hi, i've read a little on what i'm trying to do, and i'm still looking for any input on the following questions: i have an old computer. it's so old the motherboard doesn't have options for USB 2, wireless, additional memory, CD burner/ DVD, etc. so, i have to get either get a new motherboard, or a new computer. i'm pretty sure i need to get a new computer, but it would be nice to save money if i could. (1) if i get a new motherboard, will changing to AMD cause any problems? (2) if i get a new motherboard, will i be able to use the same hard drives/ buy a larger copy them to a new hard drive? (3) if i get a new computer, i'm looking at an AMD. i would like to transfer lots of files, esp. .doc files, to it. will switching from w98se to wXP cause present any problem? (4) really, is there any need/ advantage to switch/ "upgrade" operating systems, or is this more trouble than it's worth? i'm not into playing video games on the internet or even at home--mostly videos, internet, programs, printing, office stuff, etc. (5) how would i transfer files from the old one to the new one? on the old one, i have no CD burner, no USB 2 port, no special equipment/ software, low memory, etc. thanks, taiboy sorry, the computer people here can't help much--different language, and i'm using a dial-up to research on the internet

Take it one step at a time. Decide what you want your PC to do and work from there. What is happening now that your current system no longer meets your needs? Why do you say there are no options to add ram or a DVD drive? I have two older Piii systems that each have a DVD ROM drive and one has a CD burner. One is 500mHz and the other is a 1gHz processor and each is running XP. What size harddrive do you have? If you decide that your current system cannot handle simple add-ons such as extra drive and ram then you are in for a serious upgrade. Pretty much any new board you get will require a different powersupply, different graphics card, different ram and different CPU. The only re-usable bits from the old system would be the harddrive, floppy, CDROM and maybe the case. Hardly worth the effort. Buy or build a new system including a new harddrive. Instal XP since you will probably be able to get it as part of the package. As to transferring your files from the old PC, the easiest way would be to put the harddrive into the new system as a slave drive and copy whatever you want. Then format the old drive and return it to the old system. If you no longer need the current rig then either sell it for whatever you can get or give it away to a local school/preschool/ retirement home or some other worthwhile organisation that can get some use out of it. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and his wife will never forgive you.

It's important to know if this is a generic system or one from OEM manufacturers like Compaq, Dell, etc. A generic PC can be upgraded easily, but the others can be really troublesome.

it's a generic build-from-scratch (computer shop). the problem with add-ons is the old motherboard--the system runs ok (esp. with only 128RAM), but i can't work with any tech stuff younger than 5 years old. thank you for commenting--it's made me realize yes, i need a whole new system. and thanks, i'll use that transfer method. so transferring w98se to wXP shouldn't be a problem, is that correct (esp. word documents)? taiboy

Upgrade/replace decisions require a case-by-case judgement. What is your existing CPU, hard drive, video, etc. ?