LOL, then what you are really saying is just go Linux? ;-) As for the next post. Yeah, you are having an I/O issue, but maybe it isn't coming from where we have theorized before. Given that you are having that sound issue while the video card is initializing, maybe that's the problem. Is this the same card you had on the last board? If so, and you have another card laying around that you can pop in to test with, give that a try. I had an issue with a video card once, not too long ago, and switching it out solved the problem. The other thing I just thought of, are you using the same power supply you used for the last board? This was another issue I had not very long ago. (I had a bad computer year last year, lol.) In fact, if I recall correctly, my symptoms were not too far from yours. I recall hearing my drives freak out on boot, and my hdd showed almost viral symptoms. I tried everything I could think of. The whole time, a buddy of mine kept saying, "Dude, it's your power supply." I kept saying there was no way. Why would the power supply be causing my problems? I went so far as to do a total format (fdisk, the whole nine yards.) It still didn't solve my problem. So I finally gave in and used a different power supply. My buddy didn't let me live it down for weeks that he was right on the money. If your mobo blew due to a power surge, it could have sizzled the power supply too. It's probably not as much a long shot as you might think. (I know from first-hand experience.) Another idea I just thought of (guess where it comes from? lol) your IRQs. Your video card may be sharing an IRQ with something else. That happened to me inexplicably. Check within the BIOS for the settings for the card (a good tip on the testing is to turn everything for the video card down in BIOS, ex. shadowing: off.) Then check within Windows also. See if maybe the video card is on an IRQ that is used by another device. (I'm not sure how PCI-e works, I am still using AGP, but I would assume, given that it is on a pipeline more closely shared by other devices, that perhaps Windows is throwing it on an IRQ it shouldn't.) One more idea, related to the last (I told you it was a bad year) do you have an old modem plugged in? I had an old 56k still in my box (because you never know when you are going to need to use dial-up again, lol.) It was stealing another card's IRQ (I think it was my network card, but hey, at this point, anything is possible.) Sheesh, just when I think I am out of ideas, I am reminded of one more time my computer decided to make me want to throw it out of the window. Anyway, I hope one of these helps. Keep me updated, who knows when I will need to remember it for myself grin