Hi Jeddied. Well, there are two major things you can do:

• Get a groundng wrist strap. This strap will release any ESD from your hands and allow you to work confidently within your computer. They cost no more than $5 and can be purchased at any computer store. You connect one end to the computer case and the other end is wrapped around your wrist.

• Short of doing the above, make sure you consistently release any ESD from your hands by touching any metal part of the case.

As mjd420nova stated, keep the power cord plugged into the computer. This, along with one of the points listed, will assure that you will not inadvertently short your motherboard.

:oops: I use the term "PCI video card" loosely to mean any card that is not an onboard card. Sorry if there was any confusion. You can search newegg's website for AGP cards the same way I did to find the card I suggested.

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This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself

At this point, your options are dwindling. The easiest option would be to get a computer that is not being used and swap out the parts. There is no easy way around this particular situation. Let's try to eliminate everything else before you take it to a technician.

Here is what I would recommend, if you have not already tried this:

There should be a small black speaker connected to the motherboard. This speaker produces the beeps that would suggest a fault or failure. It should look like this:

img:0e40b00c6chttp://i8.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/a7/4e/b530_2.JPG+

• First, take everything out of the case. Make sure you protect the motherboard by laying it on the protective cover that should have come with it. Look for that small black speaker. It should be in the same location as all of your main connections. **Make sure this speaker is securely connected to the motherboard**

• Look inside the case. As mjd420nova stated, there should be a series of insulating raisers in the case. If you do not see anything in the case, very carefully lift the motherboard and look on the bottom of the motherboard for some sort of insulating raisers. If you still do not see anything that would protect the motherboard from the metal, I am sorry to say but more than likely your motherboard is shot.

• Now, if you do see the raisers start to put just the motherboard, with the memory, back in the case. Verify that you have connected everything to its appropriate spot, connect the Power Supply, connect the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and turn on the computer. You should be able to at least get to the BIOS screen from this area. No question. If you do not, again, I am sorry but your motherboard is fried.

• If you are able to get to the BIOS, look for a way to disable the default onboard video card. Once you do that, hit F10 to save the options and restart the computer. Again, you should be able to get to the BIOS screen. Once you get to the BIOS area, turn off the computer.

• Next, install the AGP video card and then restart the computer. Again, you should be able to at least get to the BIOS. Once you do that, shut off the computer.

• Next, install the the hard drive(s) and optical drive(s) and restart the computer. At this point, as long as you have the Operating System partition set up as the primary drive, you should be able to get through the start up process.

Please follow these steps fully and let us know if you run into any problems at all.

***The only other options I can see are long shots but that would be a blown Power Supply, an improperly seated processor, or bad memory***

As Spike stated, the processor could have been incorrectly put into the motherboard. If that is the case, the processor could be fried as well as the motherboard. We'll cross that bridge if and when we need to cross it.

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This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself

Hi Jeddied. Yes, those are the raisers. In my opinion, it would be better to replace the motherboard instead of repair it simply because:

• there is no way to know exactly how much is wrong with the motherboard.
• it will cost you more to repair the motherboard than it will to replace the motherboard.

Now, before you run off and get a replacement motherboard, hold off for a second opinion. Spike is very good at finding areas that we may not have discovered.

Also, from whom did you get this motherboard? It may be too late to try and get money back; however, whoever gave/sold you the motherboard may still have the speaker. If so, get this speaker and connect it onto the motherboard. I have a very strong feeling that there may be system beeps that we are missing because there is no speaker.

Also, to answer your last question, if the motherboard is shot, the processor may be, at the very least, corrupted. If you do end up buying another motherboard, I would not install this processor in the new motherboard. I would get another processor as well.

Again, do not get discouraged or upset at yourself or the person who gave/sold you the motherboard. Let's wait for a second opinion. Just to prepare yourself, go to www.newegg.com and start looking into motherboard/processor combination deals. I feel newegg is the least expensive of all online computer parts suppliers and their shipping is very fast.

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This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself

Hi Jeddied. That is not a question I am prepared to answer. There are so many factors that go into buying a new motherboard and processor combination. One of which is the kind of processor you would like to get.

This link will give you all of the available motherboard and processor combinations available on newegg.com sorted by price.

If you do not care what socket type you get or anything like that, this sort would be good for you. If you want to learn more about any one of combinations, you can click on each one to learn more.

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This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131593

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136034

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371001

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130071

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118020

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106070

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104076

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126179

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176059

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144417

You do the math 8)