My home computer is down!!! That means no access to my yahoo IM. A
friend of mine told me he thinks i need a new video card. This computer
is probably 7 yrs old. Is it worth it? If so is it something that a
technically challenged person can do or do I need to take it to a place
like comp usa where i got the computer?

This computer also has other issues, like the CD drive doesn't work and
it kicks me off if I IM on JSH and someone else trys to IM me.

Might need to upgrade and get an new computer hun.
Chrissy

well sister...i think we both need new computers...mine is 6 years old
and it has issues lets say....its retarded!!!! mine freaks out all the
time!!!

It's probably time for a new one. 6 and 7 years old is alot for a pc.
There's a site that does a free diagnostic series of tests and will
give you tips on what you can do to fix minor problems. It's free and
doesn't put any spyware or unwanted programs on your pc. I have been
using it for years.

www.pcpitstop.com

I hope this helps.

I agree with the others, you could probably find a quality used desktop
computer for well under $100 which is more powerful than the one thats
falling apart on you now. I got the one I'm using for $50 on eBay.

But if you do decide to replace the video card, you may (?) have to make
sure the card you use matches the bus (VLB, ISA, PCI, etc) on your
computer. I don't know how backward compatibility works with that, but
its something to ask about if you buy a replacement card.

i don't mind replacing it. It would be nice to replace it with a laptop
since i have wireless. But, how do i get my stuff off the old computer?
Is it lost forever? Some things I would want to erase so no one else
can get access to it.

get stuff off? can you still turn it on??? if you can then you can
move documents and pictures and stuff on to a cd, or get a usb drive
and put it on that for the next one.. and you can burn the hard drive
if you were afraid of anyone seeing the stuff you have on it not that i
think someone would look lol ...

Music, My understanding of your situation is that your computer actually
works, except you cannot see anything on your screen (due to video
card). (And the CD drive doesn't work). I'm also assuming its a
desktop.

If it was mine, I open it up and take the hard drive out. Then I would
either

(a) put that old harddrive in an external drive enclosure, the kind
which plugs into a USB port and makes your old internal harddrive
accessible to your new computer. I have one I got on eBay for $10, from
China, its flaky but does the job. Barely.

or
(b) put your old harddrive into a friends desktop computer. Get help
from someone who has done this before, as you might have to set jumpers
on the drive and deal with other minor annoyances. Then you can follow
sororities suggestions and move everything onto a thumbdrive, or burn a
CD (or DVD) of the files you want to keep. (You could also connect that
desktop computer with your new laptop and move everything directly, easy
to do under linux but I don't know if you'd need special software under
windows.)

There may be someone locally who could do all this for you for a fee.
You might ask your friends if they know someone, or use craigslist.

thanks that helps

I'm no computer geek but I do design websites and graphics. I would say
junk it out. It's not even worth upgrading. The man I work with works on
puters. I've never heard anything good about the older systems. Most
have run so far out of memory that you start to forget who you are-lol

And........save everything you want to a cd or external like she said.

figure 50 for a decent video card + compatibility issue

and 50 for a cd drive

and <400 for a new comp

prob. good used one for <200

weigh the options and then decide

if go for new would suggest 64 compatible

but hey what do i know

you can transfer the hard drive of the one you have now into your next
one as a slave

or put it in a usb case and have an exturnal drive to move around

sometimes i go bush in my ute and the tracks get a bit rough in places
its a hard drive butt i do have fun

a good solution would be to add more ram and increase the speed of it.
go to my computer, right click it, go to properties, click on hardware
tab, find device manager. click on the cd drive and uninstall the
driver. then reboot ur machine and let the driver reinstall itself.
that might get ur cd drive working again. HPshopping.com is selling new
units starting at $329 just to let u know.

If you buy a computer and just run it till it gets too annoying to work
or dies completely like it sounds in this case. Typically it indicates
the computer is no longer capable of supporting todays software anyhow
so you might as well replace it.

I used to build computers for myself until recently when I found I could
purchase one already built cheaper then I could buy the parts to build
it myself on ebay.

My main computer here that I use was one I built from scratch and every
year or two I upgrade major portions of it like the motherboard and
processor and memory just to be able to use the software I use.

Most people use their computer to surf the web and get their email if
tha is all you are looking for then your needs are far less then those I
deal with on a daily basis.

Might want to look at your computer the same as you would a car. Owning
a car you have to put gas and oil as well as generally maintain it. If
you do not it will break down. Computers are far cheaper then cars on
both original investment as well as maintenance.

An internet year is only 2 months in real time based on the pace of
technology changes and improvements happening daily.

If your pc is 7 years old it is high time you replace it and bring
yourself into the new millenium as far as your computer goes.