Need help with desktop problems

[scolls]

I have a couple different problems. First, my screen has been going black and then about 20 second later it would come back on. The computer would freeze up and you know it's going to go black. Also, my screen has a bunch of little pixels on it, like they got burned out by the monitor, but I don't believe that is it. I tried reinstalling the driver, but that led to more problems.

I haven't been able to finish reinstalling the driver, because the mouse doesn't work. The cursor just stays at the middle of the screen and will not move. I bought a new mouse and nothing. I know the mouse works because I'm using it right now.

I really need to figure this out because my school is online so I need this computer up and running. I'm also to the point of scraping it for a new laptop.

 

[cohen]

How old is the computer???

Is the video / graphics card onboard (on the motherboard) or a seperate one?

 

[scolls]

Well shortly after posting this, I noticed the desktop was smoking. I disconnected everything and it was still smoking. I opened it up and the mother board was literally smoldering. I ended up buying a new laptop since I was going to anyways. So far i'm pretty happy with my laptop.

 

[cohen]

Well shortly after posting this, I noticed the desktop was smoking. I disconnected everything and it was still smoking. I opened it up and the mother board was literally smoldering. I ended up buying a new laptop since I was going to anyways. So far i'm pretty happy with my laptop.

What laptop did you get???
Specs and price???

 

[scolls]

What laptop did you get???
Specs and price???

I virtually got the laptop for free. It's a bit of a story. My sister went to college with this Chinese guy everyone refers to as "The Chinaman" I know he has a name, but even his partners call him "The Chinaman" but I digress. Anyways he owns a small computer shop. My sister does most of the books for him and does his tax returns. Well he owed her a favor for doing all this work for free. Well she asked him to get me a deal on a new laptop since I was in a bind and she did hundreds of dollars of work for him. He gave me this laptop in exchange for the desktop. Apparently he can rebuild it. The laptop is a Compaq Presario. Has an Intel Dual-Core 1.73 GHZ processor, 2 GB Ram, and a 160 GB HD. He had it loaded with Windows XP Pro. So far I really like it. Seems faster then my desktop. All I use the computer for is running Microsoft Office, web browsing, a little photo editing, and music and videos. Also got a Netgear wireless router that works great.