Older video cards with Vista

[XCorvis]

Well, worst case, I think you'd have to reinstall Windows XP, but I'm sure it's solvable.

You should get a tool like SIW ( http://www.gtopala.com/ ) and use it to check your hard drive's SMART status, if possible. It'll give you a good idea if the drive is going to die.

If you do end up going for a new machine, the Ars Technica Budget Box system guide is a great guideline for building your own on the cheap. Their price target is $800, almost $300 of which is monitor, speakers and input devices you probably already have.

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200805.ars/2

 

[Merkuri]

Eh, okay, I broke down and ordered a new computer. I have an even older computer acting as a DVR, and I think that one's finally going to go in the dumpster and this one will take its place (after I swap memory with my bf's computer so he gets an extra gig if RAM). After the new one gets up and running I shouldn't have much of a problem completely reformatting this one and reinstalling the OS. Hopefully that'll make the network card start working again.

XCorvis, how do I check my drive's SMART status with this SIW tool? I played with it for a bit, and all I can tell about my drive with regards to SMART is that it does have SMART support. Even if I'm getting a new computer I'm hoping I'll be able to use this one as my new DVR, like I said above, but if the hard drive is really about to fail I may reconsider that.

 

[Thanee]

So, what did you order?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Merkuri]

I got a barebones system with an AMD64 x2 6000+ processor, 4GB RAM, and a motherboard that supports PCIe-2.0. Then I got a 500 GB hard drive and a GeForce 8800 video card to plug into it. I'll use the DVD-ROM from my current computer (assuming it's compatible... if not I'll just buy one later).

I think I got a pretty decent system for about $1000. I think my last three computers all cost a few hundred (at least) more than that.

 

[Thanee]

Yep, sounds quite reasonable.

Bye
Thanee

 

[XCorvis]

I think it's under Hardware-Storage and then the hard drive. The SMART stauts should say "yes" and then it will list a bunch of data.

Actually, it's pretty cryptic. Normally the SMART status is either PASS or FAIL. You might want to find a different program that summarizes things better. SIW is just the first one I remembered that had the data. I'll see if I can find a better one for you.

 

[Thanee]

http://www.sisoftware.net/

SiSoft's Sandra (Lite version is a free download) might be able to.

Bye
Thanee

 

[XCorvis]

This one seemed pretty good too. It gives a clear OK/FAIL status for each item, and you can use it to track the status over time.

http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm