Inherited computer, can the Compaq Motherboard be replaced?

Question

Hey there true believers,
My wife and I are likely to inherit a great 1 year old computer from her parents (Compaq Presario). It has a P4 2.8 processor & 512 MB memory. I checked with 4allmemory.com to see how much memory could be added since I prefer to have 1GB or (preferably) more onboard. According to the site, it has a max capacity of 1GB. I would like to bring it to 2 GB, but that isn't possible to do so with the current setup. Would it be possible to simply replace the motherboard to one that would allow more memory? I think its a mini-ATX. Its a sweet computer now, but with how my wife & I use our laptops, we'd need more memory. I'm certain I have the technical knowhow to replace the motherboard, but I'd like some certainty that it can be done. I'd hate to crack the casing and fine out that Compaq uses special rivets to hold the motherboards in place instead of simple screws

Answer 1

first get the computer, then check if you can remove the motherboard(which you should)..
and even if you cant, you can also get a cheap case and remove everything except the motherboard.

yes you can upgrade the motherboard, you'll need to remove everything again and put it on the new one-

1)Power supply
2) Memory sticks
3) Hard Drive
4)any pci or graphics cards
5) CD roms/dvds
6)CPU! (this is probably one of the more dangerous things when switching to a new motherboard, you need to reinstall the cpu, make sure you know what you are doing so you wont cause it any damage, because its very delicate)

also!
You might (not always, ive done it before without) need to do a reformat when switching to a new motherboard, some people i've worked with had to, but some didn't.
anyhow if you get it to work with the new motherboard, then uninstall the old motherboard drivers and install the new ones.

Answer 2

I'm sure that you could replace the motherboard, but would you then be able to install your Compaq operating system. It is either on a restore disk or a restore partition. If, for example, the OS is linked to a couple of your system's MAC addresses, then it may not load.

If, on the other hand, you just replace the motherboard and the ram, and keep the same processor, Windows may see these different MAC addresses and require that you re-register.

If this computer is running XP, then a gig of ram should be plenty. So why not just determine what type of ram is installed now and then just upgrade it.

One more thing. A limit of 1 gig in todays computers just doesn't sound right. Are you sure that it won't accommodate more?

Answer 3

The amount of memory you can use is actually determined by the chipset on your board. You would have to replace it with a board with a different chipset that can take more ram. Problem with that is that your operating system will go bonkers trying to run the new chipset. Sometimes you can go into the device manager and uninstall the old chipsets and restart windows and it will see and install the proper chipsets for the new board but, unless you are very versed at PC architecture I suggest you just replace the ram with 1 GB of the fastest Ram you can use and stay away from Vista. Some brand name puters are proprietory where they have special connections on the board to run the on off reset switches USB etc that a normal motherboard doesn't have either. This will give you an idea of the ram you have now and what you can do about boosting your performance:
http://www.crucial.com/
Just click on "scan my system"

Answer 4

Its not the mountings you have to worry about, it would be the proprietary layout. I have encountered (in older models) situations where not just any motherboard would fit into the case.
If you are getting a new motherboard, you may have to get a new processor as well. On top of that you would have to get new RAM, so why not go for a bare bones kit and just take the Hard drive and PCI components from the Compaq and put them into a entirely new system?