It's that stupid bulb primer! I have the same problem, rough to get it started and then once it's warmed up, it's ok. I tear it apart and can get one or two starts out of it before it clogs up with grass again and no amount of pushing that stupid bulb will get it to start. I have to turn it on it's side, remove the air filter and dump fuel down it's throat, then it starts right up for about 30 seconds! 2 or 3 times and it will remain running! Also that tiny little air filter clogs up REAL FAST and will cause running issues like loss of power at all times! I'm still looking for an older manual choke carb to fit to that engine!

You know that fall is coming when you're already starting to plan for next years yard. I dont know if Im the only one who has already done this, but Im starting to already see what Im planting in the yard for next year and where everything is going to go. But most of my plants are growing better than ever so they havent taken a hit from the shorter days. Cooler weather is on the way here too (Not every day is in the 90s anymore) but fortunately no daytime temps out of the 80s and no night time temps out of the 70s. Summer is really almost over and its sad since it went by so quickly. Fall and winter are my least favorite seasons and my plants arent so crazy about it either! Good luck! -Alex

Maybe you could download a bootdisk and make a bootable floppy then you should have access the C: drive. If it doesnt start to a dos prompt you'll need to access the bios and set it so it looks to boot from floppy drive (FD) before Hard Drive (HD). This guy has a boot floppy exe that you download, then insert a floppy before running it and it automatically formats and makes a 98SE bootfloppy. I havent used this, he was first one that turned up in a search. It's hard to believe it wont let you get to a dos prompt. Have a feeling you've a loose wire or connection inside. Or maybe upset the memory or another card and need to reset it. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.onecomputerguy.com/software_download.htm

For anything that needs to be hardwired, RUN CONDUIT. Stnadards are always changing as technology evolves, and what works now may be obsolete in 10, 15, or 20 years. Realize that wireless is better to day than a few years ago, and will likely improve in future years too. But it's best to still hardwire some things. I still prefer hardwired speakers. In my own house, when I built I ran conduit for everything and have all my speakers hardwired. Like a previous poster, I have two 400-CD jukeboxes in my main area that can pipe music anywhere...to any room, outdoors to the pool, etc. A while ago I went over to Sonos for music. It allows my teenagers to listen to what music they want in their rooms, it allows me to listen to what music I want where I am, or my wife where she is...you can pipe different music to different rooms. Easy. It also allows you to play the same source in each room, with it synched up perfectly. The "synch" aspect may not sound important, but we have a couple of friends who have Apple wireless for "whole house" and when they simulcast music to each room, the synching can be off just a tad. Even a tenth or a quarter of a second and it sounds weird. Sonos has control apps so you can run the system with complete control from either a Sonos controller, or from a iPhone or iTouch. It's pretty slick. I prefer the Sonos over my old Niles, and that's a bold statement on my part. Sonos also allows you access to pay sources like Rhapsody and Pandora, plus internet radio. Initially I wasn't interested in that, but we signed up for Rhapsody this summer. It's pretty slick, and at $12 a month it's less than what my kids were paying for iTunes downloads. Several time this summer we'd have friends over and we'd be out at the pool, the conversation would turn to music and if I didn't have that particular song/artist on CD, I'd use my itouch or Sonos controller to call up Rhapsody and play the obscure song or artist that we were talking about. I live in CT, my in-laws were visiting from Wisconsin and my mother-in-law mentioned polka. I called up internet radio and in about 20 seconds I had the radio station from Appleton WI that they listen to back home playing polka out by the pool here in CT. It's pretty cool. Fluff to a certain extent, but the capability is there to listen to what you want when you want, with ease. And without having to do it from your computer. With Sonos, you need a "box" for each area that you want to play independent music in. Figure about $400 per box. Their S5 box is an all-in-one, it looks like a small boom box. They have other stations (ZP100) that plug into an existing stereo or theater setup and you play through those speakers. They have a third type (ZP120) that has a powered amp and you can plug your own speakers into that box. There are other options available too that may suit your needs better than Sonos. I just thought I'd toss Sonos out as an...