If the machine is from 2000, it will run on Win XP which is virtually useless today for anything internet related. If your friend can get it running on Windows 7, you may get a few more years out of it.

I think the first thing to do is take to google and the HP website with the exact model and specifications and see if there are Windows 7 drivers available for it.

If you don't plan on using it online, XP is fine for word processing, viewing photos etc.

I wouldn't mind 7. Any versions after that one or no?

Thank you for the direction to see if there are drivers for Win7.

This is a start. Thx.

Without knowing the hardware specs. In 2000 it was pretty common to have a 30gig hard drive and 1gig RAM which may not be enough. You may not be able to find additional RAM to upgrade.

Another consideration is whether it is 64 bit capable - not a huge issue, there are 32bit Win7 versions but will affect finding drivers.

If you go here:

https://www.belarc.com/products_belarc_advisor

and download a copy of Belarc Advisor (free) and run it on your HP machine, it will give you an absolute HEAP of information, ie motherboard, RAM, network and much more. If you do this, feel free to PM me with a copy of the report and I'll have a look.

Only thing, will it be able to run bc of blue screen? I don't really think I need any data in there if it gets lost if we do a factory restore.

I got emergency discs, etc. in case if an issue such as this.

I will do as you advise. And I can tell you exactly what discs I have and the exact model of the machine. Mb not tonite. I'm a bit wore out.

Don't mean to repeat this, but husband of 46+ years up and died in March. Cardiac arrest. I still have a veritable mountain of stuff to take care of. Not totally computer illiterate, but once someone explains, I get it.

You are so very kind!

I'll work on this. Had the tower pulled out earlier and it's not exactly light. Got all the corresponding manuals, etc. available. I just donated a 4-in-1 printer/fax/copier/scanner for a yard sale Saturday. It was good bc all the 'puter stuff was together. Got a wireless printer but not set up yet. I'm old school. More fond of hardwired components. 😤

Peace...

(Blue Screen of Death) More often than not it's a Windows or driver issue. HP are also famous for loading their machine with all kinds of crap-ware. I set up a very expensive HP Spectre laptop for a friend last week. It was slower than molasses until I uninstalled all the so-called helpful gadgets that come standard on HP machines.

Have you re-booted the machine since the BSOD? Often that's all it takes. Maybe one of your friends knows how to run a disk check and SFC /scannow (system file check).

Good luck, sorry to hear about your husband.

I'm determined to see what can be done to save it. Albeit for few years as you say.

Thx for your heartfelt thoughts. It was a shocker, his dying.

My mantra: live every day to the fullest, but keeping in mind "let what you do today be enough", be kind to all.

it will have an error code like 0x0234567
sometimes text accompanies it like "Page_fault_in_nonpaged_area" or similar
These clues will tell you what caused the crash
could be something simple like a driver or another simple update can fix it outright

problem is if you have an old OS like WinXP many websites will not work right

some to consult the literature. My HOA president neighbor will be around tomorrow. He's IT. He offered to be available for help. Now, I do need him. Will get him to connect everything. Monitor, wireless keyboard/mouse, PC.

This is almost fun! [Almost. 😀]

I'm the one who powered this on that time and was party to that blue screen. Yikes.

There's a possibility your motherboard battery is run down. Without that nothing much happens beyond your BIOS screen. If it tells you to set the time and date, it's a good possibility. You might want to mention that to your helper. Good luck.

Ut-oh.

Appreciate this heads up.