifications on my CPU. I have it overclocked running a over 1 gigabyte.


    Part number K6-III+/550ACR
    Introduction date 25-Sep-00
    Manufacturing process 0.18 micron
    Package 321-pin ceramic staggered PGA1.95" x 1.95" (4.95 cm x 4.95 cm)
    Socket Super 7
    Speed (MHz) 550
    Bus frequency (MHz) 100
    Clock multiplier 5.5
    Low power features · Halt state · Stop Grant state · Stop Grant Inquire state · Stop Clock state · PowerNow!
    Other features 3DNow! with 5 extra instructions
    Physical memory (GB) 4
    Level 1 cache size 32 KB 2-way set associative instruction cache with additional 20 KB pre-decode cache32 KB 2-way set associative dual-ported writeback data cache
    Level 2 cache size 256 KB full-speed
    Floating Point Unit Integrated
    V core (V) 2 ± 0.1
    V I/O or secondary (V) 3.3V (3.135V - 3.6V)
    Min/Max operating temperature (°C) 0 - 70
    Min/Typical/Max power dissipation (W) 4.5 (Stop Grant mode) / 15.7 / 19.5
     
  22. Notok

    Notok Registered Member

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    Hehe, you've likely gotten more used to crashes than you realize. XP doesn't crash very often at all, although poory written apps are still poorly written apps. My girlfriend routinely goes for weeks without ever having to reboot. The only reason I reboot more often is because of the applications I'm always installing and uninstalling. XP just doesn't require anywhere near the amount of attention that previous versions did. I'll bet that when you first use it you'll notice that it even "feels" more solid :)

    In XP programs can also no longer write to eachother's memory space freely, so program file corruption is not an issue like it was in 98.
     
  23. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    do you mean your girlfriend doesnt turn off the pc for weeks?
    or just that she doesnt have to reboot but only turn off?
    i probaly could keep my pc without rebooting for weeks but that would mean not trying out new apps=D
    lodore
     
  24. GroomLake

    GroomLake Registered Member

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    At one time I was having problems but I corrected it by replacing the chipset. Replaced the chipset SiS 530/5595 and the problem was solved.
     
  25. Notok

    Notok Registered Member

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    lodore: It goes into hibernate at night sometimes, but otherwise it never has to reboot for any reason. She's not a software junkie like we are :) That's opposed to Win98 that often had to reboot periodically because of crashes or other problems.

    It's a bit like behavior blockers. You don't realize how much you do until you're able to stop for a while (and especially if you try to go back).

    GroomLake: With XP you simply won't have to go through all the setup and tweaking that you mention in the beginning of this thread in order to get the system working like it should. XP works much much better right "out of the box". It will also let you back up all those settings with the "File and Settings Transfer Wizard".
     
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