C. C

I have an old desktop PC that I am hoping not to have to replace this year, but I have to do SOMETHING about the graphics.

My PC came with "Intel Q965/Q963 Express Chipset Family," and the latest drivers available date back to October of 2009. Can I just find a low-end graphics card that will fit my PC and plug it in? Or will the fact that it's a chipset mean I'd need a new motherboard, which would pretty much mean a new computer?

(I've been told to ask the 'family computer expert', but sadly that's me. Apparently "look at the plug at the end of the cable, look at the back of the computer, then plug it into the only place it will fit' counts as m4d sk1llz yo!)

We have some clean empty quart-size mason jars and are thinking about making some long-burning emergency candles with them. What would be the best kind of wax or wax blend to use for this? Dye and scent throw are not concerns, as long as the candle burn doesn't smell bad. Leaving residue on the side of the container is also not a big concern - if we have to use these we'll either toss or remake them.

Higher melt points generally make for longer-lasting candles, but I know you don't want to go too high with container candles. What would be an optimum wax or blend? What additives (Stearic Acid, Vybar, etc.) should I use? Advice on the kind of wick to use with the wax would also be very helpful.

I purchased a used desktop computer running Windows Vista, and immediately bought and installed the Windows 8 upgrade. I did not use the 'media' option when purchasing Win 8.

Now my HD is dying, and I'm not sure what to do. Putting a new HD in the desktop is no problem, but I can't figure out what I need to do to get the OS on a new drive. I don't have a copy of Vista to install so I can re-install the Win 8 upgrade, and neither does the former owner - it came pre-installed (although I DO have the Vista product key, as well as my Win 8 product key). What do I need to do to get my new HD running Windows 8? Is taking it into a shop and getting them to do it my only option, or is there some way I can manage this on my own?

Backups are not an issue - there's nothing on the dying drive I need to keep; I'd barely gotten the new OS on when I realized there were problems. I have an external HD, blank CDs, and flash drives I can use if they would be helpful.

I hoping some assistance writing a sympathy note for a co-worker, who works in another office but whom frequently I work with via phone and email. Her mother has just been diagnosed with what is almost certainly a fatal illness. I have never met the mother, but know that my co-worker is devastated by the news.

Unfortunately all the sites I have found with sympathy note advice have guidance for someone who has either lost close relative, or is themselves suffering from from an illness. The only guidance I've found regarding the illness of a relative suggests mentioning personal thoughts or memories of the ill person, but I do not even know her mother's name.

I am not skilled at writing personal notes, so any assistance will be appreciated.

I need a free or cheap (up to $5) auto-shutdown utility for Windows XP that:

1) Allows scheduling - I want to 'set and forget' and have it run at a set time every weekday

2) Will shut down a computer that is in use (this is the problem I had with Windows Shutdown)

3) Can be set to shut down immediately, without warning (there will not be an issue with losing unsaved data)

4) Will force close programs

I was driving the other day and went over a speed bump at a low speed, and my headlights, radio lights, and dash lighting all turned off. The radio was still playing and the gages on the dash still worked. When I went over a second bump they all turned back on.

Last night the same thing happened while I was driving, only this time there were no bumps that I noticed (nothing more than minor road bumps, no potholes or anything).

The only recent electrical work I have had done is to have a battery terminal replaced and had the master window/locks control on the driver's door replaced.

The car is a 1999 Nissan Altima. Any ideas what's wrong and what it would cost to fix?

Back before cardboard boxes and steel drums, wooden barrels were one of the main methods of transporting both wet and dry goods. When the barrel got to where it was going, how did people open it in order to get what was inside? How did they take the top off? (I know about tapping a barrel for liquid contents - that's not what I'm interested in.)

Were there any special tools used? How were they applied?

A link to a site that either explains or shows on video is fine.

Or did he just have his own cubicle?

If anyone knows of a sketch, map, or blueprint of the FBI offices for the show, that would be even better!

I need the name and location of a section of freeway or major road with a sharp embankment that a car could go down and not be easily seen from the road. It needs to be no more than 45 minutes from Pasadena, preferably less. The car is traveling toward Pasadena in the late night/early morning hours.

This is for a fiction story.

The store is having a great sale on chicken drumsticks, and I'm thinking of picking some up. I want to compare prices for what is actually eatable, vs meat without bone, but have no idea how much of the weight of a drumstick is meat, and how much is bone, skin, and gristle.

I would also like to know the same thing about leg quarters - drumstick & thigh.

I need very low-power reading glasses, and they're almost impossible to find. Does anyone know where I could buy +0.50 reading glasses without spending a lot of money? Scratch resistant would be a big plus.

I have a 99 Nissan Altima with a manual transmission. Sometimes when I need to change gears or go into neutral, I 'pop' the gear - pull it into neutral without engaging the clutch. Is this going to damage the clutch, or anything else for that matter?

Given a multi-page workbook, where I am referencing different rows on page 1:

.....A......B.....C.....D

1:..27....43....19...102

2:..29....55....48...267

etc.

and on page two I'm entering values by pointing at cell references on page 1:

..........A.............B............C

1:...=P1!A3....=P1!C3....=P1!W3

2:...=P1!A7....=P1!C7....=P1!W7

etc.

Is there any way I can enter the references OTHER than by changing them one at a time to point to the correct cells? Each 'pointer' column will point to the same 'pointee' column, and each 'pointer' row will point to the same 'pointee' row - but there are major jumps from pointer row/column to the next (A will be followed by G will be followed by AB. etc.)

Is there some way of (for example) putting a variable in a cell reference? Or some other way where I don't have to change the info for every cell manually?

I was shopping online for an item which generally retails for $50 to $150, depending on size, power, etc.

I found a website that was offering what I was looking for at a price of less than $2 each, with a shipping price that did not reflect the weight of the item I wanted to order.

I don't know if they made an error when entering the price of the item, or if they were dumping the item (although the price seemed far too low even for that).

Was it unethical for me to buy the item at what was probably an incorrect price? Was it wrong of me to order a second one with plans to sell it on ebay?

In the Harry Potter BOOKS (not the movies), what were the hair colors for Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley? Answers that provide page numbers or at least rough guides (eg, 1st scene of chapter 2 in book 1) are preferred.

Thank you!