You could also try alcohol. We use alcohol to clean CPUs and heatsinks where we recycle/refurbish computers.

Dell usually delivers a recovery disc (DVD) with their systems, although at this late date, it may have gotten lost. You can often pick up a DVD from eBay to restore your system. Make sure it matches your version of Vista, and whether it is 32 bit or 64 bit. Also, you can restore with any Vista disc that matches your version by using the product key that is on the Certificate of Authenticity label. Be aware that both of these options will destroy any data that is currently on your system, requiring a reload of any software you may have installed.

A computer that will not post suggests two possible causes: 1) Bad motherboard; 2) Bad power supply. I have made an assumption: that you have only one video connector on your system. If you have more than one, try connecting your monitor to other video connectors. Also, you do not say if the fan starts when you attempt to start the system. It usually starts at high speed and then quiets down.

You can even replace the motherboard with the same model. The 530 supports two different motherboards: G33M02 and the DG33M03; the G33M02 uses Core2Duo CPU chips from Intel (not all, just some) while the DG33M03 uses Core2Duo or Core2Quad chips from Intel (not all, just a select few). That would allow you to speed up your system if you install a faster, compatible CPU chip or even swap out a G33M02 with a DG33M03 motherboard. If you install a motherboard from newegg or elsewhere, you may need to remove and/or replace the backplate where the USB ports, the video, ethernet and sound port exit the case.

It doesn't seem likely, but beeps from a Dell computer can be bad memory chips. You can try removing one or more to see if the beeping continues. Dell memory specifications for this system are quite restricted, PC2-5300 and PC2-6400. Another possibility for a beep include a bad CMOS battery. The CMOS battery helps the computer remember various settings including time and date. If the system cannot recognize the date in the CMOS memory, it will complain. There are other reasons for the beeps, but I do not have a list off the top of my head.

Two possibilities: 1) Remove your hard drive and install it as a backup drive to a new computer. You can pick up a usb adapter which will allow you to attach your hard drive to any computing device that has a usb. Then you do not need to clean your hard drive until you have transferred your photos to your new system; 2) Use the CD/DVD writer and create CDs or DVDs with your photos on them. It is possible to disconnect from the internet and then to cleanup all of the popups, but it is time-consuming when you intend to donate the system anyway.