5teve

OK, it all seems to be working well apart from some small problem with orientation with the mouse pad. I need to find a way to make it less sensitive or even disable it altogether when typing. During the normal course of events, I have switches this Acer laptop off maybe 20 times and 20 times I get a message telling me not to switch off untile Windows 7 has finished downloading and installing stuff, Grrrrrr.

Thanks guys I now have Windows 7 running fine with MSE, Malwarebytes and the router's firewall. All is well chez Steve Cheers, m'dears, Merry Christmas to one and all.

Hi guys, To make the title clearer, I want to either disable the mousepad or at least make it less sensitive to touch. The laptop is an Acer Adpire 5920 and it runs very well except for that problem. I asked about it on my local "Techie" forum but all that they could suggest was that I disable the mousepad but no info on how to even attempt doing that. To give you a better idea of what is going on, it's as though my hands and sleeves, though not touching the mousepad. pass instructions to it something similar to a "Magic Pen" on a Samsung Galaxy Note 10,1. I can only describe it like one of those because I have one. It means that you can do a left click or right click without actually touching the surface of the pad. So any clues would be much appreciated. Cheers. Steve

Update Mk2 ..... OK, where were we? The activation went smoothly with just a couple of complications. I followed the instructions as laid out for me by the seller in a leaflet kind of thing. The only snags were that the instructions seemed a little bit out of date but a bit of jiggery-pokery and guesswork got it all going. Next problem was understanding what the bloke doing the Automated Telephone Activation speech was saying. It was probably 50/50 with his Americanese and my stupidity but it took a while and 3 phone calls for me to understand that the very first set of Security numbers that I had to tap in, had to be tapped in using the numbers on the telephone's keypad and not tapped in using the numbers on my computer's keyboard. But once I got that. we were up and running. All done now and my laptop seems happy running Windows 7 sp1 Thanks guys Steve

UPDATE ..... Don't panic, lads, but I'm just about to start the Activation sequence on this 'ere laptop. I've been a bit tied up of late and this is the first chance that I've had to do it. I'll let you know how it goes later. Cheers, Steve

So ..... The best plan of action is to download but not install MSE and then drop the internet. Delete Avast and install MSE. Re-connect. Do an update followed by a full scan. Remove Superantispyware and use the router's firewall. Job done. Cheers for all your help, Steve.

Ooops. I may have dropped a wotsit. I bought this ..... http://tinyurl.com/o9c46r2 Couple of things to bear in mind is that the old drive is SATA and it is less than 10mm tall. Also, like I said before, I'm impatient, lol. Anyway, I think I got the right one, or if not "right", one that will probably do the job. Nev .... You missed one. If you come out of Park and turn left and go up the main street, there's a Mobility shop on the right and just opposite is a small PC shop. He sells loads of cheap desktops and laptops. BTW ...... whereabouts in Blackburn do you live? I live just down Manxman Rd from the Roman Rd end.

Hi, Ken, I haven't tried to activate the new install of Win 7 on the laptop yet. To be honest, I just haven't had the time. As for needing files off of the old drive, no, I don't think so. Still. it's a good idea to buy a gizmo that will let me use the old hard drive as a bit of extra storage space. BTW, is that gizmo called an "enclosure" and does one connect to the other via USB? ..... ** writes reminder to look on eBay** Cheers, Steve.

Hi guys and guyesses (gotta keep the Memsahibs sweet) I use a Mac for my main computing duties so I don't bother with AV stuff much. I just have one programme running all the time that updates itself as and when required, ClamXav scans and protects without me getting in the way. However, in the olden days of using XP Pro, I had 3 programmes to update and run. Avast for AV duties, Malwarebytes to take care of malware and something called Superantispyware to take care of the rest. So the question is, Will my laptop be covered if I download and run those 3 programmes or are there better plans afoot for Windows7 Pro sp1? Cheers, Steve.

Hi, Ken, You wrote ...... You could have changed this in the Boot.ini file on XP ... I think you are confusing me with somebody who knows their way around a computer, lol Actually, I missed a bit out of the OP. I had a lot of stuff written out to explain just why the new hard drive was being used but I was dragged away by the Dragon Lady who needed me to walk round ASDA with her. When I got back, this forum refused to let me add more text to my post and then lost it into cyber-space. The short version is that I tried to install Ubuntu as a dual boot system on my laptop but it didn't seem to work as I hoped so I tried to get rid of it but I couldn't do that. Hence the idea to change the hard drive and update the Windows software. I suppose you guessed that NIOS should have been BIOS, duh!!. Anyway, cheers for the info about Activating. Steve.

