In about how many years do i need to change my laptop?

yesterday

go to tigerdirect.com or newegg.com they have plenty under 1000 you could get a decent laptop for about 500

You *may* not have to buy a new laptop. It depends on the amount of money you'd have to put into it to get it working well again vs the cost of a new laptop. You'll want to consider the following things when making that decision: - You could reinstall a fresh copy of Windows XP. This should take care of any major system errors that may be slowing down your system as well as remove any viruses, spyware, etc that may be affecting it. - It sounds like your battery is shot. Look into buying a new battery. - In my experience, CD/DVD ROM drives aren't meant to last forever. They're able to play and burn a certain number of times before they essentially wear out. You're probably not too far from not being able to play DVDs on it anymore as well, although you could get lucky and have it not lose that capability since most of the time they'll refuse to load any discs correctly... You might want to see if the drive is replaceable. - Open Office is the free knockoff version of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, etc. I actually prefer it because it's free, just as reliable, and it does the same things with the same file extensions so the files you make in Open Office are cross-compatible with Microsoft Office programs as long as you save it in the right file format. I see no reason to spend the extra money on the Microsoft version since Open Office works just as well at no cost. It does sound like your version of the program is corrupted or incompatible, though. You can get a fresh download at www.openoffice.org - You might want to see if your RAM is upgradeable as well as purchase a larger hard drive for the files and programs you'll likely need for your school work. 32 GB likely won't be enough space. - Even if the laptop did originally cost $3,000, you have gotten plenty of use out of it if you have had it for 6-7 years. I spend an average of $600 on a laptop and have to replace it every 2 years or so. As for a new laptop, your best bet for brand names are Asus or Toshiba. They're the most reliable models on the market. I've also had really good luck with MSI. HP is the worst in reliability and Dell is average.

Just like Caolan C said above, you need to buy a new laptop yesterday. What you have now is a dinosaur. It is not the brand that matters, it's what's inside. While Macbook is better but way overpriced, you have the need to run Windows software and games, so a Windows PC laptop is recommended. Sacrifice quality for practicality. You can get a good laptop for $800 or even less. Here is what to look for when buying a laptop: At least an Intel i3 processor (i5 or i7 is better, but cost more). DO NOT get an AMD or Pentium Duo processor Make sure it has dedicated graphics (card) not integrated (onboard), and at least 256MB GPU (512MB or 1GB is better, but more expensive) At least 4GB of RAM (8GB is best, but more expensive) At least a 320GB at 7200rpm hard drive (a 500GB or even 1TB is better, but more expensive) At least an 8-cell battery (a 10-cell is better, but more expensive) A webcam and microphone on top of the screen (most laptops have them nowadays) Windows 7 Home Premium. DO NOT get Windows 7 Starter edition or Home basic. While USB 3.0 is best, the USB 2.0 is still OK. Get at least 4 USB ports. IEEE 1394 (firewire) for DV or photo cam connection. eSATA is not bad to have, but also not mandatory. Of course you want WiFi (wireless) and ethernet connection. At least a DVD/CD writer drive. A BR (Blue Ray drive) is more expensive and not necessary. You might wanna print this and give to the computer tech in store when you go shopping for a laptop. Good luck.