Need help troubleshooting a Compaq Presario SR1365CL (ASUS K8S-LA)

Hello,

I'm trying to fix a Compaq Presario SR1365CL. The owner worked on it and
somehow decided that the hard drive was at fault. I'm not sure what else was
tried in order to "fix" it. Currently, PC will not boot Windows XP Home, but
BIOS can be entered and changed and it does recognize the hard drive.

After numerous attempts at trying to restore the original drive (Compaq has
a restore partition on it) or install Windows on a new drive, I took it to a
local computer repair shop to have it checked out. The consensus was that
either the motherboard or BIOS was at fault. This is an ASUS K8S-LA
motherboard OEM'd for Compaq. Unfortunately, the BIOS can only be updated
through Windows.

How can I prove that it is either the motherboard or the BIOS at fault? Is
there any way to update the BIOS without using Windows? I've already checked
Compaq's website without any success. Any pointers would be greatly
appreciated.

In the meantime, I also tried sourcing an original replacement motherboard,
but only found an expired auction on EBay, which offered an untested one
that was parted out of an old PC. Not a reliable way to go in my opinion.

Does anyone have a reliable source for either an exact original replacement
motherboard or know of a specific model that can be substituted for the
original without having to replace the CPU? I'm doing this as a favor for
someone who inherited it from the original owner and can't really afford a
new PC. If this can be done for under $100, then it would be worthwhile and
allow them to get in the game.

Thanks in advance to those who post a reply here to the group.

Peter.


.

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