Computer help?

It's just the advance of technology. As motherboard bus speeds increase, they stop being able to downclock the RAM bus far enough to use the old RAM. That can be a good technique when you know what you're doing in regards to installing part. Honestly, low-end dells run something like $300. If she's limping along with a 900 mHz Celeron better to simply spring for something a little more modern.

If you decide to pick up a new computer at Best Buy, bring the old one in the car when you go buy it. When you do, tell the Geek Squad guys at the frost that you want them to take your old Zip drive out of your old system and drop it in your new system. I doubt they charge more than 30-40 bucks for the work of minutes.The old drive will work, and it'll be super-easy for someone proficient to drop it in. And consider one of the USB thumb drives that people have been talking about, in addition. Something like this:They come in different sizes, they plug into every modern computer, they're super-small (that one is probably the size of a stick of gum), they're super-cheap and easy to use. You plug it in and it shows up in My Computer like a Zip disk or another hard drive. And I doubt you'll pay more than 20 bucks for one.Or, don't. Folks are just trying to be helpful, but I can understand how it might be confusing. Just to try to summarize, here's what I'd recommend, drawing from what people have said, as a plan of attack:1) Try to reinstall Windows.
2) If you still have the same problems on a fresh install, it's a hardware issue. Buy a new computer for cheap and have them put your Zip drive in it. Even if you bought a Dell online, you could take it in to the Best Buy and they would do that for you. Also consider moving away from Zip disks, as your disks/drive are probably going to go bad sometime in the next couple of years.I used to do tech support, and I helped some truly clueless users, and you're definately not as illiterate as you may think you are. Hopefully that should give you a little confidence about your ability to deal with these computer issues.

She's using XP Home now, so it's not like she's using ancient Office. It'll load; her new computer will probably have XP as well. I don't think Vista is coming out anytime soon.I don't forsee any issues whatsoever with Faith trying to use her current copies of any software on her new computer, unless she's misplaced the CD codes but she doesn't strike me as the kind of person that would allow that to happen. (Unlike me, I guess. My software filing system is a huge box that I toss all that crap in.)

Good advice Crash.Which option of the two (msg 91 and 92) would you pick? And does it sound like good value for money? Is the Amd chip the equivilent to a Penthium4

I'm about to geek out so Faith, skip to the bottom if you want.I'm usually an AMD fan wherever possible - they almost always have a considerable performance advantage over Intel machines at the same clock speed. But my wife and I are hardcore gamers, we have specific needs. For her machine I put in an Athlon 64 3200, and I overclock it a little bit in a highly customized case. (I'm hampered, budget-wise, by the fact that we need two gameable computers.)I had to upgrade my computer about a month sooner than I wanted to, and because the new Core 2 Duo (aka "Conroe") chips were imminent, prices were pretty low on Pentium D's. I picked up one of those but screwed myself on the motherboard, which I need to replace. (I didn't do enough research and got stuck with one that will run a Pentium D, but not both cores on it. So essentially I paid too much for a P4.)The things I do push my system to its limits, so if I was buying a pc now instead of two months ago when I did, I wouldn't consider anything but a newer two-core chip like the Core 2 Duo or an Athlon FX dual-core. Those can get pricey right now, though.Out of those two you mentioned, for Faith's low-end needs? I'd go with the first one. She'll benefit more from a low-end dual-core and more RAM than from a fast single-core with less RAM. The fact that the first one only has integrated Intel graphics hardware shouldn't matter; I doubt she's going to be making the step to Vista and she doesn't game. And the capability to burn DVD's will serve her well if she has the need to do backups. (She could probably burn every single ZIP disk she has onto the space of one single-layer DVD.)IMO? I'd recommend for her the Celeron D system. More features, more modern technologies, more stuff that she's going to find useful.

I saw your blog and trembled...Good advice on choice. I know this stuff is about how ingredients mix and your suggesting one mix over the helps steer things. I'm in the mode of taking your word for it: single core? dual core? - frick!(Apologies Faith for sticking the oar in but I reckon its better to get some potential pcs up there to work on. Perhaps now someone can recommend a better spec for the money - or perhaps a lower spec for less that will suffice for your needs. You might be able to add other stuff like a 19" screen or a second CD drive or more RAM or something. The Celeron which Crash recommends might be the minimum though.

