i appreciate the help. i do think the psu is a large culprit, but i still have the problem w/ windows not functioning properly because of the missing normaliz.dll. i plan to drag the tower to a repair shop where i was a volunteer. hopefully the owner will take pity on me, or at least remember the free labor i supplied.

this is a wonderful community. i hope to post a happy and not too expensive ending to this thread.

Hi,
Yes it sounds like it is the main or only problem in getting your PC started. Once you get it started you can them look into the other problem.
If your friend can not assist you or want to charge you too much or everything is Ok, post back and let us know.

Good luck