as in: go to the shop, let it get replaced and wait one month?

perhaps in a month when my brother gets a laptop

as in: RMA ; give VISA info, get replacement shipped first to you, then send back faulty equipment,

don't know if Abit does this, they have an onsite support for the MAX series.

Maxtor works as outlined in my first sentense, and it is FAST :)
200gb broke down, 3 days later new one arrives

it's an asus board btw

replacement might be handy, becuz two of the onboard fan connectors are broken too

I was referring to thread starter's mobo btw :)

Abit also has on-line RMA, but they do charge $25 upfront money which will be refunded when the returned board gets there. But, they charge a big $150 additional for instant replacement. U.S. policy may not be applied by you.

It takes almost three weeks based on my experience.

They all have similar policy; MSI, ABIT and ASUS.