hello!
in fact, i recently had trouble with my computer.
i had one hard drive western digital 20Gb (WD200) with windows 98 on
it.
i put another hard drive (same model) with linux mandrake 10.
it took me some time to install everything and to make it run ok.
but, unfortunatly, a little time after, my computer crashed.
the motherboard is now dead.
so, here are my questions :

- do you think there is a link beetween the fact i installed a
second WD200 hard drive with linux on it, and the fact that the
motherboard died?
- anyway, now i plan to buy an Asus P4P800 deluxe motherboard. is
this motherboard supported by linux mandrake 10?
- moreover, what will happen when i will boot linux ( and windows 98
too) as the hardware has changed ( new motherboard, memory, video
card and processor..)? what's going to happen? if possible, i want to
use the installed linux and windows 98 on my hard drives without
reinstalling everything again.
thank you for your help

hi,

find out what chipset your proposed motherboard uses; armed with that information, consult Mandrake's hardware compatibility database on their website.

Assuming that the board is supported, you shouldn't have any problems in respect of new processor, chipset etc with Linux. Windows may well be a different matter - at the very least, you'll need to update the installation with new drivers supplied with the motherboard on CD, and this is where you might run into problems.. Windows 98 is now old and no longer supported by Microsoft - you may well find that the drivers supplied with the motherboard are XP / NT / 2000 only - at a pinch, you might get away with ME drivers if supplied, but I don't know..

Good luck!

ur motherboard is a good choice and will support any operating system. U will find though that your hard drive with windows installed on it will probably need formatting and re installing to suit your new mobo. This will then auto install ur new hardware....I would suggest that you try and get a better version of windows (if possible) to compliment your new mobo. I am not too sure about ur hard drive with linux...I would suggest too that u reisnstall for the same reasons, as your previous installation will `contain` your old mobo built in hardware. Your new mobo will be supported by mandrake 10. I do not think there is a link between you installing a second hard drive to your motherboard to the fact that it has died. Contrary to popular belief mobos are quite sturdy and personally I would double, double check that ur mobo has `died`, check all cables ram etc, and error beep codes

I have the P4P800 Deluxe, and it's an awesome board, and works great for everything...BUT if you decide to install Fedora Core 2, there is some type of compatibility thing between this board and FC2, so you need to download and burn this modified boot CD and boot from that to install FC2: http://people.redhat.com/arjanv/asusp4p800-boot.iso

Good luck with it, and hopefully your mobo really isn't dead - keep tweaking!

when you added the 2nd drive, did you add any extra "cooling" fans to
help the air flow?? you need to keep the air flowing so hard drives don't over heat, thereby reducing their life expectancy.

Linux does not care what type of model or brand of the motherobard. All it cares about how much memory you have, processor, hard drive space, a CD-ROM for installing, a keyboard, a mouse, a video card, and a monitor. Any working motherboard will do.

You have to clear out your hard drive and start with a fresh installation of Windows. You do not have to upgrade Windows unless you are getting hardware that will not work in Windows 98. Though, you are better off with LINUX because there is tons of security holes in Windows.

No, you do not need to re-install LINUX if you did not re-compile your kernel.

You probably had a surge and you thought your surge protector is protecting your system. I do not know how warm your motherboard is when you stuck your head in your computer while it was off. You could have bumped the motherboard. Always wait about an hour from the point you turn off your computer before doing brain surgery in your computer.

Yes, there may be, the STATIC on your body may have fryed your mobo. Get a wrist band

-Joey

hi,

Linux will indead work with most motherboards, but some of the latest chipsets may be inadequately supported by older distributions - using Mandrake 10 you should be fine, but, as an example, I installed SuSE 8.2 on a machine with a VIA KT400 chipset, and I had to patch the kernel to enable UDMA 133 support (VIA have a host of patches and driver upgrades on their website - good for them!) Without the patch, yes, the board worked, just not as fast as it was capable of...

In respect of static damage, it's always wise to take precautions when handling system components, but common sense also comes into it - handle cards by their edges, don't touch electical connectors directly, etc. If you haven't got a wrist strap, there are other options - 'ground' yourself regularly - eg, by touching a cold water pipe; don't wear nylon or synthetic fibres. Here in the UK, there is another option (or anywhere else that sports proper, switched, wall sockets..) - plug the machine into the wall socket, but make *sure* the power is switched off (for obvious safety reasons) - the chassis of the machine will then be grounded, and you can work safely.

I have to suggest, though, that having worked in electronics for a number of years, static damage to electronic assemblies is rarer than you'd think - the real danger is to individual components such as IC's, prior to assembly. Once components are assembled onto a PCB, the risk is diminished (although not entirely absent!), and common sense approaches such as outlined above, should in most situations be enough...

thanks for your answer. i really think the motherboard died, for it doesn't beep anymore, and there is a fan on it that doesn't work. i have checked the power supply and even bought a new power supply because i have been believing the problem came from that. so i really believe the motherboard is dead (the fan doesnt' turn and i can't access the bios).