OMG, where do I start...to think my idle comment sparked this hotheaded commentary, lol, boy am I glad some of you who favor terse and boring passages in their descriptive prose have not read the novels that I have written on this forum to expostulate on my mower's ailments...which mownie has picked up and RUN with... I have to defend Mownie, here, because it is precisely his willingness to expound on details that makes his posts informative, AND exceedingly helpful. I learned more in a week about my mower's basic fuel and electric systems than I have in the ten years I have been dinking around with it...and I am definitely an amateur. Mownie's eloquent and colorful descriptions really make the problems and the solutions clear, and no one of course is ever beyond correction or clarification for that matter! As far as the quotes...they serve a vital function in separating the "quoted" from the response, especially when you are like me, and mownie, and tend to ramble on about this or that, and it helps to REFERENCE the passage that he is about to comment on. Guess some of you never really learned the mechanics of goood writing and the use of punctuation to illuminate your efforts to communicate??? Besides, aren't you talking about *****ASTERISKS??****** those are NOT "QUOTES" !! In my opinion it is very helpful to have that text set apart from the answer or comment or whatever. Finally, Mownie, I think this is a very helpful thread to anyone who in fact is NOT aware of the cut-and-paste basics of computer-ese, which I suspect from reading posts in ALL CAPS and mis-typed words and stuff like that, and that a lot of folks who DON'T dabble in computers use these forums because someone suggested they try. And in the end it IS a FORUM, and if the info is too elementary to be useful to you, you can proceed to more complex dialogue as it suits you...whereas if you DON'T know stuff like cut and paste, it could be a pretty handy gadget when someone opens your eyes to it. SO in the spirit of assistance that these forums are supposed to offer, mownie's post on this subject is in effect very useful, or is bound to be for someone, and that is why it is there. There are folks out there that will surely be helped. Finally, oh, i said that already, in general cut-and-pasting of elements relevant to your search for a solution when gathered in the course of surfing this forum is indeed a good idea, especially if it pertains to your particular make and model of mower or engine. Now to find those little tidbits out there again... SO Thanks, mownie; every once in awhile an innocent and well-intentioned attempt to be helpful sparks a major outpouring of public opinion. The beauty of the human condition, lol. And 12G, YES, you said it Bud! Should be up there in top Tractor Forum posts! I think I will cut and paste THAT little gem, to start! OK I'm ready, all you people of few words, bring it on...!!! =)

Success! I love you people! Spent the past hour or two checking out your recommendations and printing out each step/window so I'd know where I'd been! DayLily, Frankly I don't know if I have a sound card or on-board sound. I can't find any reference to answer those questions (that I can interpret anyway) from running Belarc Advisor. I'd rather buy another computer than open up mine! Moths and dust would undoubtedly fly out! :) I appreciate your input. Thank you. Luis, My speakers are connected directly to my monitor. Since I didn't want to unplug a bunch of things and lug either my monitor and speakers into the other room or disconnect my husband's computer and bring it in here, I decided to check out the Control Panel's Sounds and Audio Devices. The first tab (Volume) had 'Mute' checked! Couldn't believe it. I thought I'd gone into every nook and cranny by now! I unchecked 'Mute' and really did look everywhere in that window this time. Also, under Advanced Audio Properties > Speakers, I changed the Speaker Setup from 'Monitor stereo speakers' to 'Desktop stereo speakers.' (Wouldn't have done that except the latter had pictures that shows my setup. Ha.) One or more of those actions must have done the trick. 'Thanks' is not adequate enough! But I do thank you so much Owbist, I went everywhere you suggested. I had been in some of those 'places' before, but I guess just not where to fix the problem. I'd seen those yellow exclamation marks, (...System Properties > Device Manager > Sound...), but when I'd click on one of the yellow jobbers > Unknown device Properties > DRIVER TAB > Driver Details or Update Driver, I'd get some kind of error message when I'd try to update a driver. It wasn't until I went to the GENERAL TAB and then REINSTALL DRIVER that worked to banish the yellows! Wow! Thanks! Raven, If you've read this novel this far, you were probably right about the sound being muted and I just hadn't seen that particular window before, although I'd seen the volume window somewhere in my earlier travels and no mute boxes were checked and I'd raised the volume sliders up higher. Several times prior, I'd moved the couch, gotten out my flashlight and trusty magnifying glass and unplugged, re-plugged, and deciphered the almost invisible icons on my monitor, speakers, and computer backside. :) Thank you. Well, folks, before I posted this, I listened to 3 songs and did a Hallelujah! I'm thrilled. And it's all because of you. I'm going to bed now. Hope I never have to travel in this particular labyrinth again! Good night. Kat

Let's see if I can explain in the limited time I have; if I don't finish, I'll come back later or tomorrow. Have hubby's last chemo & radiation today. In my office I have a dual boot Windows machine - running XP (pro I think) and Vista. I also have the Mac. I have not tried to put Windows of any flavor on the Mac; it was on my list of things to do. I was going to buy the program verses what's on the Mac. My pain management Dr did it; he had some issues with drivers. Not sure if he did XP or Vista. The Mac worked fine at 1st. I was able to Network; I was able to access the Windows machine both sides. When on the Windows PC; I was able to access the Mac from both. I'm not sure what changed and when but eventually I wasn't able to access either puter - I made user accounts on Windows (both sides) and now am able to access Windows (both sides) from the Mac. The problem is accessing the Mac from Windows. Granted, it very well may be me; because I haven't been as "heavy" into building & using the computer since we moved. The most I do is work with pictures; for that I use Windows because the Mac photo program confuses me. I like Windows much better all the way around because of ease of use; software works & I can do things without reading a manual. With the Mac, I feel so stupid some days. I haven't installed anything except firefox.. forgot how. lol It's so simple too from what I remember but I have to get the dummy book to do it again. lol One thing that will not work on the Mac is my Microsoft Works. All of my medical databases are made with works. I looked for a Mac plug in (reader) but they don't have one. I also don't want to have to replace my full Office suite.

Love your photos. Your primary concern is water infiltration, as others have said. That means check hard, and repair/replace the roof. Also, double and triple check the slope of the yard surrounding the home and make sure it drains away from the foundation. Then when those items are taken care of, you can start repairing window sills, sashes, door sills etc. If you want a book that touches on many different aspects of the old home evaluation and repair, consider "Renovating Old Houses" by George Nash. Our copy is very worn and proved quite useful at times when we redid our 1838 home. Most of your photos show little of concern to me. DO NOT let some roofer convince you that you need a ridge vent. They'll either install it, and it will be useless or they'll cut into your ridge pole. Whatever ventilation the house has had for the past 300 years was/is working just fine. And DO NOT insulate. The photos of the interior mostly just show plaster that has broken keys. That is quite repairable. Finally, I'd say that the peeling paint is from one of several possible causes. It could be water infiltration. Pay extra attention to the siding to roof transition. Your next possible problem, is that some misguided person may have plugged up vents/cracks that allowed the interior air to flow up thru the house. Now the moisture created by living is migrating thru the walls. That could be the cause of the paint peeling. The last possible issue could simply be poor preparation prior to the painting. All areas must be scraped down to bare wood or a very firmly attached prior layer of paint. Then apply high quality primer and re-paint. Good luck and check back here often. Many of us will enjoy following your progress.