Thanks GaRhaR, thanks uncleed.
If I look for a replacement 'puter I must try to find something a bit old - a) for price and b) for compatibility with this sound card! [which is why I bought this baby...;-) ]
Good thought about the battery, uncleed - I'll have a look later when I get time - and note down the config first! This board has a jumper to reset the bios anyway - I guess it would be a test of some kind to do that and try an install in any case. Any ideas if generally one can download bios settings to disk or if things are noted manually?