@Cynlee - Please keep in mind that a desktop PC does not have a specific failure date. The one I'm using now (w95, Pentium III 450, ...) was put into service June 1998 -- so it's been in use for almost 6 years. It has had many changes as well: original processor upgraded to a Pentium III 450MHZ from a Celeron 233MHz; original HDD upgraded to 15GBy from 8GBy; original CD replaced by a CD-RW -- which failed and was replaced today with a newer one. In addition, this PC has been runing SETI at Home 24x7 for a little over 4 years. And it has an APC UPS to keep the power steady. One key point ... in general, it's not how old the PC is ... it's the number of times it has been turned on and off. ... almost always, a PC can be repaired. Now, about your data ... that's a horse of a different color -- make regular backups ... and put them in a safe place away from the PC. I know someone on the net who says that there are two kinds of computer users ... those who do regular backups and those who have never had a HDD fail.