I would go to settings/control panel/addremove programs and remove that toolbar from yahoo, sometime toolbars like that can cause problems with your browser, I'd also download and run Adaware or...

we need more info, do you get the net from cable, or dsl, you say cable connects ok is that the light on the cable modem or what?
have you verified that you are getting an ip address if you are on...

Ok check your BIOS and in an area likely to be called Advanced menu options or something like that you will have:
AGP Arpeture Size: 256
AGP Spread Spectrum: disabled
AGP Fast Write...

Disable Fastwrites in the Bios, there are other bios changes you can make, when I get home I'll check mine out and list a few options for you to try.

If it's ATX you can track the wires from the power button to the motherboard, if AT the wires will go straight to the power supply. Do as Catweazle said and also check to see if you loosened the IDE...

Sounds like your power supply is flaky, if you have access to another one try replacing it.

Sounds like you just used the same hard drive but did not reinstall XP, is that correct? If so then that is your whole problem, when changing motherboards the best thing to do in all cases is to...

Have you gone into MSCONFIG and made sure you don't have a bunch of programs running in the background at startup? If not then deselect the progs you don't need at startup like Office, etc.., your...

Good that you have it working, I found that Max Payne 2 has a known issue of crashing during level transitions and they are working on a patch for it- pissed me off that I have to wait for the patch...

The 9600 should be fine, a big improvement over the onboard video.

The PC should definitely startup with the AC adaptor plugged into it so that isn't the problem, the battery light when the AC is plugged in is usually orange or red when charging.

I agree with sticking to the 9200 which I believe is based on the 8500 (could be wrong here though), but between those 2 cards I would go with the 128MB 533 memory- there are very few if any games...

Unforetunately there isn't alot you can do with laptops, taking them apart is very difficult for the unexperienced and there are not many parts you can replace. Sounds like your motherboard may be...

Is it an NForce 2 chipset board, if so try holding down the insert key when you power it on, that is how I had to reset my Chaintech NF2 board as the jumper didn't work for me either then.

The motherboard can be a pain to change and it is best if you reload the system after you switch it- it is best if you want to be absolutely sure you should have no problems with Windows. If you...

Yes the PCI card should be an improvement but don't expect a miracle, that ATI card is definately not the latest and greatest chip out there but it should make a nice difference. I agree building a...

If your lucky your motherboard may have a dual BIOS feature, some Gigabyte boards have this and you can select the other BIOS when you first turn on the machine, but most motherboards do not feature...

Hmm, if he flashed it wrong it may be a problem, do you know if he really flashed the CMOS? If not then just clear the CMOS using the clear CMOS jumper next to the battery on the motherboard, it...