Thank you all for the replies to my lawn mower problem. I haven't solved it yet...basically not much time to try. I did clean the foam filter though it was pretty clean as i had cleaned it just about 3 mowings ago. I made sure the oil is at the right level and there is gas in it of course. I checked to see if I could see light through the little holes inthe gas cap. I didn't buy new gas. This is gas from about 3 months ago. That should be ok I suppose. if the sun shinnes toomorrow I'll get different gas. I read the manual and paperwork for it from the person who bought it. The manual is pretty useless since this is probablty the lowest brand WeedEater makes. I believe the engine is similar or same as an inexpensive Poulan. The engine is series 300 (noot even comes up on the Web. It's B&S model 9S502.I looked on the Briggs & Stratton website but could not find more info. I don't think this moower has things like a screw to adjust the engine speed. It doesn't even have a lever or slider to control speed or to choke (if that's where a choke is). Just the basic bar in front of the handle that has to be pulled back to keep it running. We spayed some carburator "stuff" in the air intake when I had filter off. I wiggled a spring in that area and moved an object (explanation below). I then put the filter back and pushed the primer button 5 times. It wouldn't start for me. The friend pulled it once and it almost started but it didn't. And there was a small puff od dard smoke for the first time. He thought it was worse than the last time and wondered if I had "done" anything else to it since last time he started it. Sooooo Now...I took a photo of the area under the air filter. Because there is a little spring there...and I am wondering what that spring does and if that spring has a problem because it has no tension on it. What makes the spring do whatever it does? I labeled my picture: Line #1 is pointing to the spring. I also labeled another part that has to things sticking out (but it all one part) #2 and wonder what that part is for? It is moveable but doesn't seem connected to anything. The photo I took is on Garden Web Photo galleries It's called Woman driver re: lawn mower. Link to the photo is http://photos.gardenweb.com/garden/galleries/2007/10/woman_driver_re_lawn_mower.html If anyone sees something wrong in the photo I would be interested to know. The friend may take the mower back. Thoigh I doubt that Walmart would do anyything about it since we've had it a couple months and it did cut the lawn about 10 times. I also wonder...firstt replier pastmaster mentioned that My old mower that hit the pole may be fixable. If I took off the blade and tried to start it...would that tell me anything? I figure the blade would be dangerous if it did start. If I wind the lottery I'lll buy a new mower. :) Here is a link that might be useful: lawn mower photo

John, I understand that fear - to a degree. However you currently have a useless drive with data on that you wish to recover. Taking it to a shop will possibly cost as much or more than a new drive. First try using the drive on another computer if possible. Have you considered the possibility that the power supply has failed? If that fails look around the edges, from all the sites I visited I cannot see all around but there might be a snap fit type feature holding the outer casing to the body of this thing. Try prying along the seams with a thin flat blade screwdriver. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Zep516, Thanks for all your help. I've tried to follow all your instructions. I downloaded the file from the link you provided, unzipped it, and re-booted the computer. Then did the uninstall of the realtek audio driver from the device manager, and again re-booted - and it gave me a 'fouund new hardware' message. Plus I then went back to the device manager and the driver was listed, but still no sound. I think I'm about ready to give up trying. Might try getting a sound card - or may just take this thing to a local computer shop that does free diagnostic with a quote on repair cost. They seem nice. My stepdaughter bought a lenovo laptop from them about a year and half ago. I considered doing that but instead thought I'd just give her some money for her old computer (this one)as it had the power supply, and mother board replaced under warranty. Thought I'd be saving some $$. WRONG! This was of course before I knew about the sound prob. My husband then surprised me with a nice new monitor. Very sweet of him, but now I'm wishing that I had just let him put that money towards a new laptop instead of a monitor. If you were not able to do a lot yourself to computers, would you invest anymore in this one (it seems fine except the sound) or just bite the bullet and get a new one? Tough question I know, but just curious your opinion and not really asking you to make the decision for me. Whatever I do, it won't be anytime soon - a little short on $$ right now. What brand of computer (lower end $$) do you think is most dependable? I've been told Toshiba is o.k., but to stay away from Compaq and HP. What do you think, or do you care to say? Thanks, Frances

Just to clear up some potential confusion, the word "torque" gets used a couple of different ways. Torque is a measurement of turning force, so a drill that doesn't have enough power to drive a screw cleanly is said to not have enough torque. On the other hand, torque can be used as a measure of tightness when one is installing certain kinds of fasteners. A "torque wrench" used by a mechanic to tighten bolts that hold car parts together doesn't actually provide any torque; rather, it measures the torque being applied and tells the mechanic when the bolt is tight enough. Similarly, the clutch on many drills (mostly rechargeables) allows you to adjust the maximum turning force that the tool applies to the work before the clutch starts slippling and the the chuck stops turning. As Brickeyee points out, tightening to a particular torque is NOT the appropriate means of determining when a drywall screw has been driven in far enough. The mechanisms on dedicated drivers that stop the tool from turning the fastener at the appropriate moment are another reason they do their job so well. The point I was trying to make earlier is that compromise is going to be inevitable, so you'll need to consider which sorts of tasks you'll do most often in order to make sense of your options. Then, try out several models and see which seems best. I don't know of any shortcuts to that process.