This thread is a perfect example to show just how many forum members it take to change a light bulb.

You betcha. But its good for picking up on ideas for me anyways. I'm itching to open my own computer to have a poke aroundDo you want to comment on the deal in post 91/92. Perhaps chose one or other and why or maybe post a better one if you come across it.Or do you prefer to keep Faith at arms length knowing she can't risk too much activity here in case the pc goes belly up? Edited by iano, : No reason given.

At my house, we're Macintosh fanatics, so I don't know if the following advice will be relevant. Also, I haven't read all the posts in this thread so I don't know if the following suggestion has been covered. Hard disk drives have become as cheap as water (almost), even the external ones. If your computer has a USB 2.0 connector (the older USB 1.1 is way to slow for this to be considered) or firewire, you can buy an external USB 2.0 or firewire hard disk drive that you just plug into wall power and then connect to your computer with one cable. I've seen 120-Gigabyte external drives for $50. If PCs work like Macs, you can then load your operating system disk (I think this is Windows XP Home in your case) onto the new drive and make that your system drive. For any software that isn't working right, just reload or download a fresh copy onto this new drive. You can also copy files, folders and applications over to this new external drive. You can now also run a disk repair utility on your internal drive, which is a dangerous thing to do when that internal drive is your only drive and/or your system drive. This fix assumes the following:1) you have an USB 2.0 or firewire port on your computer2) you have the original Windows operating system disk that (hopefully) came with your computer or that you bought to upgrade your computer (I think you can buy Windows XP home for about $60 if you don't have it)3) you have $504) the PC/Windows system allows the operations I describe above. (any other posters with PCs care to comment on this)This is cheaper and less intimidating than the process of buying a whole new computer, but if your using a 900Mhz computer and can afford it, you should certainly think about entering the 21st century (at least as far as electronic technology is concerned) and buying a new unit. The money you spent on the external computer won't be wasted. It will work fine with the new computer and might be a good unit to use far monthly backups. (Having gone through all the aggravation you have suffered, once your problem is resolved, you will have learned your lesson about backups, and will certainly perform monthly backups for at least the next two, maybe even three, months.)If even this approach seems too intimidating, your last resort is the SBE solution. SBE stands for Single's Bar Expert. Just go to your local single's bar. find some guy who has all the expertise you need, and get him top fix your computer. He will not expect anything in return for his help.

While some might see this thread on your computer predicament as outside the scope of the EvC forum, I see an ironic parallel between this thread and several others, mainly proposed by you, Faith, that are directly on topic. For, as subsequent to the Fall, god not only cursed mankind with disease and death, but also with mechanical breakdowns, wear, tear, and computer bugs. But god is not without mercy, and he has provided you with exactly what you need to confront and solve these problems that afflict you: Men! And in his limitless wisdom, he has provided you with exactly what a charming young lady such as yourself needs to attract men and get them to do your bidding: Chocolate! So your next move should be to go out into the world and buy some chocolate (combined with peanuts and nuggat, if you really want to play hardball).

