I wish to replace my machine

[celtish]

My machine is only 5 or 6 years old but it already seems to be past its sell-by date. (Can't get any sound for the past 6 months and it has a few other quirks. ) Regrettably it seems I must replace it and this is where I need some good advice, if you please.

I don't want to buy a new machine because they don't seem to have many of the facilities that I consider essential e.g. proper floppy drive bay. (I also don't wish to install anything other than my present Win98SE because for instance I want to retain full DOS capability, having DOS has saved my bacon many a time.) I use the Internet a lot (upload and download a lot), I like to listen to music (but don't want to OTT sound systems, I play around with graphics, I don't play games.

I need to retain the drives I've got, A, fixed drives C and D, CD drives E and F. (Actually the E drive is for making CDs).

My idea is either to buy a decent machine from a computer fair or whatever or to buy a customized machine. (Where would I get these made?) And then to replace the C and D drives, using the ones from my present machine so that I retain all the programmes and settings. Would this be what would in practice happen?

Rather a tall order, I suppose, that's why I need some REALLY GOOD ADVICE! Please help if you can! Thanks!

Here are what appear to be my present machine's specs:-

Machine name: Harry

Operating System: Windows 98 (4.10, Build 2222) A

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2100+, MMX, 1733 Mhz MAX: 3000 Mhz

Memory: 256MB RAM

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

[sYSTEM]

AMD Athlon XP 2100+

Bus Clock: 133 MHz

Memory Type 256+00+00+00;|DIMMSDRAM;T5

VIA Tech VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller

MOTHERBOARD: K7VT2 2.00

Bus Clock: 133 MHz

[DISPLAY ADAPTER AND MONITOR]

NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X/AGP/SSE/3DNOW! v.1.4.0

AOC Spectrum 7V 1280 x 1024 32 x 24 cm 47143 November 2001

[bIOS]

BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. P1.30 03/07/2003 (AMIBIOS 070010)

BIOS ID: 62-P130-001368-00101111-040201-VIA_K7-K7VT2130

MOTHERBOARD: K7VT2 2.00

Chipset: VIA 82C3099 rev 0

BIOS Date: 03/07/03

[PRINTER]

USB Device Name: EPSON USB Printer Stylus C44 Series (EPUSB1:)

[DISCS]

Maxtor 2F020L0 (20.85 GB) [Hard drive]

SAMSUNG SV1021H [Hard drive]

Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")

CD-Rom-Drive = <E:> LG CD-RW CED-8080B

CD-Rom-Drive = <F:> ATAPI CDROM 52X

[OTHER DEVICES]

VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller

VIA PCI to USB Enhanced Host Controller

VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller

VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller

VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller

Gameport Joystick (no joystick connected)

LiveSynth Personal Edition

VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller (WDM)

Wave Device for Voice Modem

Intel HaM Data Fax Voice

Alcatel SpeedTouch USB ADSL PPP

VIA VT6102 Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

USB 2.0 Root Hub

USB Root Hub

USB Root Hub

USB Root Hub

[chewit]

Sorry, this is nothing to do with your post. But where did you get your signature from???

[PassingBy]

Hmmm .....

My machine is only 5 or 6 years old but it already seems to be past its sell-by date. (Can't get any sound for the past 6 months and it has a few other quirks. ) Regrettably it seems I must replace it and this is where I need some good advice, if you please.

IMHO, your current system specs should be able to last another 3-4 years at the very least ... I have a system with similar specs and from my experience it works smoothly without any noticeable drag with win98 ...

For the no sound thing, it's either the drivers messed up or a hardware failure occured (could be the speakers or the onboard audio circuitry) ... If you feel that your current system is still adequate, I suggest the following :

1. Have the internal components cleaned. Get all the dust out and clean the contacts of pci, ram etc etc ... A full disassembly and cleaning each component is recommended ... (Remember: discharge yourself of static if you do this)

2. Replace with a good pci audio card if the onboard audio is indeed faulty. It will give a better overall system response. Any hardcore gamer will attest to that ... If that's too much, a cheap usb audio add-on is another option ...

3. Additional 256mb ram will be a good choice if you can afford it ...

4. A fresh install will definitely make a difference ... if you're up to it ...

I see that you have two harddrives installed. Based from my experiences with the two models in the past, I recommend that you replace the ageing maxtor with a new harddisk. That particular model 2F020L0 (Maxtor Fireball 3) will have its disk lubrication wear out due to overheating sooner or later. The samsung SV1021H will outlast the maxtor by several years IMHO ... it (SV1021H) is a cheap mass consumer model but has proven its reliability ... Replacing the harddisk will give a data transfer speed boost and you'll definitely feel the difference ...

Rgds

[celtish]

[PassingBy] Thanks muchly for all that valuable info. Very gratefully obliged.

[DL.]

I agree with PassingBy, you don't need a new system, just to do some maintenance and maybe a few cheap upgrades. A brand new system is more or less a waste of money for you.

Do all of what PassingBy said. Getting a new harddrive, some more RAM, a PCI soundcard and doing a reinstall will make your system feel just like new without costing you a small fortune. You can find RAM sticks and a sound card on eBay or similar sites, it's recommended you buy a brand new harddrive and not a used one.

If you buy a brand new system you should seriously consider switching to XP (or even Vista), it will save you some trouble with drivers and compatibility.

You can always use a virtual machine or DOS-emulator if you need to run some old programs.

There are great tools for fixing problems with XP, no need for old DOS anymore (but you can still type commands and script stuff if you want to).