[dmmackay]

I have 2 Used Dell Dimension 2400's and 1 Hard Drive.

One of the Dell's has Celeron, which I think may be better, however, when I use the mouse for a short period of time, it causes the computer to freeze, and I have to shut it off and back on again. Can this possibly be fixed?

The other Dell has Pentium 4, and it works pretty good.

Between the two of them, there is a CDR and a DVD ROM, but it doesn't matter which computer they are in; When I Click Start>Right Click My Computer-they are not seen. I see the light flash on the doors, so, I'm wondering what is Wrong? Does the ribbon for Drive0/Drive1 matter which one it goes to, and or, Do I need A Driver for them?

I would like to reinstall Windows XP and clean out all of the junk/factory settings, but I need to make sure the CD can READ the DISK.

I'm not very Computer Technically Gifted. But I know how to get to the Harware and Drivers, and I know what the Scan Icon looks like. So if you could offer some suggestions, with specific instructions, or links as to finding a driver(S) if needed, I would really Appreciate that.
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I am also wondering what the Boot Configuration and Sequence/Selection Should be set to:

Floppy should be on.
Primary Drive I think would obviously be on.
Secondary Drive?
Slave Drives?,
I think it also has IDE (or something like that) and I have no idea what that is, or what it should be set to. ON/Off? I think everytime I enable it or turn it on, I have problems, so therefore I think the setting is off/disabled.
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I think some sort of Anti-Virus/Malware is a must as well; Suggestions for something free to download would be a help.
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LINKS APPRECIATED, if possible.

Thanks in advance for to everyone for your time and any possible help or suggestions.

DMMacKay

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Hi dmmackay

when I use the mouse for a short period of time, it causes the computer to freeze, and I have to shut it off and back on again. Can this possibly be fixed?

What type of mouse is it, make and model, wired or wireless etc, we can advise you on this when we have the requested details.
For restoring CD/DVD drives http://www.dougknox...._cd_dvd_fix.htm
Drivers from http://support.dell....0&os=WW1&osl=EN
The correct order for installing the drivers from http://support.dell....4&isLegacy=true
To change Boot Sequence in your BIOS
Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the DEL button
This will enter you into the BIOS/CMOS area.
Find the Advanced area and click Enter
Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to CD/DVD drive.
Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
Once that is done click F10 to Save and Exit
You will be prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings
Free AV http://www.avast.com...ivirus-download also consider MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) http://www.microsoft...ls/default.aspx only use one or the other and not both as you will create conflicts as the software wrestles for system resources.
Hope this helps and let us know how it goes or if we can assist you with anything further.

[phillpower2]

Hi dmmackay

when I use the mouse for a short period of time, it causes the computer to freeze, and I have to shut it off and back on again. Can this possibly be fixed?

What type of mouse is it, make and model, wired or wireless etc, we can advise you on this when we have the requested details.
For restoring CD/DVD drives http://www.dougknox...._cd_dvd_fix.htm
Drivers from http://support.dell....0&os=WW1&osl=EN
The correct order for installing the drivers from http://support.dell....4&isLegacy=true
To change Boot Sequence in your BIOS
Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the DEL button
This will enter you into the BIOS/CMOS area.
Find the Advanced area and click Enter
Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to CD/DVD drive.
Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
Once that is done click F10 to Save and Exit
You will be prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings
Free AV http://www.avast.com...ivirus-download also consider MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) http://www.microsoft...ls/default.aspx only use one or the other and not both as you will create conflicts as the software wrestles for system resources.
Hope this helps and let us know how it goes or if we can assist you with anything further.

[dmmackay]

Thanks so much for all the info.

I'll give things a try with the drivers, and if necessary the boot seq. instructions.

As for the mouse, I've tried two. One was a compaq, and the other I'm not sure, but I think its got something to do with the computer perhaps; since on One of the Dell Dimension 2400's I don't have the freeze up problem, and I've use the mouse on other computers as well. But if you think it's the mouse, Perhaps you could tell me what mouse I should or should not use.

Thanks again.
Darren

[phillpower2]

As for the mouse, I've tried two. One was a compaq, and the other I'm not sure, but I think its got something to do with the computer perhaps; since on One of the Dell Dimension 2400's I don't have the freeze up problem, and I've use the mouse on other computers as well. But if you think it's the mouse,

Possibly a driver or other software issue so I would leave it for now and see how you get on with the other tasks.