I have a Gateway P11 350 with a DVD ROM drive and it uses Mpact2 for
the video (no card) I want to uninstall this and the DVD ROM drive,
add a standard CD ROM drive and add a video card, my question is: How
do I do this? As far as I know, the Mpact is all software based and
controls all the video functions. Thank You

Greetings, schuppe-ga;

The Mpact2 is a chipset created by Chromatic Research--one which
they have quit manufacturing, according to this Geek News article
on geek.com:

http://www.geek.com/techupdate/chromend.htm

The chipset is an integrated part of your computer's motherboard,
and cannot be removed.  You can use your Mpact2 video "card" and
drivers even if you uninstall your DVD-ROM.  If you want to put a
new video card in, the basic steps *at the hardware level* are:

NOTE: Please finish reading before executing these steps!  You
also need to uninstall the drivers for your Mpact2 before
installing the new card.  See the articles below for details.

1. Shut your computer off.
2. Physically install the new video card.  For PCI video cards,
   install in the PCI slot closest to the CPU.
3. Boot the computer.
4. As soon as the computer starts powering up, enter the BIOS
   setup utility.  Pressing the <F1> key should get you into the
   BIOS on a Pentium-based Gateway machine.
5. Find the setting for the initial display device and change it
   from "Onboard" to "PCI".
6. Save and Exit the BIOS.
7. Your machine will reboot and you can install the new video
   drivers when the OS comes up.

Check out this Gateway Support FAQ for slightly more detailed
steps:

http://support.gateway.com/s/motherbd/anigma/m00274/4000274faq6.shtml

Don't be worried if your BIOS doesn't show exactly the same
options as listed in the FAQ.  Keep in mind that you are trying to
disable the "onboard" or "integrated" video and enable the "PCI",
"external", etc. video.  Just be sure that you install your new
video card before disabling the onboard video.

You must also uninstall/install software drivers for your old/new
video card.  Here are some articles that describe how to install a
new video card at both the software and hardware levels:

Cyber Tech Help - How to install a new video card
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/html/tutorials/tutorial.php/id/12

Motherboards.org - How To Install a Video Card
http://www.motherboards.org/articlesd/how-to-guides/1168_1.html

Your question seems to be more about the video card than the
DVD-ROM, but here is an article describing how to install a new
CD-ROM just in case you aren't familiar with the process:

How to Install a CD-ROM Drive
http://www.duxcw.com/digest/Howto/cdrom/

Theoretically, you should be able to physically uninstall your
DVD-ROM, install the CD-ROM, reboot your computer, and your OS
detect the changes and (un)install the necessary drivers for you.


Additional Links:

The Gateway Support page:
http://support.gateway.com/support/default.asp


Search Strategy:

Google Search:
gateway mpact2
://www.google.com/search?q=gateway+mpact2&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N

Google Search:
"how to" install video card
://www.google.com/search?q=%22how+to%22+install+video+card

Google Search:
"how to" install cdrom drive
://www.google.com/search?q=%22how+to%22+install+cdrom+drive


I hope this answers your question.  If not, please feel free to
ask for clarification.

Best wishes,
bikerman

Excellent answers with followup links. I couldn't be happier with the
results. Thank You bikerman!