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...and I'm not exaggerating . One minute I'm reading the newspaper on line , the next minute , KAPOWWW . As they say in NASCAR , "it blowed up ". 
I'm not sure how to access the old hard drive since the tower won't run . I lucked out , really , because my dear old aunt just bought a new laptop and wondered what to do with her old computer ... even runs on XP like my old one ! Sure hope I can retrieve the old info .
Terry
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
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Terry:
when I did in my laptop last summer, the dealer copied most of the old files over.
But I managed to buy a USB drive box and fitted the old drive into it.
I have all the old mail files but I don't know how to get at them; if it becomes necessary I'll get help.
If the new tower is big enough, you may be able to mount the old drive inside it.
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
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Take out the hard-drive from the blown computer and install it in the new one. Take note of where the cables are plugged in BEFORE taking it out. Install the drive into the new computer and connect the cables into one of the additional ports. The OpSys should recognize it and assign it as "D" drive when you start the computer back up. If it doesn't recognize it...it's (the disk drive) blown as well.
Of course, this should be done with the computer turned off AND unplugged.
Good luck..!!
Gus (LC&P).
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Mike
Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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As far as ME changing over the old hard drive .......mmmm, no . There should be a runny nosed 12 year old in the neighbourhood who can handle that , seeing as they are pretty useless at anything else ... oops  hock: 
T
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
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Actually it sounds like your old puter might be allright and it may be that your power supply bit the dust. If that's the case it 's a cheap fix.
Mike
Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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I think for the time being I'll mess around with the new CPU and see how it goes . There was a lot of work to do as my dear old aunt had the computer for about 6 or 7 years and never did any Microsoft updates , nor did she delete old emails ....they were back to 2007 ! I did all the updates , 50 or 60 in all , and deleted all the programs i thought were unnecessary . Unfortunately , in my haste , I deleted the drivers for the mouse ! Not good , but was lucky enough to get them back because nothing works without the mouse !
The computer was a little slow with the internet so I did a number of steps to make it faster ...not too bad now .
Thanks for the various tips , guys , now I can get back to my layout that I've neglected for the past few weeks .
Terry
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
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Just remember this particular one of Murphy's many laws: "A $500 component will always melt down first in order to protect a 25 cent fuse." 
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Terry,While my first computer went South there was a "frying" noise then nothing.
I'm on my 4th computer and this one is 5 years old so,another rebuild or new computer is on tap.
If its rebuilt my son will use his "outdated" gaming components from his computer since he updates every 6 months- or so it seems to me..
Larry
Engineman
Summerset Ry
Make Safety your first thought, Not your last! Safety First!
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I'm on my 6th. Lightening has accounted for all of them save one, which was hit by a virus and could not be recovered.
Personally, I'm tired of the planned obsolescence of Microsoft, and being forced to constantly change operating versions of Windows at the whim of Microsoft.
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I'm on my second home puter. Ist one was 1996, this one was 2002. I'm still using Office 97 and Windows 2000. I've never had a virus but did have two go-arounds with some nasty adware but was able to get rid of it myself. This puter will always stay on Windows 2000 as the newer versions don't play nice with some of my favorite games. May get a laptop with a newer OS for surfing.
Mike
Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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Wow , W2K , I'm impressed ! I had trouble with mine about 2002 or so ( maybe it was ME , I don't know ) and got XP on a tip from a knowledgeable guy on Railroad Line ....Bill Loye . I'm comfy with XP but was told by a young salesguy in Best Buy the " XP is 12 years old , blah , blah and you NEED Windows 8 ! " I said to the guy , 12 years doesn't bother me , hell , I'm nearing 70 ....he didn't say too much after that . I figure if XP does the job , and I somewhat understand it , keep it . 
T
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
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XP is probably the best operating system MS has put together. Vista and W's 7 aren't worth a pitcher of w.... spit.
Gus (LC&P).
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The problem with XP is it takes twice as much resouces to run it than 2000 does. 2000 is just the business version of XP, leaner, meaner and MUCH more efficent. However it doesn't have some of the consumer bell and whistles like being able to turn your cursor into a flying airplane with a spinning prop. I would rather have those resources availible to run my games, er, I mean work programs.  2000 also won't give you blue screens of death or crashes, after all these years with it I have never had either one. After using whatever the Mac OS's were from 1989 thru 2002 (at work) and after using Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP and Vista I can honestly say 2000 has been by far the most stable and trouble free of the bunch.
Mike
Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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