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| Removing your old motherboard can be a delicate piece of surgery. You have to remove all the connectors, such as from the power supply and disk drives, and you have to take out all the add-in cards from their slots. If you plan to reuse the CPU and RAM, you need to remove those as well. And there are a variety of other cables and connectors you have to unplug before removing the motherboard. |
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| After you turn off your computer, unplug the power cable, open the case, and ground yourself or use an antistatic wrist strap. You want to make sure that you don't carry any static electricity that might harm anything inside your computer. As you remove cables and connectors, make a diagram so that when you plug everything back into your new motherboard, it will all be in the right place. |
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| Unplug your mouse, modem, monitor, keyboard, and other devices connected to your PC or motherboard. Note which serial devices are connected into COM1 or A and COM2 or B, so you can reconnect them in the same way on the new motherboard. You won't need to remove the ribbon or power connectors. |
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| Cards are held in place by small Phillips-head screws. Unscrew each, and then pull out the cards by holding the card at each end and pulling them up and out. Put the cards in a safe place and keep the screws—you'll need them to attach the cards to your new motherboard. You will probably find a small cable that connects from your CD-ROM drive to your sound card or to the audio connector on some video card. You can leave these connected, or you can take them out when removing the card from the motherboard.
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| RAM is commonly packaged in units called SIMMs. SIMMs are held onto the memory slots by metal holders or plastic tabs on each side of the SIMM. Gently press both tabs outward and the SIMM will be released. A good way to do this is to use two small flathead screwdrivers—use them to press the tabs outward until the SIMM is released. If metal tabs hold in the SIMM, it is often easier to use your thumbnails instead. Put the SIMMs in a safe place where they won't be damaged by static. |
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| Ribbon cable runs from your motherboard or from a controller card to devices such as your floppy drive and hard disk drive. Unplug the ribbon's connectors from the motherboard or controller card, but leave the ribbons plugged into the devices such as the hard disk and floppy drives. Next, unplug the ribbon cables connecting the motherboard to the serial and parallel ports. Finally, unplug the cables that run from the power supply to internal devices and the motherboard. |
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| First, unscrew the screws. Next, remove the standoffs between the motherboard and the case. Pinch their tops with a pair of needlenose pliers and push them through their holes, or lift the motherboard up to release them. You now should be able to remove your motherboard. Hold its edges and pull it straight off the computer. |
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United States
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