hi, first post. i have an abit kr7... or something, i cant check now. i use amd athlon, and 2 hdds. i recently had my pc shipped to my new home overseas an recieved a ripped box, and bent up, dentend pc case! ever since, my pc has been acting up. it does not recognize one of my memory slots. when i use programs that require big ram, i get the win2000 blue minidump screen. lately i had a checksum error on boot. i have to set my cpu speed in cmos often. now, my hard drive clicks when booting, then is not recognised by the pc. where it shows the master disk it says none, and therefore, cant find windows. at first i thought it was the hdd dying, but now my other, semi new hdd is being omitted. turning the pc off and back on sometimes solves it, but when im on windows it crashes now, making me lose a lot of work! does anyone know if the motherboard is too old, or if a good cleaning would fix it?

It is very possible that something was damaged in shipping. Your board is old though, I had a gigabyte board that was Socket A, like yours is, and it went south, so that is also a possibility. Your HD however may be failing, they're sensitive and something may have been knocked apart from shipping.
A tip for you if you ship a computer again, if it's important then you should disassemble it (motherboard, cards, ram, processor, etc... everything basically), wrap them in antistatic bags, and ship them in separate boxes. More expensive but it heavily reduces the risk of damage.

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Thanks. The reason i dont think its the hdd is because both act the same. I can just turn on and off again to fix it. If i get a new mb, can i salvage the cpu? I know its old, but i just cant do without a pc and i cant afford anything now. Since im in a foreign country, im really screwed. I dont have my drivers or even my win cd. heres a thought, the package was insured for 800 dollars, but it was over a year ago that it was shipped. can i claim some money or something?

Hello and welcome to PC Help Forum.

If the damage was to right side of the computer tower then your motherboard could be damaged.
Clicking hard drive is usaly a sign they are going to fail.Also if it is not reconised in BIOS this could be an indication of failure or it is due to fail.

Could you check connections by opening up the computer while it is disconnected from power supply and check all cables and connections have not become loose?

If you are not a total gamer and just a general surfer/downloader you do not need a high specification machine then you can replace your motherboard and CPU at a decent low price.

I would not use the CPU on another motherboard as it may not be compatable.

If you wish information on replacement parts then I am sure we can give you pointers on what to buy.

You maybe able to salvage some parts from the old computer,maybe CD/DVD rom or a few cables wich will cut down on costs.

I am not sure of the laws in the USA but if it has been some time frame since you recieved the computer then you may not be able to claim compensation.But it is worth a try.

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It is all in the hardware..........................................
Sources:
http://www.microsoft.com/en/gb/default.aspx
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/Home/
http://www.petri.co.il/index.htm

PCHF Rules Scan Computer for Driver Updates Pre-Work

checksum error at boot could just be the cmos battery running low.Do you get an error message with the minidump? any clues in event viewer its in admin tools

The pc clock is always reset. so i think its probably the batt. ill check the connections in a few hours. the problem is very seldom though so i may not know if its fixed. as for replacements, i write and record music on my pc so i will need a good cpu, but i am capable of working with my old one. as long as i can find a compatable motherboard. obviously ill need more ram. but i dont know what ram or cpu is compatible with what motherboards.

To replace the battery you will either need to take it to a shop or write down the number codes on it as BIOS batterys come in diffrent thickness and you would need the correct one.

This scan will tell you what RAM you need for the motherbaord.Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com

To be honest I would not only buy a mainboard but also a new CPU.

Check out our computer DIY section on what others are buying and building.

__________________
It is all in the hardware..........................................
Sources:
http://www.microsoft.com/en/gb/default.aspx
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/Home/
http://www.petri.co.il/index.htm

PCHF Rules Scan Computer for Driver Updates Pre-Work

Your motherboard uses a Socket A processor with PC1600 or PC2100 DDR ram, that is very old. Your only bet to get a Motherboard that uses that is to get a used one somewhere

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Ah so it would be stupid of me to buy an old motherboard just to keep a crappy cpu if i plan on upgrading.

oh no, i think its the click of death! its becoming more frequent. is there a way of backing up all my work? i have gigs of music ive written over the span of 2 years at stake.

Have you got an external hard drive?I think you may have to much work just to put to disks?Unless you got a lot of disks?

Do you have another computer you could install it in as a slave drive and remove the data?