Yeah, a low-grade mobo. The good stuff is $150 and up. XP Home, $80; a new mobo, $150 or more. You do the math.
For the record...I have never...NEVER.. seen a bricked motherboard from simply adding SLP strings. It is unbelievably safe. But, Buying the OS is safer. Just dont upgrade your bios version. Its dangerous and may brick your board..
I discussed this concern with an HP technician today by phone. According to him, HP replaces the motherboard for a fee of $200-250 dollars. What brand and model board depends what's in stock, but it's tested for compatibility at the lab, so you can continue using your OEM version of Windows, which makes me and many other HP owners happy.
I would venture to say most any motherboard in the last 5 years that has XP drivers (most aftermarket boards) would pass their "Compatibility test". All they do is tattoo the board as we do..$250.00 is rape... HP is by far the easiest OEM to duplicate. You dont even have to flash your bios.
LOL It's like the old insert-a-quarter-to-watch-an-hour-of-TV-in-the-hotel money maker. They keep you coming back for more. Yeah, I know it's money rape, and sure, this group could probably reverse engineer the board with joy, but what happens if the hacker bricks it? Is the board a doormat, or could it be repaired?