I'm a realist, meaning when I help a person out I also consider the person's needs and capabilities. If a gamer wants my help, I will point to hardwares that are good for gaming. When someone wants a computer to do mostly arts stuff, I sadly have to point him to a mac. When a user like Faith asks for my help, I will point to something affordable that doesn't involve a 3 thousand dollar processor that is ideal for you to host as a server or something.Most people who know a thing or two about computers tend to demand that a regular person get the most expensive, the most badass hardwares possible, even if the regular person only wants to write a few papers and go online. I seriously don't see the need to spend money on something you honestly are not going to ever use. Like I said, I am using an 6 year old computer and I do just fine with it. I run simulation programs and such on this baby and it seems to work fine, given that I had to do a little upgrades here and there over the years.As some people pointed out about the new VISTA (or longhorn) OS microsoft has been promising us, it will be a problem for those of us that haven't spent the money to buy the most kickass processors on the market. But ask yourself this question. So what? Windows XP works just fine for most people and it will continue to be that way for a very very long time.Faith has been using celeron processor at 800 MHz all these years. Do we honestly expect her to suddenly become a world famous hacker? Not to be pessimistic, but chances are she really doesn't care much for spending the time and money to learn how to work all the new gadgets.XP OS and office (or openoffice) are for the most part very stable. Anything beyond is just for people showing off that they have the newest crap out there.My cousin, who works for a programing company in charge of maintaining the servers of several insurance companies, has been working with the job for 5 years now and he just got a new computer a few weeks ago. And guess what, he got one of the cheapest stuff he could find. He followed my same logic. Why waste money on something you are never going to need?But regarding your posts 91 and 92, those seem like pretty good deals to me. My opinion? Don't have one. Faith could do what she wants. I just want to point out that we shouldn't drown her in all these techie stuff that she couldn't care less. Get something simple, cheap, and it will last for years to come. Even if they come up with a quantum computer for the public tomorrow, she will probably notice any difference in her daily life.Added by edit.By the way, I am also a gamer.Added by edit again.The reason I pointed her to best buy or other tech places is because ordering online does have it's down side for someone like Faith. I've heard of horror stories where a layman buys a computer online and then when he assembles it at home there's something wrong that makes the computer start up funny. Someone like myself would immediately identify the problem and either fix it myself or call up the company and bitch. Someone like faith would be totally lost. At least if she got something from best buy and something goes wrong, she can always go there IN PERSON and bitch.And trust me, if you're not a techie calling in for tech support is a pain in the ass, especially if they have a heavy Indian accent *ahem*.She COULD start to learn all these things now or she could take the easy way and go on her merry life.Edited by gasby, : No reason given.Edited by gasby, : No reason given.Edited by gasby, : No reason given.

Cute post. Yes, indeed, mechanical breakdowns are all part of the curse of the Fall. I do love men, and geeks have peculiar charms of their own, but I'm not young and I thought chocolate was what men used to entice women rather than the other way around. I figure if I tell them they're smart and helpful that's as good as chocolate with peanuts and nougat. And they ARE smart and helpful. A veritable Princedom of Geekery here. I do make a great choc chip cookie though.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Faith writes:

quote:

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...I thought chocolate was what men used to entice women rather than the other way around.

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Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as I read that. I think women are supposed to just sit around looking beautiful and in distress.But AIG might be on to something with regard to food. I do computer favors for friends from time to time, including female friends. While the usual feminine charms obviously don't work on me, an offer of a good meal can certainly motivate.

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W.W.E.D.?

I love this thread. Thanks again for all the help.But it took me half a dozen tries to get online this time, on top of another half dozen tries to boot up, period, and when I got on earlier today for a while it was very brief before it froze up, so I think it's getting to major crash time.I'm trying to absorb and process all the information here, and have printed out a lot of it. I can't access computer sales sites without freezing the computer so I'm going to have to actually GO there. Or maybe borrow my brother's computer except he's 40 miles away and hard to reach.I have been putting off trying a reinstall of Windows XP because I won't be able to get online for a while afterwards, since all I have is a CD for AOL 9.0, but the system can only handle 8.0. And I may switch from AOL anyway when I figure out what to switch to.Also I'm not sure how to start a reinstall. I've put the XP CD in a few times but don't know how to access it.I don't know from one minute to the next if I'll be able to use the computer or be online or not. Whatever.

Insert your windows cd. Restart your computer. Frantically press F10, F3, or whatever key you need to get into your bios before windows start. In other words, as soon as there's power in computer, frantically and repeatedly press the F10 button. Sometimes it's the escape key or the delete key.Once in bios, you need to set it so that the computer boots your cd-rom first rather than your harddrive. That way, your computer will go directly into your windows cd and then you can follow the instructions to format your harddrive and reinstall windows.Without being there myself, changing things in the bios will be a pain in the butt for you. Good luck!