Should I replace the MB?

[krcat1]

My Mom has an eMachine machine with a xp3000+ cpu. Purchased one year ago.

I think the CPU is fine, but the networking port failed after 3 months.
No big problem, I put in a network card, and everything works fine.

However, when I work with the machine sometimes the on-broad video will flash or flicker.
This doesn't happen often.

Could the video be preparing to fail?
If so, should I get her a new MB?

 

[boomerang]

Disconnect the cable and reconnect. At both ends if it's removable at the monitor. Could just be a poor connection.

If that doesn't fix it, it's the cable or the motherboard.

 

[Bojangles139]

as for replacement... good luck. if i remember what an eMachine looks like, they're fairly small. finding a mobo will be difficult, and i'd guess its not a standard size.

brandon

 

[krcat1]

To be honest, I think ditching the eMachine case would be a good start.

But Mom gets nervious when I make changes to the computer.

 

[xgsound]

To troubleshoot the "flashing" switch monitors for awhile to see if the monitor is the problem.

As to emachine parts (motherboard) , for the past 2 years or so they have been running more standard installations than most OEM's . It is likely that a direct mobo replacement is or was avaliable at newegg (except for the emachine logo).

Jim

 

[will889]

The eMachine has either a KM266 mobo or a NF2 mobo. They had one with an NF2 FIC AU31 mATC, and another with a ECS KM266 that ran the XP3000. In both case you can pop in a cheap video card if IGP fails, no reason to replace the mobo really. If you really have to get a new mobo a Biostar M7NCG400 NF2 W/IGP will work.

 

[krcat1]

I have an old video card with the same specs as the on-board video GeForce4 MX

The MB is a First Computer International AU31. The chipset is nForce2.