I got this board few months ago but I thought this to be defective because when I first attempted to repair it myself, I got a lot of headaches finding the real trouble behind it. So in short, it was stocked up in the shelf for a long time. It was just yesterday when I decided to revive it once more hoping It will work.
I removed it from the case and started to work step by step. I looked for a good power supply and tried to see if it will power on. It does. This gives me a hint that I should continue. Then I tried to attached everything necessary for the board to operate like the hard disk, CD-ROM and the 256 memory, It doesn't have an AGP slot anymore (removed). I relied on the integrated video controller to work out fine although the onboard video jack is not tight enough to hold the cable.
I formatted the hard drive and installed windows XP. I successfully installed the OS but as I go along, I encountered several troubles regarding the graphics resolution, the video controller and the USB port.
Graphics Resolution
When I tried to configure the resolution, it doesn't have any option except an 8bit color adjustment and none else. I tried a lot but sort of there was really a problem - not with the OS or some other program. I tried resetting the bios but failed too.
So I decided to browse Google for an answer.
I got a hint and I decided to update the Bios using the one downloadable from Intel's site. Although I'm a little scared updating the Bios as I'm afraid of a more complicated situation where in some cases updating is not quite successful. But to my surprise, it works well and the trouble about the 8bit resolution has gone. It changed to 16 bit resolution which is a bit better.
Video Controller
This is the second problem I encountered. The first driver I got from Intel can't be installed since the system does not have the minimum requirements. It took me many hours wasting my time looking for the right driver and reading some answers from any forum. I didn't have the clue until I used Driver Genius Software to identify the most updated one for this video controller. So when I got that, I downloaded it again from Intel using the specific driver's name. After that I tried installing the new one and I got it. It works and I was able to change the screen resolution to a higher one. The graphics is now working smoothly.
USB Port Not Working
I mentioned above about updating the BIOS. Yes, it help me solve the problem regarding 8 bit screen resolution but this time there was a trouble with the USB port as it was not functioning at all. All USB connected peripherals even the printer was not totally detected. I was again stucked to another problem. However, I was able to put it back by going to the Setup (BIOS) and configure it by pressing F9 (default Bios settings).
Although, the board is now working, I'm still worried that it may not work in the next few days but I hope it will.
Intel discontinued the support regarding this model and it is already belong to the discontinued products under Intel's website. Still the drivers are available in their site which can still help those users who have this kind of discontinued products.
I'm not a computer technician but trying to be one through self-study.
