On Saturday I started up my PC and was greeted by a series of errors. Something had gone wrong and trashed some system files beyond repair. I decided that this was an omen that I should do a fresh install of Kubuntu that I had conveniently burned to CD earlier. The install went very smoothly. I just had to answer a few questions and tell it not to format my existing data partitions. It took around 30 minutes in all.

Then came the process of re-installing all the extra things I use. I've got most of it, but have a few outstanding issues:

• Nnvidia legacy driver, but it's not quite right. I managed to get back to 1280x1024, but only at a flickery 60Hz. I also don't have the GLX part.
• The keyboard was in US mode. I set up all three users again and had to set it up for each one. I need to confirm they are all working now as one was not after I changed the settings.
• Initially I could not play any MPEG files, but that may have been due to lack of restricted codecs. I installed them, but K3B still complains it cannot decode MP3
• Firefox still thinks it crashed before each time I log in.

I'm assuming these are all software issues, even though my hardware is getting on. I've been planning an upgrade for ages. My current planned configuration is:

• Processor - AMD Athlon X2. 4600+ or higher, depending on current prices. I'll be going for the slightly more efficient 65W model, but ebuyer are charging a premium on that since I first looked. I still find it amazing that you can buy so much processing power so cheaply. I could go for one of the Intels, but I expect more issues with the motherboard.
• Motherboard - Asus M2npv-vm. A micro-ATX board with just about all I need on-board. I would be adding my DVB TV card, leaving a spare slot for a possible professional sound card for my home studio. I would go for an ATX if I could find one that had similar facilities. It really has to be an Nvidia chipset to work with Linux.
• Memory - Either 1 or 2GB of DDR2. There are so many variants these days that it's hard to know what to get. I'll go for the fastest that's a reasonable price. I think I should be getting a matched pair so that it will work in dual-channel mode, but I don't know how much faster it will be.
• Case - Antec NSK4400. Antec seem to make good quality cases that run fairly quietly. This should be plenty big enough for my needs. There is a smaller one, but that may be a bit tight for the drives.
• Drives - I intend to carry over my DVD writer and 250GB drive as they are not too old.
• Peripherals - I'll keep using my old keyboard, mouse, monitor, scanner and printer. I'm trying to re-use as much as possible to cut down on redundant gear.

The new kit ammounts to around £200-250. I'll re-equip my old PC with some old drives so we can still use it. It can replace the one the kids use (800MHz Duron).