Motherboards

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 10:08 am

I have an HP m8000n media center comp. around 3 years old. It has recently started randomly shutting down. When I reboot, it will stay on for up to an hour before shutting down again. I upgraded the power supply...didn't fix it. I want to replace the motherboard and CPU. The mobo is an ASUS m2n68-la Narra2, which is manufactured by ASUS for HP. Can anyone point me to a source other than HP for a NEW mobo? I can order then all day long from China on Ebay, but I don't trust the sources. I have researched the crap out of this ( I think), to no avail. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 10:56 am

I just checked all the usual sites and no joy so I think you're out of luck. Probably best to shop for a new PC.

Have you tried swapping memory?

Checked CPU heatsink?

Is the Northbridge chipset heatsink securely seated? On these OEM mobos they don't even put heat compound on them sometimes and just rely on a spring clip.

Have you disabled "Automatically Restarts" in the Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Startup & Recovery window to allow Windows to present a Blue Screen if one is being generated on shut down?

A PC shutting down after an hour pretty consistently smells like PSU (you already eliminated that) overheating CPU or Northbridge, bad memory or dirty memory contacts.

A bad mobo doesn't feel right unless you have swollen or leaking capacitors. If the mobo runs for an hour it's just not likely to be a mobo issue although it could be if there's something like a bad regulator on the mobo that's overheating.

Have you called HP and asked for the price of a mobo replacement? Might not be as bad as you think.

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:27 am

I cleaned a LOT of dust out the CPU heatsink the other day...I figured at the time that that was the prob. I think maybe overheating issues over a period of time may have damaged the CPU, so I guess I will replace that first and go from there. I have already sourced a CPU at Tiger Direct for around $50.00 so I can start there. Btw, I am using the comp. right now to check this forum; it will probably run for a little while then shut off. I will also try your suggestion and contact HP about a mobo replacement if needed. Thanks for the input FP!. I know I can always come to this forum for help when I need it.

Nitemare · Post by **Nitemare** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:02 pm

Also, try running the machine with the case side open with a box fan blowing directly into the case. If it is a heat issue, that should confirm it as well.

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:20 pm

You don't have to shop for a new PC.. You could just get a new Mobo/CPU combo that uses the same memory to go in it. If you wanted to. You should be able to get a dual core combo for around $100.. That's what I would do.. The motherboard doesn't have to be made by or for HP. Any motherboard from any maker should work fine. Just make sure the motherboard you get will fit your case.. i.e. mATX or ATX..

eGo

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:10 pm

So, I assume you've already reapplied grease to the CPU & northbridge (the clips on those things are notorious for snapping from becoming brittle). If that's the case, it's hard not to think that the motherboard is an issue. Though it really does sound like a heat issue. It looks like a standard micro ATX motherboard from the pics I can see of it. Shouldn't be too hard to locate a replacement (not exact, but similar).

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:48 pm

The problem is that many of those HP cases use custom mounting holes.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 4:24 pm

Yeah, I'd check first to make sure. I've actually had a bit of luck swapping out aftermarket mobos on HPs.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 4:26 pm

They ARE getting better about that. It never made much sense to me that HP would pay Asus to design a completely custom board when you're trying to sell a budget PC and keep your costs down.

Thank God they stopped using custom connectors on the PSU at least. That was total stupidity.

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:12 pm

I can't say I've ever run into an HP that had custom mounting holes.. Not saying it isn't possible.. But I've never seen one.. FP has been doing this a lot longer than me though.

Dell on the other hand used to/still does do it all the time..

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 7:30 pm

I don't replace many HP mobos so you're the better source of info on this. Actually I don't replace mobos at all anymore - I send people with problems like that to someone else in town. As a one man band I can't have several client PCs on my workbench in various stages of disrepair, nor do I have the time to hunt down mobos for OEM systems.

I'll only do it if it's an RMA and the manufacturer ships the replacement mobo to the client (and all OEMs send mobo/RAM/CPU replacements - they don't mess around with individual parts, which is nice since the client virtually gets a whole new PC).