RandyL

No problem Ray. Like I said I can link you to the AVG uninstaller tools but that may not be wise at this time so please wait for now. I will be following this thread too Ray.

Hi Ray; I'm sorry nobody responded before. Stuff happens. I don't use AVG and I'm not a security expert. I don't even know if this is AVG related or some other issue. One of our security experts might know something as an infection may be causing AVG to act up. I do know AVG has uninstaller tools but if it is not just a corrupt AVG issue that will not solve your problem and may leave you vulnerable. Please be patient. I'll ask the security team.

The link in post #2 by DTSM explains that if your computer is asleep instead of turned off the system should wake at the proper time, If it is turned off at the scheduled time the updates should download the next time the computer boots up. Although I don't usually suggest this I prefer to not use auto-update. This of course means you have to be diligent about checking for updates manually. Specifically the second Tuesday of the month.

Hi Ray. Normally it is safe to remove quarantined files. The reason they get quarantined instead of deleted right away is because they might be false positives or even a program you might actually want to keep or your computer experiences strange behavior after they get quarantined. However I'm not familiar with this infection and I would be hesitant to do anything else unless advised by an expert. If I were you I would wait for one of our trained experts to advise you before doing anything else.

Thanks for posting this Starbuck. I'm sure this will be helpful as it is getting quite bad and very deceptive. I might add that it is also well known that even if you download from the source many programs these days install add-ons from the installer file. One should always use a custom installation option when you can. However even that can be deceptive. I've seen that option purposely worded to try and trick you into thinking you chose custom when instead it is the full installation. Worse yet I've seen where you choose custom, opt out of the add-ons and choose "next" only to find out that you had to choose another poorly worded option hidden way down from what appeared to be a EULA to custom install and opt out a second time. But it gets worse. I noticed that YTD Video Downloader is listed a few times in the top ten downloads. I like this program but will not recommend it anymore. The installer does have PUPS and it's one that likes to hide the opt out options. But here is the really bad part. It needs to be updated occasionally to keep up with youtube changes and it will prompt you to update. DO NOT UPDATE IT. If you use the program update option there is no option to opt out of the PUPS. You get all the garbage. Instead download a new version from the source and try not to miss the options when installing it. Be careful where you download from. Be careful how you download. Be careful with the installation. And the newest trick. Be wary of using the programs update function in some cases. As for me if I'm trying a new program I set a restore point first. It's sometimes easier than cleaning and resetting things.

You're welcome bob. It is a little tricky to find it.

Windows Live Mail is one of the Windows Live Essentials programs. Go to Programs and Features and select Windows Live Essentials to uninstall. You will get an option to remove one or more Windows Live programs. Select which ones you want to uninstall.

I notice this computer is HP. It might have the HP Hardware Diagnostics UEFI tool. If it does there are a number of tests that can be run. Check out the video from HP. Testing for Hardware Failures in Windows 8 on HP Computers

I don't use Outlook but most of Microsoft's products are similar so I can think of a couple options Here are the basics. 1. Use the file>import/export function and save as a .pst file. Only outlook will be able to actually open a pst file. 2. Navigate to the message stores folder which is a hidden folder. The actual messages will probably have generic alphanumeric names. The path should be similar to C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook for Vista . Where does Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 save my information and configurations? These options won't save as text but you can save them for safe keeping on a CD.

Thanks. I ate very well. Too bad it was followed by a snow storm.

There was a box that was probably checked that said to "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file". If the box was checked then all pdf files will open correctly. You do not need to donate again. Your donation went through. I only saw an ip address instead of a name because you were not logged in. I thought it was you but I wasn't positive. Once again I thank you for your extremely generous donations.

I thought you may have tried that. Sometime times things get so screwed up you have only one option left. Before a reinstall though there are many data files that should be backed up to external media. All pictures, movies, music, text files, pdf etc. Bookmarks or favorites depending on your browser. Contacts since this is Windows 7. Calendars if they can be exported. AppData folder if you have any games etc. where progress on games is saved. And if you have any third party software you need to save any files from them like photoshop PSD. The point is backup what is most important. Programs can't be backed up. They will need to be reinstalled. I wish I had more to offer.

This may be a file association problem. Right click a pdf document and select "Open with" then change the default program. I don't know what is causing the repeating tabs but it might be a virus. mtav did you donate while not logged in? I have an entry but no name.

Ken; Do you think the stand alone installer would work if it was saved to the desktop and run from there. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5842 The Windows 7 32 bit file is windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe (537.8 MB) The Windows 7 64 bit file is windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe (903.2 MB) These will take a very long time to download.

