Thanks. I was able to access my data anyway as explained, and had the c drive partitioned, along with a 2nd drive for personal data. It does seem like the fan up top for the processor cooling it loader, unless i was used to the back up PC, yet i think an overheating CPU would shut it down, not just freeze it.
I looked at these before:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-1995A2U/19490409#Specifications
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6661041&CatId=1813
http://www.portatech.com/catalog/viewitem.asp?ID=38653&O=38644%2C65753%2C26503%2C26382%2C26413&fbm=1&r=p%20%20Asus%20p5lp-vx%20motherboard (liked this the most, but short warranty)
Otherwise I am not sure i could get a comparable mobo (slot wise) with 3gb or more of ram for 350, but why would a 3.2hgz CPU be so superior to my 2.8ghz with 3gbs of ram?
Because your current CPU is a 'single core' processor... The two you referred to are dual(2x3g) and quad(4x3g) core machines. Get with Win7 64bit OS so that you can use all the processing power and at least 4gb RAM...
I saw you kinda knocking anything past WinXP, but I think your opinion is stone-dead wrong on that. I am old-skool and die-hard (I still have DOS machines running for diagnostics), but I have *no* complaint with Win7 or 64bit... It will be a bit of a learning curve, but not terrible - and you have shown yourself to be above average in your understanding anyhoo... you will have no worries. Within a week, you will be wondering why you waited so long. :)
yet i think an overheating CPU would shut it down, not just freeze it.
No, a hot cpu will freeze, not reboot, though fan tech nowadays detects a non-functioning fan, and forces shutdown on most machines... but if your fan is not spinning well, and the 'shutdown' part is not functional, it could be causing freeze-ups... Or yours may be old enough that it just freezes...
Bad RAM can go either way - but usually causes an abrupt reboot.
However, don't worry about it... popped cap means certain death SOON. Don't throw any money fixing what you have.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-1995A2U/19490409#Specifications
Lenovo (IBM) makes good stuff... but they tend to be slower than I expect them to be... but very stable and long lasting.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6661041&CatId=1813
This link is for 'Dragon Naturally Speaking,' and I assume is not pertinent to our conversation.
http://www.portatech.com/catalog/viewitem.asp?ID=38653&O=38644%2C65753%2C26503%2C26382%2C26413&fbm=1&r=p%20%20Asus%20p5lp-vx%20motherboard (liked this the most, but short warranty)
BIG Bang-for-buck... but I don't know the maker. The MB selections are all real good top-tier boards (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte [in that order]) Would pump up the Power Supply if I were you... 600w bare min (mine are all above 700w). Would need to pump up the DVD to DVD-RW too, for write capability...
If you are going white-box, I would highly recommend a back-alley builder in your own town that has a high word-of-mouth reputation... unless this portatech guy is close by. Warranty is not a big thing, as generally all of them require you to send the thing back to them, which no one ever wants to do, as it takes too long. Inevitably, if it makes it a year, you will almost certainly fix it yourself, or use a local tech to fix it for that reason... But that is the MAIN reason to use a local white-box builder, rather than one from the inet.
Still think ACER is best bang-for-buck from a name-brand source. I used to be white-box all the way, and still am for my test benches, but those Acers are hard to beat for joe-six-pack... I can't build one for the price.