Our 10 year old 486 PC is officially dead. Do I buy a new system, or should I repair and upgrade the existing machine? Two years ago I had a bad experience with a local repairer who installed a CD drive and was supposed to make the PC work faster, instead he took parts from the PC; this shook my confidence in ‘reputable’ computer repair companies. I would like to upgrade to at least a Pentium 4 with 512 MB RAM with a large monitor (LCD is not important), a CD-R/RW DVD-R combo drive, and excellent graphics. Also, what other ‘latest’ features should I be looking for? (more…)

When I shutdown Windows XP the computer switches off and unless the computer is unplugged from the power point, after a few minutes the machine switches back on. A related problem is a second computer networked to the insomniac computer. If both are on, the second computer tells this one to connect to my ISP. On one occasion I was connected to my ISP for nearly four hours because the second computer switched itself on. (more…)

My computer is a Pentium II 233 MHz with 256 MB RAM and 20 GB hard drive running Windows ME. Recently when my computer boots the CPU speed is displayed as 133MHZ and on one occasion was displayed as 166MHZ. It runs very slow at these times, however, if I reboot, it occasionally corrects itself. If the CPU needs replacing can a 350 MHz CPU be fitted without causing any other problems, or should I stay with a 233 MHz? (more…)

Currently I am using a 7 year old computer which has been upgraded several times. Soon I would like to purchase a new computer. What advice could you give about types of systems? The computer would be used as a gaming and work machine and I would also like the ability to burn CDs and DVDs. (more…)

When my computer is turned on it goes straight into sleep mode. The machine is a Pentium II running Windows 98 SE. Can you help? (more…)