On Tue, 2004-11-09 at 11:15 -0600, Jill Haldeman wrote:
>  I've been having this problem for some time now, and even though i've =
> been given the ' it's time for a format' line i really can't do that =
> because no documentation was given either time for any computer my =
> father bought.

Sounds like you will have to re-format or at least re-install the OS.
Short of that, it will probably take more expertise than you will find
in this forum, and even if there is someone here who can walk you
through the repair you will certainly need the OS CD to re-install
damaged files from.

 If you are ready to try Linux, Mandrake Move is a good choice.  Better
recognition of hardware than Knoppix.  If you like it, and it is a free
download or available for 2 or 3 dollars from cheapbytes.com, the full
distribution is also a free download.  If you want the commercial
drivers included (you can always search the web for them later) Mandrake
Discovery comes in at around $35.00.  Includes Open Office, mp3 players,
ripper, chat software, network and internetwork software plus a whole
lot more.  Other good choices are Xandros, Linspire, Fedora Core 2, and
Elx Linux.  All are easy to install, Fedora is free, and the others are
under a hundred dollars.  Why pay for Linux when you can get it free?
Linspire and Elx are pre-configured with everything, including browser
plugins working out of the box,  The rest will require some post-install
work to get Java, Flash. and Shockwave to work in your browser, plus a
few other things which vary from distro to distro.  You also get
professional support to help you get going in case you run into a snag
with the paid versions.
>
--
david richards <[log in to unmask]>

                         PCBUILD's List Owners:
                      Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
                       Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>