Heylo all. :) More hardware problems here! ;P

After my Compaq's Mobo fried, I went to a computer shop and got a new one. I got a PC400 M925 board with 256 ram. It's giving me problems, though. Not with the old components of my old comp, but with the new stuff it has!

This thing has a Ethernet adapter in it, and I need it to get 'net access since I'm on a cable conection. The drivers don't work though. They tell me to use the SiS900 drivers that came on the mobo's CD, but it won't start. Everything else seems to work fine.

I have my old Etherned card still, and I want just to open the new box and put that one in! Win2k seems to recognize it just perfectly. Should I put this one back in, or is there a way to get the one in the Mobo to work? If I open the box, I lose the one year warranty.. But I really wouldn't care, since they seem to know just as much as I do. >_>;

One more thing. I had a Xtasis GeForce2 graphics card (PCI) on my old mobo. They told me they tried to put it in the new board (has one AGP slot and two PCI9, but told me it didn't recognize it. Was it because they didn't care to ask me for the Driver CD of the card, or because it simply won't take it?

Another thing! ;)

The mobo says it "accommodates 2 DRR and 2 SDR 168 pin, 3.3V DIMMM sockets with a total capacity of 2GB system memory."
Errmm.. I just want to know if this works with PC100 or PC133 RAM. Can anyone tell me? ;)

Thanks for your help in advance. I'll try to hold my urges of taking the box apart and putting the old Ethernet card in until I get a reposnse here. :P

...And they charge 15 bucks to put new hardware in! Just so the warranty won't stop! "!)=/$)"&%! >.<

Well, the first thing I would do is take the damn thing back. Any computer that comes with a void on the warranty if you open the box is not worth it in my humble (not;) ) opinion. I imagine that you will be able to get the ethernet port on the board to work and if you don't, take it in for warranty service. It should work out of the box.

As for the RAM, I serously doubt that it will let you have both DDR and SDRAM at the same time. I would read that very carefully if I were you. I don't know anything about your mobo, but if it is a recent make, it will probably run 133 RAM.

Budfred

1. If it's under warranty, take it back and keep bugging them until they make it work right. I'm a stickler about warranties, if they offer a warranty, I say make them honor it.

2. If the board uses DDR and SDRAM, chances are it will be PC 133, and often PC 100 won't work because you'll be overclocking it. Both at the same time will probably not work, as already pointed out.

3. Many computers come with warranty restrictions stating that you can't open the case, which is why I always warn posters here not to open the case, it can and often will void your warranty. The reason being if they know you have been inside the case, chances are you could have damaged components or caused the problem yourself. It's a worthwhile and understandable precaution on their part, and one we plan to take with our shop-built computers.

So don't open the case.

Example...someone brings in a computer with problems, the case has been opened and I find out memory or modem has been fried...does the average home user have any idea what static electricity will do? NOPE...so he/she opens the case, reaches in and touches a memory chip after walking across the carpet petting the cat and I have to replace a memory chip out off the shop's pocket...

Stay out of the case if the warranty prohibits it, they do that for a reason.

DDR uses 184 pin design. And isn't
compatable with 3.3V.

SDRAM is 168 pin and does require 3.3V.
PC133 is not a problem. It is also
backward compatable if used on a Mboard
that runs a 100Mhz bus speed. (PC100)

Basically there shouldn't be any reason
why the GF2 shouldn't work.

Your PCI Ethernet card should also
work as long as the onboard Ethernet
is disabled in BIOS.

Best to spend the 15 bones and keep
the warranty in effect. Have everything
done in one process. (to your satisfaction)



RD.

Sounds like you're still using your old Compaq case, 'cause a mobo with 1 AGP and 2 PCI has got to be a micro-ATX board. Not that this would cause any problems, just an observation. Also, you say you have 256MB of RAM now, is it SDRAM or DDR? I've seen mobo's that can take both types, but none take both at the same time - you have to use either/or.

What do you mean by the mobo's CD "won't start"? Do you mean it won't auto-start when you pop the CD in, or it won't let you into the menu (which means a bad CD)? SiS would almost certainly provide Win2000 drivers for any and all of its chipset's onboard components, so chances are there's a way to get the ethernet to work.

As for the PCI vid card, you have to tangle with the AGP settings in the BIOS in order to get video out of a PCI slot. The reason this PC shop couldn't get it to work is because all mobo's default to AGP for video, you can't try a PCI vid card raw. All you have to do is pop in an AGP card long enough to boot up, and change the BIOS setting for taking PCI vid cards. Then save, exit, shut down, pop in PCI vid card, and you should be good to go.

On another topic here, if you do decide to either stick them to the warranty or return it all and start over, I would look into getting a new case. Then you can get a full-fledged ATX mobo and not be saddled with some "PC400 M925", which is something I've never heard of. Not to say there aren't good micro-ATX boards out there, but micro-ATX is just plain difficult to find. And you will be limited to what you can find!

I think I've tracked down your mobo. It appears to be a PCChips (http://www.pcchips.com/index2.html) mobo, but M925 doesn't match. The 925 uses a VIA chipset, the 935 series uses SiS chipsets (which you appear to have) so maybe it's an M935 variant?

Your options: M935ALU, M935EL, M935L, and M935DLR (all listed as "PC400"). Perhaps not so important to know the exact one, they all have the specs you mentioned (and they don't differ from eachother that much), but useful to at least know the manufacturer.