---

@electric*mayhem*band wrote:

Harriet, I firmly believe PCs have a shelf life, and when they get beyond that point they go awry. (Planned Obsolescence). You can try all of the above suggestions, coupled with a boil wash, and nothing will make the slightest bit of difference.

 

What you could attempt that hasn't been proposed, is a system restore. Before you bounce your pc off the four walls, try that out.

---

If that is the case a Linux system could be put on it. Whilst software is obsoleting hardware, for basic computing a single core processor with 1GB RAM will suffice for anything, until you come to streaming. Once you start streaming things your better off with a - dual core CPU and 2GB RAM - though one will do.

You can stream with a - single core and 1GB - though the pictures and sound go out if sync. Still watchable. That sort of machine will suffice for eBay work.

Linux systems are as easy to configure and run as Windows machines, in fact when you get down to it easier, as there is specific community support to assist with any issues.

I would recommend Linux Mint 17 (it is supported until 2019) for anything up to the specs mentioned or above. There are many others avialable for a whole variety of circumstances.

If you decide to buy another Windows machine ensure that you install the Adblock Add-on before going anywhere with the browser.

A complete system re-installation is also worth considering in this instance. That will return you to the start and state the machine was functioning in when you started using whatever system you had installed. Which if I've read correctly was functioning acceptably at some point.

All the best.