Windows Defender for Windows 8 is an antivirus and antispyware program. If you have a different AV installed they usually turn off Defender to avoid a conflict. Keep in mind that if you want to use Defender you have to manually enable it after uninstalling the other AV. Normally clicking on the start button in Windows 8.1 will take you to the Apps page. If instead it brings up a traditional style start menu then a third party program was installed. There are several but Classic Shell is one. Desktop icons are probably just shortcuts so they can be added for almost anything. Normally clicking on the start button in Windows 8.1 will take you to the Apps page. One way to get back to the desktop is to use the Esc/Escape key. Press the Alt key and it will appear temporarily. This will work for Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer. To permanently add the menu bar in Internet Explorer right click on your toolbar then click Menu bar. I don't see a way to permanently add the menu in Windows Explorer.

Everyone is focusing on the word "FREE". I don't doubt the free part but I do question the word "Upgrade". I've been using Windows 7 since it came out and Windows 8 since Christmas. I don't consider 8 an upgrade so I doubt I will consider 10 an upgrade. I have managed to customize 10 so I never have to go to the Apps page or use the charms bar. I did not use third party software. I even managed to migrate the Windows 7 games to the Windows 8 computer because 8 does not come with games. It seems that with every newer version of Windows I can do less not more. With 8 you can't even change the width of the scroll bar without using regedit. My list of complaints about 8 is long but my point is that I doubt I will consider 10 an upgrade for much the same reasons.

Like always I'm the last to know. Ken you do know I hope all your days are good and not just your birthdays. Ken we are not older. We just earned the right to be slower.

Another thread is here. http://extremetech.support/threads/16534-Dell-monitor

Hi John; tomshardware.com may have some useful information on this. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/21268-45-search-companion-window-missing Go to Start>Run and key in: regsvr32 /s jscript.dll < Click on OK or hit ENTER> regsvr32 /s vbscript.dll < Click on OK or hit ENTER> Note there are spaces on these.

Hi settler; We don't usually remove threads or posts unless there is a very good reason. Others may not benefit by such. However if you do want to remove all personal information related to you we will be happy to do so. Unfortunately the only way to do that is for you to contact an administrator via http://extremetech.support/sendmessage.php Once you do that we will delete your account gladly if you so desire. Once done no personal information related to you will remain which includes your user name, password or anything else. It will be as you never existed. Your thread will no longer be linked to you in any way but it will remain but the name on the thread will only say "guest". Please use the link http://extremetech.support/sendmessage.php if you choose to proceed in this manner. Let us know please.

To expand on what Nev has said here and on other threads an Outlook.com email address is web based. It used to be Hotmail.com when Microsoft purchased Hotmail. Msn.com predated both. Anytime you get a Windows Live ID you will have a web based email associated with it. A Windows Live ID can be used for other Microsoft associated services such as Xbox Live. To switch between accounts you logout and login. You can have as many as you want. I currently use three different ones. It used to be you needed a Live ID from Microsoft such as an email address @msn.com or @Hotmail.com which is now @outlook.com. You can use any email address you want to create a Windows Live ID now and you will still have a email associated with it. So if you set it up with a yahoo account you will also have a new outlook.com option. Have I confused you yet? :) Easy answer just get a new Live ID and you will have a new web based email. For web based mail this is irrelevant. If you want to use a email client such as Windows Live Mail or Outlook which is part of the Microsoft Office Suite then you do need to know what type of settings the email address uses. I believe Outlook like the old Hotmail uses Imap. If you want to use a email client for your new email we can probably find the correct settings for you.

The correct settings for a Windows desktop email client can be found here although OE6 is not listed the settings should be the same.

Maybe I can answer a couple questions. I couldn't find drivers for the hp psc 1110 all-in-one printer for Windows 8. That's always a problem with hardware that old. I doubt you could use that printer. Although newer versions of Windows do not come with a email client like Outlook Express you can download Windows Live Mail from Microsoft which is part of Windows Essentials. (Link is for US version) It's very similar to OE. You may want to export your OE address book so you can import it into Windows Live Mail. If you don't want all the essentials you can choose just the ones you want to install. As far as Office Word and Excel goes you could install Open Office for free. Open Office has those functions and you can set Open Office to open your saved Word and Excel files. I've been using it for years.

I had no phone for six days and tried all the normal channels. I was finally able to find the contact info for the President/CEO and my service was restored within two hours. There are a lot of ways to find information but sometimes there are no ways. Sometimes this website can help. GetHuman http://gethuman.com/ This is not spam. I use this sometimes.

If I understand right you just want to network computers with different operating systems so you can share files. I know nothing about macs or networking between Windows and macs. However when networking different Windows versions XP makes it a real pain. Forget ftp. ftp or file transfer protocol is mainly used for uploading or downloading files to or from a server. It's main use is to upload files to a server in order to add files to a web site. A ftp client is a program that many find easier then doing it manually. Networking Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 is not too hard as you can use the Homegroup option. However if you want to add XP to these you have to set all the computers to Workgroup. That's the easy part. The workgroup name has to be the same for all computers. Use the word EVERYONE for who to share with. Change security on the shared folders including advanced security options. Remove passwords settings etc. In this thread I mentioned a few things. Notice the link to Networking home computers running different versions of Windows