I have some parts from a comp about 3 or 4 years old and would like to know how to tell what the parts are.

go find somebody and ask them. or take photots and put them on seek
or look up serial numbers.

you live in TJ, cant you just go out in the hall and yell "what the hell is this thing?"

Look for someone who appears to live in a cave... This person is most likely a Comp Sci, or Comp E... Or has a room mate with such aspirations. Or is a closeted computer nut. Ask them what *insert item here* is. It has always worked for me.

Every time my computer makes a fuss, I've always been able to find a random Computers major to poke at it, and make it work. Even if they only poke because they are curious as to how I can live with an 8gb hardrive, and 128 stick.

Feel sorry for my computer. I run '98 because I can.