My regular machine is up and running again. I replaced the case power supply(once again) with a new Hiper modular 580 watt dual rail supply and got my ram back from my daughter. The amount of ram still needs to be upgraded, but 1.2 gigs is better than 256 megs. I guess another gig stick will be my next upgrade. Thanks to all of you guys who offered advice. The old HP laptop mow goes back into its case and into the back of the closet until it is next called upon to save the world (or at least me) I'm going to try and repair a 480 watt power supply (the fuse is blown, my old Fluke meter doesn't lie about such things).If it works, I'm going to use my old MB and processor to build another desktop to have as a backup.