Nforce 2 motherboard woes.

[Leolian]

Hi all,

Just destroyed my old MSI K7N2 Delta L motherboard, installing memory of all things. Anyway, I'm over it. My cry for help is that MSI made a superior version of this board, the K7N2 delta-ILSR with raid and firewire support. If I buy one of these to replace the older board will I have to reinstall my OS or will the old drivers work? The essential difference is the Southbridge which is MCP-T rather than the older MCP. Would rather not reinstall but would be nice to add a few features as I'm replacing the damn thing anyway.

Thanks.

 

[reconviperone1]

Instead of answering your question, someone is gonna ask why you are still using nforce2 and socket a, then they are gonna tell you that you can ugrade to a x2 3600 and a am2 mobo for cheaper than finding that motherboard and they are right, but thats not you question is it?, if you get that motherboard, you should not have to reinstall everything, ive replace like motherboard and have not had to, but thats just my experiance. Have fun finding that mobo.

 

[Leolian]

I can upgrade to a new mobo and processor for £30? What about mem and AGP card?

 

[elpresidente2075]

I had the exact same motherboard. Never once worked. I tried everything. I had it for years, sitting in the bottom of my closet, and when I built my home server I was thinking of using it, but no luck. I finally just threw it away. But enough about me.

Windows shouldn't have its usual heart attack, since the two mobo's share many common parts. Just use F8 when booting and get into safe mode, then uninstall all the drivers. Then install all new drivers when you restart.

About the mem and AGP, good luck. The memory (if my memory serves me right, it uses DDR, and that is still readily available, albeit at about twice the price level of DDR2. AGP cards are going to become increasingly difficult to find, but you may still be able to find them at major websites, again at higher prices. I'd give you links but I'm not sure what you want, and it seems you're in Europe, a place where I'm unfamiliar with the websites and such, so you're on your own there.

If I were in your shoes, I'd get the new board, and limp along until you save enough to get a good Core2 or AM2 based system with DDR2 and PCIE. Then go for a midrange 7000 series Nvidia card, a midrange processor for whatever socket you choose, and at least 2 gigs of DDR2. That all together (amd x2 3600 based) would run about $280 max, should be less euros if I remember right.

Good luck

 

[reconviperone1]

I had the exact same motherboard. Never once worked. I tried everything. I had it for years, sitting in the bottom of my closet, and when I built my home server I was thinking of using it, but no luck. I finally just threw it away. But enough about me.

Windows shouldn't[ have its usual heart attack, since the two mobo's share many common parts. Just use F8 when booting and get into safe mode, then uninstall all the drivers. Then install all new drivers when you restart.

About the mem and AGP, good luck. The memory (if my memory serves me right, it uses DDR, and that is still readily available, albeit at about twice the price level of DDR2. AGP cards are going to become increasingly difficult to find, but you may still be able to find them at major websites, again at higher prices. I'd give you links but I'm not sure what you want, and it seems you're in Europe, a place where I'm unfamiliar with the websites and such, so you're on your own there.

If I were in your shoes, I'd get the new board, and limp along until you save enough to get a good Core2 or AM2 based system with DDR2 and PCIE. Then go for a midrange 7000 series Nvidia card, a midrange processor for whatever socket you choose, and at least 2 gigs of DDR2. That all together (amd x2 3600 based) would run about $280 max, should be less euros if I remember right.

Good luck

See, gotta let that thing go, your gonna pay a premium for any socket a board mobo or cpu, and i know this isnt reaaly your question, but you should just go ahead and upgrade to that cool running x2-3600 and get a nforce or amd based am2 board with onboard graphics(im sure your pc's gpu isnt all that powerfull if its agp) and 2gig memory. cpu (60 dollars), mobo(65 dollars) and 2 gigs ddr 667(60-100 dollars) and you've got a system with life left in it and readily availible upgrade options. Just my .002cents

 

[apache_lives]

Hi all,

Just destroyed my old MSI K7N2 Delta L motherboard, installing memory of all things. Anyway, I'm over it. My cry for help is that MSI made a superior version of this board, the K7N2 delta-ILSR with raid and firewire support. If I buy one of these to replace the older board will I have to reinstall my OS or will the old drivers work? The essential difference is the Southbridge which is MCP-T rather than the older MCP. Would rather not reinstall but would be nice to add a few features as I'm replacing the damn thing anyway.

Thanks.

MSI, dear god, i wouldnt go near em.

 

[Leolian]

Ok. Since everyone is intent on convincing me to abandon 32 bit... can I get a 64 bit motherboard with AGP and PCI express so I don't have to abandon my most recent extravigance, my 7600 GT. What processor, what memory and what MB woul you recommend (if any) and will my old IDE 133 160GB Harddisk suffice or should I go for Raid or whatever else has come out since I left the upgrade scene.

 

[bigblack]

Ok. Since everyone is intent on convincing me to abandon 32 bit... can I get a 64 bit motherboard with AGP and PCI express so I don't have to abandon my most recent extravigance, my 7600 GT. What processor, what memory and what MB woul you recommend (if any) and will my old IDE 133 160GB Harddisk suffice or should I go for Raid or whatever else has come out since I left the upgrade scene.

Well, the answer to that is really simple. Get that mobo for $60:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=4CoreDual-VSTA&s=n

add a Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 for $114.50, reuse your old memory until you have the money to buy 2 gigs of DDR2 (both DDR and DDR2 can be used with this mobo but not simultaneously), install your AGP 7600 GT and your hard disk (no problem with it) and you will enter the dual core world with minimum expenses and trouble. In fact, i made the same transition 7 months ago (from a NF7-S) and i only had to install the drivers for the Asrock. No new XP installation, no repair installation.

If you need more details, i will be happy to provide them.

Good luck!

 

[Leolian]

You argue well sir. And as I picked up an athlon xp 3200 for £30 and on ebay they're currently going for around £80-90 I guess I could sell my old XP 2600+ and DDR ram too and end up with an upgrade that nearly pays for itself... interesting. Thank you kindly for your advice. This is a very friendly forum

 

[bigblack]

Thank you for your kind words. You are most welcome to PM me for additional information, as i have built more than 10 systems based on that mobo.

 

[reconviperone1]

You could also try these motherboards with agp, and they are am2 based so you could get that cheap x2-3600 for 60 bucks. I agree that the core 2 would be a better option, but this is certainly a cheaper option. Here is the link for the mobo's http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200022+1070921489+1073407577&Subcategory=22&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=