Well.....for what it's worth.

A new DVD burner will likely cost more to ship than to purchase.  A new processor will likely mean new motherboard, new RAM, hell......new everything anyway. 

My opinonated opinon?   If using a computer truly is your "main way to communicate with the things that are important" I would suggest saving for a few months etc. and coming up with the few hundred bucks for a newer system.  There comes a point when every 'upgrade-path' becomes blocked.  I'd say you've been lucky to have extended yours as far as you have already.  If there is nothing really 'wrong' with the system (other than a dying DVD drive which as I've pointed out would cost more to ship to you than to purchase) and the system is just becoming 'too slow' well then it might finally be time to retire that 'oldie'. 

Saving what? I don't have any income. The better half woks but we don't have any spending money. Been out of work and looking since 2010 with no luck. Perhaps someone I have talked to could shed a better light on my situation.

It may be a few years before we can replace the whole machine.

I have a perfectly good CRT I could send you, but shipping would be outrageous.

I have several CPU's I could spare, but likely, you'd need a MOBO to match.

As the_Monk said, you really are just gonna have to retire the old nag and get something newer in order to do any better.

As for the

I have been out of work since 2002 with no disability, etc.

My wife works but we have bills.

I am able to make a few bucks here and there working on computers (virus removal, clean up/reinstalls) and an odd job here and there in order to get PC parts, etc.

Everyone has their own set of circumstances, I understand. I wish you luck in finding what you want/need, sorry I can't help any further.

You could add all kinds of good parts to that old rig and it ain't gonna do any better.

 "My daughter has a touchscreen on her tablet."

https://forums.wincustomize.com/439224/get;3307879

 "In fact my girlfriend's machine runs Windows 7."

https://forums.wincustomize.com/439050/get;3305681

so is this about the third computer in your household? 

Yeah this is about my machine. Yes my daughter has a tablet and the girlfriend has a year old notebook. Those belong to them and we do not share except in rare circumstances. So what is your point Moshi?

Forgive a fellow for asking for some help. Sorry.

Man, I feel ya, but you're not asking for help, you're asking for a whole computer. The one you have is beyond help. You have a HDD and some ram, but everything is outdated beyond updating. Even your monitor. It's as good as it's gonna get.

Use it to browse the net. You can play movies on the X Box 360.

Well the PSU is still good. I figure all I needed was a old mobo that will take this old DDR2 RAM and a low end CPU. Don't really care about the DVD Burner. Monitor has some life left, but not much.

Further to my first reply.....

kona this system is your "main way to communicate with the things that are important".  So then keep using it for that then and as RND suggests watch movies etc. on your xbox.  I mean for light browsing, forum posting, email and even skype what you've already got won't be getting any worse and isn't limited by by a DVD dying.  A screen like the one you already have (CRT) should be available dirt cheap at your local tech-trash recycler (up here they might even give them away for free if I'm not mistaken).

At any rate, like both RND and I have now stated, you are already pretty much getting what you're going to get out of that old rig of yours.  The next step is a complete newer system.  So unless you're asking people to part out a complete newer system for you........

EDIT:  (saw your next post after I had posted my reply)

A slightly newer motherboard/cpu/ram combo will be more hassle than it's worth.  What I mean is.  You'll need to re-install everything after putting things back together and that for precious little gain (in fact any 'gain' you notice might not even be related to the newer hardware, and rather related to the 'fresh' install).   Just sayin....

Also.  Depending on the version of XP you purchased for your old rig, I do believe MS expects certain copies (OEM) of their OS to live/die by the system (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).  So you could find yourself 'technically' responsible for purchasing another OS.

I don't mind doing a fresh install of the OS. No worries there. Trust me if I went from this P4 to a dual core anything I would see a huge improvement. As for watching DVDs I don't use the computer for that.

Kona, just for shits and giggles, do some research and let us know what CPUs can be used with your MOBO. I have a few cpus in a drawer. But whether or not you can use a dual core depends on your mobo.

We'll need to know socket type, speeds, etc. that your mobo can handle.

Also, give me the same info on your current P4.

Well a 'dual core' (I'm assuming a Core 2 here?) CPU and a newer motherboard almost certainly require a newer PSU (since the connectors aren't even the same) and newer video card (if you're currently using onboard and the new motherboard doesn't come with onboard).  Also, while a C2D proc would on it's own be a "huge improvement" over a Pentium 4 proc some things with rgard to 'performance gain' do remain relative since if you're planning to us the old drive (I'm assuming it might still be an IDE drive?) it could limit said performance gain somewhat.

Not to once again mention......

Have you even looked at any thrift stores in your area? We picked up a flat screen 17 inch ViewSonic for my Grandson for 10 dollars. They have newer computers than yours cheap and usually a savvy person can fix anything wrong with them.  I've done several for friends. I picked up a new external DVD reader/writer for 24 bucks for the Grandsons machine. There are lots of ways to go to help yourself.

Well here is the info about the CPU:

Motherboard:

Window 8 is pretty cheap. I might get lucky and get that for a gift from someone. There is always Linux.

All of my hard drives are SATA. Only thing that is IDE on this old setup is the DVD burner. I am using onboard video. Pretty sure there is a mobo out there that can support a better CPU than the one I have yet use the RAM I have and have onboard video.

Still requires money that I don't have. Sorry.

?!?  Windows 8?  You?!?  

Ok.....well I'd better bow out of this thread now before I say/type something I'll only regret later.

Best of luck......

Kona, go to the site of the maker of your MOBO, and bring up specs. It will list the CPUs compatible with your MOBO.

I said do research, not run a program.