What ever you elect to do be sure the hard drive remains in your possession! You need to stop the tech methinks, the motherboard is toast and nothing will revive it so no point in adding more to a bill to achieve nothing. The motherboard is a socket 775, those are readily available from CAN$60 to over CAN$100 from Tigerdirect in Burlington just behind Costco. But you need to affirm that a standard motherboard will fit that case, it might be Dell specific. They also still have XP (only one copy according to the web site for $110. Check your tech for his prices, you now have something to compare with his prices. A Dell motherboard is available here and if you go that route I strongly suggest you get it shipped to a UPS Store in Buffalo, Naigara Falls or Tonawanda, NY and pick it up yourself Stateside. Costs $5 to use the UPS store on top of shipping of course but with our dollar almost ahead of theirs life is looking sweeter all the time. Picking it up avoids brokerage fees but the PST and GST will probably be charge as you return. You are sadly between a rock and a hard place financially because none of the components will readily migrate to a newer computer. But, taking a different angle you can watch the Government Surplus online auctions for a bargain. The link is to the recent results and as you will see Niagara Region recently auctioned off a bunch that went from $75 to $100 for a working tower. The only thing missing is the operating system BUT it comes with a license sticker so you can borrow a copy to install but remember to use the key stuck to the tower. You old hard drive can be slaved if you wish, all your peripherals will work and it will give you a good computer. There are currently none for auction but we never go more than a few days before some durisdiction lists old equipment they need gone.

A higher wattage power supply offers the option of added external gadgets that would be powered through the USB connection with far less fear of failure. For anyone who might be curious about their power needs here is a chart to fill in to see your minimum needs for power. Newer and more powerful computers need larger wattage in power supplies to run smoothly. However the quality of the power supply is also important. This is one of those cases where heavier is better because you would have more substantial components in the heavier PS. A few years ago eMachines had terrible power supplies and when they failed at an alarming rate there were many that took out the motherboard with them making the computer useless because replacement motherboards were not available.

Hi, all you nice people who tried to help me. I decided since nothing else worked, I'd have to install a new network card, as suggested. A younger friend came over and did it for us, out of the kindness of his heart, but still no results. He took the computer away and had another friend work on it, and at HIS house, it did connect to the Internet. Long story short, the trouble turned out to be that the router would no longer work with my computer, and when a new one was installed, the problem was fixed. Since these friends were very, very busy for several weeks, I had to rely on my husband's computer for the Internet until the two friends had time to spare for mine, and I certainly do not begrudge the wait. Now everything is running fine. I'm sorry for not reporting on this and thanking you all immediately, but certain other situations had arisen that kept me so busy that I forgot a few things I meant to have done sooner. My only guess about the router trouble (I tested and found all the ports on it were still working just fine for my husband's computer.) is to wonder whether it could have been caused by my unplugging the ethernet cable from my computer a number of times when we were going to be away and there was a possibility of thunderstorms. I recall a box popping up requiring me to make choices about a network, which I didn't understand, because we have no network that I know of. We only plug into the same router and our computers are not connected in any other way. But I mention this in case it makes sense to someone here who knows computers, so that you can help someone else if they have a similar problem. Again, many thanks.

OK, folks, I met with the owner of Fort Collins Heating & Air this morning. He seems to live up to his reputation of being a stand-up guy. I told him that I was going to talk with him this morning, then with a competitor this afternoon, then get back to both of them tomorrow morning with a decision. So I would massively appreciate your thoughts on which course of action to take. I told the FCHA owner that if I decide to keep my existing system, this is what I would want them to do: Have their best team replace the humidifier and go over the system from top to bottom. Replace the thermostat, too, if they can't make the low-battery symbol go away, given that I just replaced the batteries last week. Extend the first-year tear-it-out warranty to March 30, 2019. No charge for repair calls from now to March 30, 2019. Free furnace inspections in Sept. 2018 and Feb. 2019. If I want the system torn out with a full refund at any time between now and March 30, 2019, FCHA tears out the system, no questions asked. The FCHA owner said he's pretty sure he could agree to all of those conditions. I then met with a sales guy from another HVAC company that also has a solid reputation. Here's his proposal: 96% up to 97% 2-stage heating, variable speed motor. 16 SEER A/C system. 1-stage cooling. : Installation to include: Finish the mastic sealing in the mechanical room per code. All necessary PVC venting needed. All 220v, 110v, and 24v electrical needed. Condensing unit outside. Evaporative coil inside. TXV (thermal expansion valve). Refrigerant lines from inside out. All installed. Task HCS-PH60. Premier Amana Two-Stage variable speed gas furnace. 96% AFUE. Stainless steel tubular primary heat exchanger. Efficient and quiet variable speed circulator motor. 10 year parts and labor warranty. Limited lifetime “unit replacement” warranty on heat exchanger. *Annual maintenance required. Price: $6,682 Task D-F750 $750 off high efficiency furnace Task HCS-DC30. Deluxe Amana high-efficiency air conditioner. Up to 16 SEER. High-efficiency scroll compressor. Single-speed condenser fan motor. Limited lifetime “unit replacement” warranty on compressor. 10 year parts and labor warranty. Lifetime limited “unit replacement” warranty on heat exchanger. *Annual maintenance required. Price: $6,024 Task D-AC750. $750 off high-efficiency A/C Task HO3. Bypass evaporative humidification. Can be installed on supply or return. Works only while heat is cycling. Not recommended for home over 2500 SF (My home is about 3,800 SF, including partially finished basement). Price: $895 Task D-HSHUM. Free humidifier with purchase of high efficiency furnace or AC system. Task ACO4. (Air cleaner, I assume). Honeywell 4” disposable air filter. Merv 8 filter rating. Uses no electricity, but requires replacement media quarterly. Price: $895, but free with purchase of high efficiency furnace or A/C system. 5 year parts and labor warranty. Task TS-EC4. (thermostat/humidistat, I assume). Comes with built-in Alexa Voice Service, so you can ask your ecobee to set a timer, read you the news, etc. 5 year parts and labor warranty. Price $0.00 Task ACO7. Return air box (square – 14, 17, 21, 24) includes easy 1” filter access. Improves air flow efficiency by up to 25%. Price: $0.00 Task SD-100. Senior discount. $300. Cash or Check discount. $100. If I have it installed 3/8/18 (may not be feasible): $350 discount. Total: $10,566 All of this partly depends on the current supplier leaving all water supply lines and electrical. Otherwise, it may cost me about $500 more, according to the sales guy. Given your HVAC knowledge, what would you do if you were in my position?