m8530f desktop PC with a m2n78-la mother board doesn't see my drives

[maple-canada]

Some more findings here. Since these machines are not detecting SATA devices, which doesn't match the northbridge defect symptoms. Then I take a look at the motherboard and couldn't find a southbridge! Then do some research and find out that this this board has the Single Bridge solution. The little bloody chipset under the tiny heat sink is the combination of northbridge and southbridge! The single bridge solution's biggest problem is it creats more heat than south&north bridges solution. And who decided to put only one tiny heat sink on the Total Bridge rather than putting a fan on it? Asus or HP?! Obviously someone didn't give a **bleep** to the product lifespan.

And now the result is that the huge heat generator just cooks it self until it drops dead.

[charlyjack]

I mounted 2 120mm fans one directly over the chipset attached to the removable side panel.  I also removed the media drive and placed the other 120mm so that it blows across the MB.  Other than changing the sink (maybe water cooling?) I cannot think of any more to do.  any  suggetions from anyone?

[BurningFury]

Just replaced my board over the weekend. It went smooth for a rookie like me. Other than figuring out the wires it all went fine.

The fan is a bit loud at times. I used all of the stock parts that came with the pc, only changed the board. It fitted just fine, but had to open some slots on the back of the case.

Again kudos to HP for not giving a f@ck about
their costumes or their products for that matter, and to all the great guys on this forums
for your support.

[fatskunk17]

I had the same issue with really loud cpu fan even at idle but manage to slow it down with the gigabyte easy tune 6 utility.

There is also SpeedFan utility that can be used

[BurningFury]

@fatskunk17

I've noticed my windows 7 is a bit sluggish,
Like it takes awhile for it to load and it's a bit slow sometimes once inside the OS.

I wonder what's making it do that.
Also, how did you get your fan to quiet down?

Any settings you have in particular?

[maple-canada]

Put a new HD in it and do a fresh OS install (just for testing purpose) to see if the machine runs better.

Sometimes with huge hardware changes the OS may get very confused, that affect the smoothness os user experience.

And by the way, which MB you used and from where did you buy it?

[BurningFury]

Hi there. I used the: 880GM-USB3 Mobo by Gigabyte. Don't know what model pc you have but mine is: hp pavilion e9120y. I'm sure they are all made the same. The board is great: it fits well, great performance, much better control altogether. Amazon has a few now for 100 bucks or so. Let me know how it goes

[protivakid]

@BurningFury

Try an os re-install before buying a new hard drive. If that doesn't work use a utility to test the hard drive.

I like using the free Hirens Boot CD ver 10.0 because it was the last version of Hirens to feature PC Doctor 2004 which has a GREAT hard drive tester. It is a couple years old now so it may be harder to find a download and I am not sure what newer versions of Hirens use to test hard drives but I imagine they have something adequate.

[magicmen]

I also have an HP m8530f machine which won't recognize my SATA HDD and CD/DVD-ROM drives:

HP m8530f Specifications

I've never replaced a motherboard before but the previously suggested Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H motherboard is nearly impossible to find brand new and under $100.   I've only found a refurbished one for $100 on E-bay.  Can anybody tell me if the cheaper ASRock A785GM-LE will

a) Be compatible with my m8530f machine (see link above)

b) and if this motherboard is a reliable alternative to the Gigabyte one

Otherwise, can somebody offer a better suggestion?

Thank you for your time.

[webersfamily4]

I have been reading through the posts and although I should be fuming..I am not. We have had an HP p6404y which recently blue-screened and now will not boot what so ever. It appears to be the similar mode expressed on this forum! It will not see any of the drives. switching around the SATA cables didnt help. reset the CMOS password and even tried a virgin hard drive. No luck. I was able to plug in the drive to another computer and get off our files..and I am not concerned about loosing anything....yet...as I can get more files if need be...but what is my recourse...if any? The computer is out of warranty (just) and now I have a large paperweight...should I contact HP? stand outside Best Buy, where it was purchased, with an angry mod wielding pitchforks and torches?? Advice and direction would be appreciated.