I have an Acer eMachines Desktop; it's outdated now and I am giving to a friend. I need to replace the motherboard as it's bios beeps indicate it's faulty motherboard.
Problem: eMachines are generic Acer built motherboard. Replacement's are un-purchasable.
It's basic, 4GB DDR3. 500GB Hard Drive, and DVD burner.
I need a compatible motherboard, any suggestions?
If you replace the mobo with a 3rd party one, the OEM license will fail activation since the license is tied to the motherboard. You could of course, try and call M$ for a phone re-activation and say your motherboard was replaced, but I can't comment on whether this will work or not.
Considering a new computer + Win 7 OS purchased from Budget PC was once available for $99 (see previous deal), it makes much more sense to just buy a whole desktop outright rather than replacing a mobo that isn't compatible with the original OEM Windows License.
The key is the socket type. You need to search for a mobo with a socket that will accomodate the older cpu and RAM.
As far as the licence goes my experience is that MS will always give you a new activation code. They're not trying to piss off consumers moving a copy between machines; they're more worried about people installing one copy onto 10 different machines.
Or you could always install Linux and have some fun and zero hassles. It's lower system requirements mean it will fly on an older machine.
Just to rule out any potential wasted purchases: have you cleared the CMOS and/or changed the CMOS battery? It can often be problematic but easily fixed by revert back to 100% stock settings that way.
EDIT: scrap what I had here incase you saw it.. just realised you have ddr3 ram.
Edit 2: what about this acer board DDR3 LGA775 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Acer-Q45T-AM-Motherboard-Intel-Q4…
Edit 3: Some other options
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GIGABYTE-GA-G41M-Combo-Motherboar…
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ASRock-G41C-GS-Intel-G41-Socket-7…
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-ASRock-G41M-VS3-Micro-ATX-Mot…
This looks pretty cheap and nasty
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ECS-G41T-M7-Motherboard-Intel-G41…
But with the price of the others, it's worth looking into
Otherwise, more results here
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_odkw=p45&_osacat=0&_from=…
Edit 4… lol really goota leave this thread
The price point almost warrants going a CPU+mobo upgrade.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Asus-Model-PSG41T-MLX-Motherboard…
Very mild upgrade, but close price range. I'm sure there are better gear to be had around that price with a little more research.
The pattern of the beeps tells you what is faulty. If you know what brand BIOS it is, you can search for the beep code. Usually the fault is in video or RAM. The CPU's ok since something has to drive the beeps. But this may not be much use if the faulty hardware is onboard since the whole mobo will have to be replaced anyway. That's a major drawback with proprietary form factor mobos.
Buy a B75 board and G1610 to replace it. Faster and less power than that old Core 2 for ~$110.
if it is a standard mATX or ATX board, then I'd say it'd be replaceable. Otherwise not.
Think it is a E3300 processor. If so, the socket type is LGA775.
These boards are old, so no chance of finding new I'd say (unless you know where to look - which I don't). So I'd be looking 2nd hand.
Hope that helps or at least gives you a starting point on where to look.