John, I am no expert in these matters but I suggest you do one of two things.
1. Dont try to fix what isn't broken with your Compaq.
2. Save your money to buy a new machine.
I view this situation like this. Remember how you could throw open a hood on cars dated say.. from 1978 on down and acually solve a problem with ease. Throw open a hood of a modern car now
Having gone through this (like alot of people) not to long ago I thought I would save you some pain...
Welcome to GD btw. [img]smile.gif[/img]