monkeyboy

Just popped in to wish everyone, especially the admins and mods, an extremely Happy Xmas and New Year. I don't frequent this site as much as I'd like, but it still remains an invaluble source of information/education from people truly in the know. (I'm guessing fl00d3d heed...my...warning etc... will be too busy kissing himself under the mistletoe to read this?) Anyway..... Cheers everyone! Long may you reign.:)

Make sure 'Show Quick Launch' is ticked first. (Right click taskbar. Left click properties)

Personally speaking, I'd go straight for the inverter. You won't, or shouldn't, pay more than £15 for one and then either way, you can rule it out. Not sure what Dell mean by 'converter' though? I would imagine the symptoms you describe could be associated with either the inverter or back-light bulbs, or both, but process of elimination would answer that question. As I said, it's what I would do personally. And if you follow Jelly Beans excellent guide, I've no doubt you'd do a sterling job.

Just Google 'Dell Inspirion 1520 inverter' and see for yourself. They're available from the usual suspects, ebay etc, and aren't that expensive. It would appear that the Dell guy was talking, ahem, four stars. It's located centre-bottom of your screen, just under the casing. But as I've said, it's damned tricky and unless your 100% confident, I'd get someone in. Just not Dell.

Hi macT. Are you certain nobody else has physical access to your PC? As far as I'm aware, MSN hotmail will only 'remember' an address that was typed on the actual keyboard to which the PC in question is connected. Same for anything really, Facebook, Youtube etc. I'd be fascinated to know how this one turns out. Even if it's a ghost using your bandwidth?!

Hi starman. The inverter basically powers the bulbs, which in turn light the screen up. I've only had one experience at replacing one, and to be honest, I hope it's the last. It's not the expense, it's just getting to the old one to swap it with the new. It's do-able, but it's a bugger.

Thanks for your time, RandyL. Everything you say is, of course, perfectly valid. The only spanner in the RAM, as it were, is my own desktop. 512mb but absolutely no automatic updates side-effects. They can be activated and check every day, but no lag at all. Plus, the laptop I mentioned earlier was running 1gb, but even that was gasping for breath when AU were on. Anyway, this is obviously an isolated issue (isolated to me, at least!) so I won't take up anymore of your time with it. Should I find the reason/solution, I will let you know. Cheers again for your ideas and time.

Thanks for the suggestion, DSTM. I did try that. But out of the 4 options in AU settings, 'turn off' was the only winner.

Exactly, Dalo. And it's not as if the process itself chews up that much RAM. But 2 desktops and 1 laptop were all suffering from the same problem. And all after a clean reinstallation. Baffled.com :confused:

If I may just jump in here and reiterate my initial post? It isn't the updates themselves that are causing the problem. It's the very fact that Automatic Updates are turned on. I fully understand the importance of updates, but as already stated, I'd rather decide when and how also. I still wonder why WAU should affect certain PC's in this way though. It doesn't add up. Appreciate all the input, regardless. Thanks guys.

Thank you for your swiftness and pointers. But I'm only running on 512mb of RAM, and mines smoother than a dolphins back. Could it not be associated with certain MOBO's or a conflict with Updates and certain brands, maybe? I'm guessing, obviously. Thanks for your time.

Could this not be an overheating issue? The symtoms sound familiar to a desktop I once looked at. On that occasion, the thermal paste on the CPU was non-existent.

Hi guys. I've been encountering a problem with Windows Automatic Updates on XP. I've seen said problem on numerous PC's, so I've ruled out coincidence for that reason. When WAU are activated/turned on, the performance of the PC, or the speed in which it operates, is halved. They are slow to respond and hard drive access is pretty constant from boot thereon. Deactivating Automatic Updates resolves this issue. (when wuauclt.exe has gone). Granted, all three PC's were 512mb RAM or lower, but even so.... I wondered if anyone else had come across this or, more importantly, why this occurs? Thank you in advance.

With factory settings, it's normally better to go wired before you go wireless. I'd check device manager for any exclamation marks and update any necessary drivers while you're 'plugged in'.

Given the expense and pure inconvinience of upgrading a PC, would you not consider a dedicated games machine? A PS3, for example? For the money you'd spend upgrading, why not invest? I'm lucky enough to have both, but for pure gaming I wouldn't look beyond a console, to be honest. But that's just me. And if I've offended you by using the Pl*yStatio* word, I apologise.