Dell's whereabouts 8 Dec

(couldn't resist)

If this all checks out, check the float on your USB port. Sometimes, the float gets leaky, sinks to the bottom, and the USB port changes from COM3 to COM4, and we ALL know how much trouble that can cause!

Also, remember that Bill Gates has put at least 3 filters between Windows ME and your computer screen; a simple strainer on the internet connection, a finer one in the keyboard, and a last-chance filter on the mouse.

Seriously, hope you get your gremlins sorted out soon. We miss your wit.

Hey Dell, we miss ya!!

(ME sucks)

Seems like this has become a TRIBUTE, as well as one of yer ROASTS!!!

Cheap thrills, huh?

Hope to see ya back soon.

I run Winders 2003 Server, 64 bit, on a dual core processor AMD 4800+, with 2 gig of ram for my home machine.

I have a prayer in fer yer Dell though....

'Course, this will depend on whether it's a "frontmount" or a "sidemount" CD.

Get XP. $70 (cheap)

Apple

:-) (Hey, my laptop is 3 years old and they just installed a new hard drive FREE when it went out.)

Dawn

My Pops has been using his G2 7200/120 with a Sonnett Tech G3 upgrade for years for desktop publishing and image editing. Bought it used for $500 bucks in "98.

And I sure do love my G4 daul processor :-) I figure I"ll last me 15 years with some good hardware management.

Dell really oughta dump the Dell and get a Mini for $600. Macs are like Ns. Versatile and run forever! hehe

Colin

Colin, I always knew you had a good head on your shoulders! LOL Way to go!

I have to admit, though, that my poor laptops don't usually last as long as your computers do. When I take them to the shop, the tech always says, "What do you DO to it?!?!" And the answer is "haul it around constantly on planes and trains, drop it down flights of stairs, use it 18/7..." But MAN do they stand up to it!!

Dawn

Dawn

My Dad is in much the same boat as this - too much stuff invested in an old Win98 box, and would have no end of expense and headache to upgrade it all to Microsoft's latest and greatest. His solution is to make tons of backups, and Ghost the drive about once a week (so he can restore it about once every month or two, regular as clockwork).

es, a Mac user for all the right reasons. I know twelve ways to use a PC the right way, but have never found a good reason to because my Mac starts up fine every time...

;o)

NYC Charlie . . . . . . . . . . runnin OS10.4 without a freeze for 3 years and a Mac advocate for the RIGHT reasons. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. They don't know what they're missin'.

I may have a new sig line. LOL!!!

Dawn

This database program is ONLY 257,253 Bytes big. But it has 55 functions including Sin, Cos, Tan, Arctan, and Sqrt. The data entry and report forms are VERY Mac like in that you can move fields anywhere in the window, use any font and size, even add graphics to "jaz" up a report.

The only time I have system crashes now is when I am running Netscape and get certain pop up adds. Then it is usually a simple reboot. A few times I have had the Finder corrupted, but I just boot off the second HD in the computer, trash the "bad" finder and copy a good one back. Macs are largely bullet proof, at least the non OS X ones. Unix was designed as a "wide open" system for use in a laboratory environment where everyone was expected to collaborate. Thus it has way too many "holes" that people do not know about and do not plug.

Larry 8N75381

A good part of my career was spent doing multimedia and web development (on the Mac, with a good bit of cross-platform work on the PC). Mac OS 8.6 was the fastest, most stable version of the pre-OSX OSes, and even on the much slower hardware of the time, was faster than the latest OS and apps (too much feature bloat and 'bling-bling').

I've used every version of Windows since 1.0 (plus OS/2 and a few mainframe OSes), and there's not a one of 'em I would say something similar about. Win2K and WinXP are definitely the most stable I've worked with, but I still loose more time overall with the Win platform just trying to keep it running.

es

Dawn

I remember the first Macintosh I ever saw-- it came with its own backpack.

I don't know enough about Unix to love it or hate it. All I know is that this iBook G4 I've got never freezes--programs quit, sure, but I don't have to reboot. Gave up my beige G3 when I needed a new printer and OS 8.6 wasn't supported anymore. Just upgraded my mom for the same reason.

Some funny advice in here

Having said that, there are a couple things to consider.

First, the WinXP upgrade will first analyze your system and give you a LIST OF THINGS TO UNINSTALL before you continue. This is important. Don't ignore it. When I upgraded from Win98, I failed to uninstall my USB drivers, and had a heck of a time getting that working again (wife's PC, big trouble, 'nuff said).

Second, as has been said, WinXP is a resource hog. At the very least, get more memory. As much as your motherboard will hold, if possible. You won't be sorry.

Better yet, just call up the Dell store and have 'em ship you a whole new computer. The old one's broke and obsolete. What better excuse? You can put your weak-sister 21GB hard drive directly in your new PC (as a secondary) so you don't lose any data.

Simple, eh? :-)

Joe

P.S. FYI, I opted to paint the original Taurus tail light gray instead of having it chromed. I figured it should match the original CM Hall worklight (with the original Tract-O-Lite lens with rings). Once I finish working on the other Taurus tail light for the other side by golly, think I'll paint it gray as well. Do you recommend me gold plating the original chain, lift lock, and brass warning tag (a la Mr. T) that I just picked up?
Stay tuned...more bling bling updates to come. Paint on original 9N tool box is drying as I type this *chuckle* I'm having a blast restoring this '39er. Glad you're back. My ole lady even wondered what happened to you. Hmmmmm....

Bling on the N! I like that. (Would that be bliNg?)

Dawn

What's wrong - ya didn't learn the last time(s)? These computers were not made so horse farmers (or sheep farmers) can work on them like the N Series tractors were. There are companies out there that specialize in repairing things like that - I am sure the local Yellow Pages lists quite a few. Simple eh?

Sorry - I couldn't resist :-)

Also - as you have been told many times - Windows ME is crap! Always has been - always will be. You will like Windows XP much better and is much more compatable with current software. It is time to bite the bullet and UPGRADE your operating system.

Dan

Try booting the computer from the ME install CD. You might have to power up the machine, insert the CD and do a forced re-boot. After you do this, you should get a prompt which will ask you which boot volume (CD or hard drive) you'd like to use. Select the CD.

Sometimes ME needs to be re-installed, so if you are able to get the machine booted on the ME install CD, re-install ME.

If this does not work, then open the machine up and pull the wide ribbon cable out of the back of the CD drive. Then try booting up. If you successfully boot up, get yourself a new CD drive. If you don't boot up, then it would seem to me that there are other issues going on.

I would not install XP on your machine. I think that you will be disspointed with the performance. XP is very resource intensive, something that your box does not have a lot of.

Good luck, Colin

Do you have one that came with it?

But you're stubborn - I know...

TOH