omid

has anyone removed their motherboard/computer components from one computer and put the whole load in another case? if so, what tools will i need to do this and how long did it take you. thanks!

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MooseMan3000

I've never taken it out of a case to put it in a NEW one, but I don't imagine it would be too difficult. Chances are all you'll need is a Philips head screwdriver. All you need to do is open up your old case, start taking things out (one at a time), then put them back in the new case. Most things are held in with small screws. Those that are not held in by screws can usually be taken out by hand (either thumb screws or levers, or something along those lines). It shouldn't be too hard at all.

As for how long it takes you... that depends entirely upon how comfortable with it you are. Since I'm guessing you've never delved into your box before, I'd say put aside at least 3 hours. Probably leave a whole day open, just to be on the safe side, but chances are you'll need more time than you expect if it's the first time you're doing it. You just don't know how to do things.

Something you might want to do if you can is take a picture of the inside of your old case before you start dismantling it, just in case you forget where things go. Most of it is pretty intuitive, but again, if you're not familiar with it, it *can* get a little confusing.

Or better yet, get a friend who HAS done hardware stuff before and ask him to help. He could do it for you in an hour, or he could show you how in just a couple.

spived2

omid: you might want to fill us in on some info on your old case. For instance, if you have a compaq or hp and it uses some proprietary parts, you may find it difficult to put into a new case. If it's just the regular motherboard, vid card, sound card, hard drives and all, its pretty simple. Just unplug the old computer, remove the motherboard and all the other parts, put them somewhere safe, set up your new case (remove panels, setup motherboard standoffs, etc...) and then install the old parts.
Be sure to note how everything was hooked up before your removed it so you will have no problem installing it into the new one.

One more thing, make sure you read carefully how to hook the new cases power, reset button, lights, etc... to the motherboard, because it's not always foolproof and if you plug them in wrong, you may not be able to use some of the features.

Good luck

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hrdwareguy

The only other thing I can think of you might need is a nut driver for installing some standoffs.

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shakran

Don't forget to unplug the motherboard fromt he power supply as your first step, but leave the power supply plugged into the wall. That provides a chassis ground, so when you touch the case (do this often, like every time you go into the computer) you'll dissipate any static electricity that's built up on you.

cliche

I've done this before and it's no great hassle. Takes an hour or two and I did it with only a screwdriver and an antistatic wrist-strap (you can improvise by using anything conductive to attach yourself to ground - eg the bare metal of a radiator pipe).
Easiest way to do it is probably to take the whole thing apart - start by removing drives etc, then PCI/AGP cards. You can leave the CPU/memory attached to the motherboard. If you're not transferring the PSU, then all you have to do is move the motherboard over and start building up again from there. If you're moving PSU as well, I'd take the motherboard out and lay it on/in something antistatic whilst you transfer the PSU over. Then stick the motherboard in and go!

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omid

thanks for all the help. i've built computers and also taken parts off, but i've never transferred mobos from one case to another. thanks though, to everybody

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Kick butt buzz-cut dickheads who didn't like what I said.
The good times are killing me.
Jaws clenching tight we talked all night, oh but what the hell did we say?
The good times are killing me.

shakran

btw try to do it on a day where the air isn't really dry - you build up more static electricity on your body when it's dry.

Gotenks

Needle nose plyers, phillips head, a hammer (worst case scenerio), and I keep an electric drill around w/ a phillips bit in it just incase someone comes by wanting me to fix their 1990 genre computer (tons of screws in those old things, electric = the way to go).

Also, I havent read all reply's (shame), but I always wear my anti-static gloves when working with comp's. The gloves cost me a good bit of cash, but in the longrun, they've lasted me over 2 years and I use them pretty often. It's a good investment for any computer fanatic who has a family that knows jack about computers and always asks you for help.

If you don't have a pair... which i'm sure you don't, than the easiest way to de-static yourself is to put both hands on a PSU while it's plugged in. The computer doesnt have to be on, just the PSU has to be wired. Also don't use magnetized tools, one small slip and you can bridge two solder points together and screw up your mobo.

I usually go through a process of removing my parts after everythings unplugged. And even though I have a removable drive tray, that would still be my first thing out, remove all drives to free up some view space of the mobo. Next would be ram, than expansion slots, and than the mobo comes out (with cpu attatched). Once the mobo is out, lay it on anti-static film, or a piece of cardboard (NOT fabric).

Your new case should come with stand-off's, look at your mobo closely and put the standoff's inside your new case aligning them with the holes on your motherboard. Install the mobo and reverse the process.

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theburner

I have taken an old HP 7995 out of the case and "transplanted" the guts into a Thermaltake Case. Some of the problems I ran into:
1) The Mobo's are usually proprietary and manufactured ONLY for the one customer. Good luck finding pin out documentation.
2) The onboard USB and Firewire connections were proprietary in my case also. I was unable to use two of the onboard USB connections because HP used custom cables to connect. It wasn't the same pinout as Thermaltake used.
3) Not many (if any?) of the MFG's use full size or even mid size ATX formats. I had 7 PCI slots on my case, but my MOBO only had four. I had three wasted slots.

My recommendation is to scrap the mobo and buy a new one if you can. Just pry off the heatsink, remove the CPU and install it on the new MOBO.

I don't wear a wrist strap or anti-static gloves, and have never fried any hardware. The company I work for has a huge tech center and we ship over 20 Unix Servers a month. Our techs don't wear anti-static equipment (floor is raised and grounded though, but most everyone wears rubber soled shoes which negates this) and we have NEVER fried any memory, disk, mobo's or anything. Just make sure to periodically ground yourself on the metal chassis of your system.

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It was for my bro bltzkriegmcanon. Didn't wanna drop $1200 plus for a power system, all he does is look up porn and send emails!

But yes, I felt like I had sold out to the dark side doing the switch over. But yes, I felt real dirty doing the exchange!

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