yes the keyboard lights come on and everything seems to happen as usual except for the fact that it acts as though the monitor isn't attached. The only thing that is odd is that the light on the laser mouse doesn't come on, regardless of what usb port I use. I am not sure what to think about that. I did some research online this website http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/gat...tag=txt%3bpage it seams to say that i am stuck with the onboard video , and i am not sure where to get another one if that's what is wrong with it. but i guess i am about to try to unhook the dvd rom and take out the ram like caperjack suggested and see what happens, then get back on here for more advice if it is a dead end.

this taken from the link you provided.
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There is a single free PCI slot and one x1 PCI Express slot, but no x16 PCI Express or AGP slots for adding a dedicated video card. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with the onboard Intel GMA 900 graphics processor.
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you can still buy standard PCI video cards ,not to be confused with x16 pci-e video cards .

like this one .
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6&Sku=D10-2048

or the one in the lower part of this page .
http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=VCD

turned out to be the extension cord, thanks for the advice everyone.

extension cord ? you should never use a long one !