New basic setup recommendations

I have been using linuxcnc for a few years now with a much older Dell dimension e521 computer with an installed parallel port card.  Worked great, very satisfied.  Recently it decided  not to boot, no power to keyboard or mouse.  Changed cmos battery but still won't get past "Dell" logo. No response to keyboard.  Think it's time to replace whole system.
Looking for a used computer perferably with a parallel port or at least a slot for one.  Possibly should converto to ethernet card such as "Mesa 7I96" or something close.
Fortunately I copied by filling setup folder with working ini and hal files.
My question are as follows:
1.) Should I upgrade to a newer version of linuxcnc (using 2.8...)?
2.) I have a new all in one desktop with an ethernot port.  Can't add parallel port.  Do ethernet to parallel port adapters work without timing issues?
3.) What is a stable version to upgrade to (all in one install) or should I stay with my older version?  Is there much gain as it seemed to be working fine.  
4.) Can I use the same ini and hal files with a newer version or do I have to do a whole new setup.  Trying to avoid that as dual Y steppers was a hastle and now I want to add a 4th A axis.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated from those much more experienced at this than myself.

Regards,

Routerworks

If you get a new computer working with a parallel port, the old HAL config should be fine.

However, you will probably need to update the port address.

You can find the port address with lspci -v

Ethernet adapters almost certainly add a little latency.

Did you try a different monitor?

Does the old computer make a startup beep?

Perhaps the old PSU is broken.

Thank you all. I think I'll try to resurect what I have and stick with the present version. It works.
Should I have to get a new computer (decent used one) will the 7I76 board allow me to connect the drivers directly to it or do I need another board?

Thanks again

A 7I96 or 7I96S are stand-alone

(a 7I76 needs an additional FPGA card)

I have an extra parallel port card lying around.

Do you want it?

Price is $2. (CAD) ($1.94 for shipping + 6 cents for the card itself)
International shipping extra.

The card works perfectly but it is not power efficient.
(It uses an LM7805 voltage regulator that wastes >7/12 of the power as heat)

Thank you for your generous offer. I was able to get it to boot up with 3 of the ram cards removed. Will see if replacing them will work as well. I am in Florida, USA.
Are you in this country?

Thanks again,

Routerworks

I'm in Ontario, Canada

Think it might be time to ditch it. I reinstalled linuxcnc and it loads properly however I get a bios 8254 error when loading, also "not connected to IO-APC".
From what I have read this could be a timing issue caused by a faulty timing chip on the mother board. How far do you go with a 15 year old computer?
There a lot of old Optiplex computers on the market for under $100.00 that are far more powerful and way exceen the minimum requirements for linuxcnc. I would only have to install the parallel port I could take out of the old one.
Any suggestions are apppreciated before I scrap it.
Many thanks for all you help.