Question Replacing a motherboard on an old computer

[KittensEverywhere]

Got some help here regarding my computer issues and it sounds like my motherboard needs replacing. I've got a computer made in 2010 (Lenovo ThinkCentre A70Z AIO Desktop) and I don't know if I should try to find a more up-to-date equivalent or a used copy of my old one.

I checked eBay and found several folks selling the exact board I have now, all of which are refurbished/pre-owned. Do I still need to reinstall Windows if I get the same board as I had before? I only ask because I don't have the license information or Windows installation disk - I got the computer secondhand. Also, what should I do about the parts that are glued down to my current motherboard? Lenovo's support site just makes it sound like I pop the old one out and drop a new one in, but I have a feeling it's a little more involved than that.

 

[KittensEverywhere]

Got some help here regarding my computer issues and it sounds like my motherboard needs replacing. I've got a computer made in 2010 (Lenovo ThinkCentre A70Z AIO Desktop) and I don't know if I should try to find a more up-to-date equivalent or a used copy of my old one.

I checked eBay and found several folks selling the exact board I have now, all of which are refurbished/pre-owned. Do I still need to reinstall Windows if I get the same board as I had before? I only ask because I don't have the license information or Windows installation disk - I got the computer secondhand. Also, what should I do about the parts that are glued down to my current motherboard? Lenovo's support site just makes it sound like I pop the old one out and drop a new one in, but I have a feeling it's a little more involved than that.

 

[stingray66]

This is just my opinion only Kittens..i dabble in hardware and software and i keep the older stuff around to play around it and play the older games that came with win 95 ,98 and win 7 as well as try older software. For your issue you have to decide what you are going to use it for and will it be safe to use in the upcoming years. Windows 7 security updates will not be supported after Jan 2020 and you could be at risk for bugs, flaws and viruses. I have an old IBM thinkpad with windows 7 on it plus i use virtual machine software to play the old stuff on so these things might not see the internet and are fine to do stuff on with the drivers they have.. it is what it is and you might find drivers out there to keep you going but for how long time will tell. As for your windows key i used a program called magical jelly bean to find lost keys. it works for me. Good Luck

 

[KittensEverywhere]

This is just my opinion only Kittens..i dabble in hardware and software and i keep the older stuff around to play around it and play the older games that came with win 95 ,98 and win 7 as well as try older software. For your issue you have to decide what you are going to use it for and will it be safe to use in the upcoming years. Windows 7 security updates will not be supported after Jan 2020 and you could be at risk for bugs, flaws and viruses. I have an old IBM thinkpad with windows 7 on it plus i use virtual machine software to play the old stuff on so these things might not see the internet and are fine to do stuff on with the drivers they have.. it is what it is and you might find drivers out there to keep you going but for how long time will tell. As for your windows key i used a program called magical jelly bean to find lost keys. it works for me. Good Luck

I really only use my computer for basic stuff - browsing, reading, games that aren't too graphics-heavy and Adobe software. Don't need anything high-performance by any means.

Windows updates aren't a big deal for me because I have them disabled anyway, so I'm fine with Windows 7 no longer being supported. One of the biggest things preventing me from getting a whole new computer is Windows 10 doesn't seem to play nice with my internet - some crap about data received not being verified. 7, however, still works with it.

I'm still trying to figure out if it's even my board that needs fixing because the things it's doing seem to be symptoms of motherboard failure, but it also has no other signs. But anyway, thank you so much for taking time to respond. I feel a little helpless because I'm not a big tech person, but I'm trying to learn how to necromance my nearly 10-year-old machine.

 

[cherry blossoms]

Unless you have all the parts required for testing, or can get the motherboard super cheap, you may be better off with a new system.

You are talking replacing the CMOS battery as well, possibly an aged power supply that could be failing, etc.

How much money do you want to put into the system , chasing problems, if the motherboard turns out to not be the culprit. You still have an old system , that may fail the hard drive out due to age, if the power supply is starting to fail and damaging things, etc.

Even a lightweight modern computer should be a bit snappier than a core 2 duo 7500.
It would also get you a modern supported OS , unless you absolutely need your old version of windows.

 

[KittensEverywhere]

Unless you have all the parts required for testing, or can get the motherboard super cheap, you may be better off with a new system.

You are talking replacing the CMOS battery as well, possibly an aged power supply that could be failing, etc.

How much money do you want to put into the system , chasing problems, if the motherboard turns out to not be the culprit. You still have an old system , that may fail the hard drive out due to age, if the power supply is starting to fail and damaging things, etc.

Even a lightweight modern computer should be a bit snappier than a core 2 duo 7500.
It would also get you a modern supported OS , unless you absolutely need your old version of windows.

Thank you for taking time to help me!

I really do like my computer and I'd be willing to spend a few bucks to try and fix it rather than buying a whole new system, but not more than the cost of a new machine. I don't think I could find the exact same board brand new, but I see some refurbished versions of the same one on eBay for $15-$30. Not ideal, but I don't know what putting a whole new board in my computer would do.

Also, after talking to some folks on other tech support pages, I'm starting to think it might actually be the RAM giving me problems, which will be an easier fix than replacing the whole system board. I didn't know faulty RAM could cause the issues I'm experiencing and the more I research, the more I'm seeing that the motherboard isn't exhibiting any of the normal signs of failure aside from the display issues. If it turns out to be the video card, then I'd probably have no choice but to replace my computer because there's no way to repair the video card.

And honestly, I do really want to keep my current version of Windows because Windows 10 doesn't seem to work with my internet, but I know Windows 7 does.

So I'm going to be shopping for RAM sticks... after I try cleaning my current ones and blowing some air into the RAM slots. I may also be buying a power supply tester to rule that out as a cause, and I figure I should buy a new battery anyway even if it's not the problem. If all this fails, I'll have to look into a new system. I also wanted to buy a motherboard tester (POST cards, I think?), but it seems my motherboard has no slots for that to be plugged into.