Pre-owned computers can be tested in a matter of hours.
* Open the box. A layer of dust would be discouraging.
* Power-up from a floppy disk in the A drive. If the system fails, its floppy-disk controller card, floppy-disk drive, or motherboard may be defective.
* Try booting up from the hard disk. A failure suggests the hard disk has been improperly formatted or is missing essential start-up files, the hard-disk controller card is defective, the hard disk is defective, or the motherboard is defective.
* Check the memory. Make sure the amount of RAM displayed on the monitor after the initial memory check jibes with what it's supposed to have.
* Format a floppy disk. If the format fails, try a fresh disk. Successive failures suggest the drive is defective.
* Try copying files from one drive to another. Repeated failures indicate a defective drive. If you're successful, run a disk comparison to make sure the files were copied accurately.
* Examine the monitor. Turn up the brightness and contrast controls to check for phosphor "burns." Determine if characters are out of proportion. Make sure the image doesn't waver.
* Check the keyboard. Do the characters on the screen match each character on the keyboard? Test the cable by gently tugging on it.
* Don't ignore the fan. If, when you turn the computer on or off, the fan sounds like a helicopter, it's probably ailing, says Randall. It can be replaced, but it may have damaged the heat-sensitive electronics inside.
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