www.knoppix.net. i.e assuming you have a CD-ROM n the compaq. You will then have access to all your favorite Unix utilities for probing hardware. Yas Yasvir A. Tesiram Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Dept. Free Radical Biology and Ageing 825 NE 13th St, OKC, OK, 73112, USA P: (405) 271 7126 F: (405) 271 1795 E: [log in to unmask] On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Danny G Smith wrote: > I was given an old compaq over the holiday that I think has a bad ide > controller on the motherboard. It is not worth a lot, but I could turn > it into a samba server at my house. Does anybody know of any good > freeware that could help diagnose the hardware? > > -- > thanks, > Danny G Smith > > --------------------------------------------------------- > Crystallography Core Computer Manager / Sr UNIX Sys Adm > --------------------------------------------------------- > Crystallography Dept Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation > phone(405)271-8954 fax(405)271-7953 dept(405)271-1672 > ========================================================= > UNIX air conditioned environment, keep the windows closed >