[asti]

* CPU: AMD Sempron 2400+
* Motherboard: 741GX-M2
* Chipset: SIS 741GX & 964L
* Devices
o 3.5" 40GB HDD
o 5.25" 52X CD-ROM
o Floppy drive
* Memory: 128M DDR
* Case: ATX
* Power: 250W
* Operation System: Linspire 5.0
* Accessories box
o Keyboard
o Mouse w/scroll wheel
o Stereo speakers
* Features
o 10/100 Fast Ethernet and sound onboard.
o Modem
o PS2 mouse and keyboard, 4 x back USB 2.0 port, 1 x parallel port, 1 x serial port, 1 x VGA connector
o Manual.
o Quick setup sheet.

Or would it be a better plan to partition off an area on the current HD.....if so how much room would I need for a basic functioning xp?
thanks in advance, sorry if I missed a simular thread already posted, or if this is in the wrong area!

[Bellator]

Take a look at this:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...n/sysreqs.mspx
My guess is that you should focus on upgrading your memory before you consider buying another harddrive. 128 is barely enough to even run Windows XP.

[asti]

Ah...........alrighty....thanks!!

[asti]

okey dokey.......over the weekend I ventured inside my GQ, and it turns out I HAVE added some memory and I just forgot about it, there's 1 512 and the original 128 behind it

Hoping to attach a screen shot of the memory via control center.

Also another thing: I had to replace the original power supply a (macron MPT251)
I borrowed an Enlight EN8146902 from an older PC - and it works fine, which had me stumped since it is a 145w unit compared to 250w of the macron.
I am led to believe, after reading through some posts here that one of the capacitors on the GQ mobo might bad as it appears to be a bit bulgey, and did have a small fleck of rusty looking gunk on the top.....
the macron, btw, does power up the older pc, but its too big to fit into the tower case.....

Best course of action?

[ZeRealBigBoss]

Let me answer to the power supply although someone might make the remark that this does belong in the hardware section. That also is the case also with the original request; we are in the Linux corner. :-)

Just get an other hard disk and connect it, either as a primary slave or as the second master; no problem.

It is rare that you need a big power supply; only if you run fancy things like e.g. two graph cards and audio and the processor and room-lighting LEDS and whatever you have on full power you will get power peaks that high. Just get any from a junk computer, 200 Watts normally is fine, check whether the connector is the right one and build it in.

If a capacitor ballooned and especially if it has gunk any place, it is indeed (nearly) gone. I don't know how old the MB is, but there was a time when the cheapest caps, and that is what they always use, were a copy of the good ones with one ingredient, basically an anti-oxidant, missing; many mobos, many from Gigabyte, had a life time that barely was longer than the guarantee period. If you want to solder the cap out, be vary careful, as the board is multi-layer and the traces can very easily be damaged. First suck the solder away with a solder pump and then with a solder wick, and only when the cap moves freely in the holes bend the wire ends straight and pull it out carefully. Replace with the same value and working voltage.

[asti]

Thank you very much!

sorry I put this is the wrong area......