Thank you Plastic Nev, For info, my laptop was running Windows XP Pro, SP3. As for the BIOS system, I have no idea what kind it is. All that I can say is that it didn't seem to look like the NIOS systems that I used back in the days of running Windows 3.11 which was probably the last time that I looked. BTW, I forgot to mention my other problem, impatience. I can't even wait 10 minutes, lol. OK, so let me tell you what happened. I decided to do the hard drive swap 'cos I tried maybe a dozen times to alter the Boot order but with no joy. The system kept reverting to a list of possible boot options, waiting 30 seconds and then booting into Ubuntu. Nothing that I tried would alter that. So, I removed the battery and then undid the screws all round the edge of the hard drive cover. It's an odd shaped thing but more or less an "L" shape. With that off, I unscrewed 2 screws that held the hard drive down. Once they were out, I just pulled the hard drive back to the far end of its little area and then removed it from its housing by undoing the 4 screws. Putting the new hard drive in was just a simple reversal of taking it out. Once the battery was back in place and the mains lead was connected and plugged into the mains I used a tiny screwdriver to open the DVD tray and dropped the Windows 7 Pro in place... I had no idea what to expect next so I just crossed my fingers and hit the Start button. It all seemed to go fairly well and once I got to the stage of entering my location and keyboard language, it was off. It was only when it virtually finished that I found a few problems. I got my Network running OK just by adding my router's password. Then I had the internet up and running and IE8 downloaded and installed 134 items .......... only it didn't. It downloaded about 40 of the items and installed them but then it stopped stone dead until I re-started the system. Then it downloaded a few more etc, etc until, eventually, I had them all done. For my next trick, I wanted some AV software so I went to the MSE site and did the download, updated it and did a full scan. There were no issues but then, I didn't really expect any. Then it was time for a new browser and, for my pains, I picked Mozella Firefox, mostly because I used to use it all the time until I changed over to Chrome on my Mac. And that's where I am now. The clever types amongst you will note that I have made no mention of typing in the Key-Code letters and numbers anywhere. That's because, as yet, I haven't been asked to do it. Maybe it will all fall apart tomorrow but until then ....... Cheers, Steve

Hi guys, I have a sick Acer Aspire 5920. The laptop itself is fine. It's just the software that needs some help. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I decided to buy a new hard drive and install Windows 7 Pro (64 bit) on it. It was only then that I asked myself if the 2 were compatible. I had it in my head that this laptop accepted 64 bit software but now that push comes to shove, I can't find any details anywhere. Have you guys got any ideas before I try to make it happen and cost myself a lump of cash? Cheers, Steve

Update ..... Just to let you know how things are going on. I bought a new Windows 8.1 version that, as far as I have been told, I'll be able to install this software on to the laptop and wipe all the other stuff off. I won't have time to do it today but I'll let you know what happens. Cheers, Steve.

Thank you, Synapse. That's the problem, though. When I bought the laptop, that was all I got. so there is no XP disc for me to use. I could maybe buy an XP disc on eBay and use that but if I'm going to do that, I may as well buy a Windows 7 disc or even a Windows 8 disc, but will they work in this situation? Any help appreciated. Steve

Hi Guys and Guyesses, I have a problem with an old Acer laptop. I bought it "As is" about 4 years ago and all I got was the laptop and the power lead. It had Windows XP Pro installed on it and, to be fair, it has been a good little laptop that has never caused any major problems. None, that is, until I started messing around with it. I decided to give Linux a try out so I got a Ubuntu disc and installed it on the laptop as a dual boot system. In other words, when I start the laptop, I have to make a choice, XP or Ubuntu. Again, it all works perfectly and the only downside is that to change from using XP to Ubuntu, I have to restart the lappy. But then I found out about something called VirtualBox which, so they say, will allow me to open the laptop into XP every time and then open Ubuntu from within XP just like any other windows programme. As added advantage would be the ability to copy/paste files from one OS to the other. But the $64,000 question is, How do I delete Ubuntu. My apologies for boring you with all the info but that's just me. Cheers for ant help and suggestions. Steve