help needed to renew bits of old pc please

annie123

Hello I have one of these http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/pc/t11.htm

I need a new hard drive and motherboard.
I dont want to spend more than £100 and a smaller hardrive is fine as I've only used 80gb of the 250 available.

please could someone advise what to buy or better still some links as to what to buy in case I make a mistake...done that before!

The pc is the same as the original spec except for more ram.

Thanks
Annie

cfbc

Annie,

It is not as easy as it sounds to be honest to change the motherboard, CPU and upgrade... To be honest that is not a bad system.

How much memory do you have in it and what do you want the PC to do? Games? Latest ones, photographic work or just simply browse and use the internet?

Also, what PSU (power supply unit) does the PC have? You will need to open the case and have a look...

Are you used too playing inside PC's or upgrading also as it can be a nightmare? Most pre-built systems like HP, Advent and Dell come with bits and pieces you cannot upgrade very easily and that is why I ask.. Built to max of what can be achieved and hence the question about the PSU too.

annie123

thanks for the reply.

Doesn't need to be upgraded if that makes it easier.

Only used for web browsing and the only games it plays is my hubby's on line chess! I do have some photos on it but still use photo impact 5 which I'm happy with and only put a few on every year.

The psu says 350....does that make sense?

The motherboard problem is ....it thinks the its over heating and its not...according to friend of my son (who is an an IT guy but does not live near us so cant get him to help) the fan sounds like its running on max all the time,he did try a new heat sink which didn't help, and the hard drive is one its way out, several reasons according to same guy...makes the a horribly noise when booting up and shuts done when it feels like it sometimes!
I have backed everything up.

Happy to put bits inside the PC just get lost if I have to look inside the soft wear/running xp etc bit

hope my answer helps.

BillScarab

Is there a problem with your motherboard? Why do you need to replace it? You're unlikely to be able to buy the exact same model now so then you're into the problem of finding a motherboard that will support all of the components you have.

By replacing the motherboard youre effectively building a PC. If the motherboard is dead it may be easier to buy a new PC.

Replacing a hard drive is easy enough, you just need one with the same connection, your's appears to have a SATA hard drive so just get a a SATA hard drive of whatever capacity you want. Once you've swapped it over though you're going to have to re-install the operating system and any applications. You'll also have to find and install any drivers the other hardware requires.

SatanicHare

this looks like a straight swap board here
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B3483-MSI-MS-7046-P4-Socket-LGA-775-Motherboard_W0QQitemZ140289216963QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081215?IMSfp=TL081215122002r17464

What made the friend conclude that the board is overheating

DatabaseError

loud fan?! get one of these
(I have no association with the seller, but it's a bargain!)

cfbc

Hmm, sounds like the CPU fan is about to go or the PC case is getting too hot and as such something is shutting down your PC Annie... It's very hard to say to be honest and I would try and find a local PC repairer to have a look at it and see what he says....

As others have said, easy to replace the hard drive, the CPU fan also is easy... May I ask if you have opened it up and what is is like inside? Much dust or any clogging of the fan?

How long have you had the PC?

Also, the 350w PSU will be provbably operating on it's maximum based upon what the PC is built on too... If you are just using it for basic games and internet then you really only need to change a few things...

To be fair, add another hard drive to run alongside and perhaps transfer everything over and eventually replace, but as Billscarab, your going to have to install the operating system again and locate ALL your drivers and re-install....

It's not an easy one to answer over the internet I am afraid...

annie123

SatanicHare wrote: »

this looks like a straight swap board here
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B3483-MSI-MS-7046-P4-Socket-LGA-775-Motherboard_W0QQitemZ140289216963QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081215?IMSfp=TL081215122002r17464

What made the friend conclude that the board is overheating

he ran a programme which showed the temperature is really was and attached something to it as well I think?

the fan used to run very quiet and now it runs at max all the time

annie123

cfbc wrote: »

Hmm, sounds like the CPU fan is about to go or the PC case is getting too hot and as such something is shutting down your PC Annie... It's very hard to say to be honest and I would try and find a local PC repairer to have a look at it and see what he says.... What would a fait charge be?
In the past I would have gone out and got a new one but got made redundant in september so holding onto my small savings until I can get another job.

As others have said, easy to replace the hard drive, the CPU fan also is easy... May I ask if you have opened it up and what is is like inside? Much dust or any clogging of the fan?

Not dusty, have run it without the cover on for a week now and it friend gave the fan a clean

How long have you had the PC? 03 or 04

Also, the 350w PSU will be provbably operating on it's maximum based upon what the PC is built on too... If you are just using it for basic games (only internet chess) and internet then you really only need to change a few things... and only use sites like this one, nothing heavy graphic etc

To be fair, add another hard drive to run alongside and perhaps transfer everything over and eventually replace, but as Billscarab, your going to have to install the operating system again and locate ALL your drivers and re-install.... got xp disk and key and I can prob manage drivers if I can download them

It's not an easy one to answer over the internet I am afraid...

The noise when its starts up sounds like a piece of metal being dragged over concrete for 2 seconds! It cant have much longer till stops working!

annie123

my son has just said it sounds more like like a cow mooooing through a megaphone when its starts up!

DatabaseError

^ that's a noise I know!
you may have a couple of case fans in there, easiest way to diagnose is to open the case and stop the fan with a finger very briefly, if the noise stops...it's that fan!
I replaced my case fans a couple of days ago (same noise) for some xilence redwings, my cpu fan at nearly £50 for the cooler, should last a lifetime!