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Always get professional help. The tips presented on these pages are meant as a guide to help you get answers to your questions. I recommend that anyone who is not comfortable with the technology being discussed contact a professional for assistance. I cannot assist or be responsible for problems derived from this information.

Frankenstein machine upgrades and repairs.

It is getting to the point where computer hardware is reaching the disposable stage, but we are not quite there yet. What I mean to say is that sometime soon, building a used Frankenstein machine from spare parts will no longer be cost effective. The cost of hardware keeps dropping. We are almost at that point now with lower end machines. At the same time Software cost is going up! When you buy that Cheap Dell computer desktop for $575.00 with Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 installed it is probably a better bargain than you realize. Go and buy Windows Vista and Office 2007 at your local Circuit City, Office Max or Staples. How much was it? I bet it was $450 or more? Even at auction you are going to pay a pretty penny for the software, but you can still get deals.

Until the time comes when it just doesn’t make sense anymore I will continue to create “Brannonstein” computers.

There are other reasons.

Most institutions do not budget for replacing all their machines in a timely fashion. . Most, cannot afford it. Instead they replace a percentage and that means that the 20 new computers they bought in 1999 are now eight years old. I have been in the habit over the last several years of building my computers from discarded or replaced parts that I could get from friends and co-workers or buy really cheap. This practice has come in handy lately. It helped me with some of the issues I came across while trying to maintain and get better performance out of dozens of seven and eight year old machines. In other words I get a lot of practice both at home and at work. There are several things that can trip you up if you are trying to upgrade or replace parts in an older machine. I am going to attempt here to point some of the most common issues out.

Memory types and Installing

Coming to this page soon....

Adding that CDROM Burner (Jumper settings, Cable types)