eniacap

Everything working normally according to Device Manager. However I've received a message from Vaio support saying exactly what you have just said, so I've done a safe mode restore back to July and now I'm up and running. Honestly I have changed nothing since July on this computer as I use the other 2 more often. Maybe something has downloaded itself unknown to me. Many thanks for all your help.

Yes cover to cover, but didn't see anything to help. What I find most puzzling is that this laptop has worked OK on this router for a couple of years, and I have made no changes to cause the present problem - no new hardware or software.

Yes the MAC address was given in the manual, but no sign there of a WEP or WPA Key. I think the issue of the Key is resolved. My problem now is similar to the other current thread, my laptop receives a strong signal from the router but doesn't connect:-(

I've just tried that, and it doesn't work when connected directly via ethernet cable. It still can't find the router/address:-(

Many thanks for that advice. I've found 3 WPA keys on the Vaio (in hex) but entering them has not got me up and running. It's still hanging there "waiting for network" or "acquiring network address", so although my original query has been fully answered, it's back to the drawing board :-(

Thanks Dalo - I'm not sure I understand. On the machines which are OK I just double click on Firefox/I.E. and I'm on line - broadband cable permanently connected.

Thanks Grey Cell. The manual does indeed give the IP address and username/pw you gave above. I typed the 192.168.11.1 into the Vaio browser and of course it couldn't connect to the internet. I got a message that the network adapter couldn't find the network address. It hung for ages seeking to acquire the network address. If the network address is 192.168.11.1 how can I get the adapter to find it?

My Sony Vaio laptop (Windows XP home SP2) has stopped connecting to internet via my wirelss router Buffalo Air Station 54G. My other laptop and desktop work OK so no Router problems. I contacted Vaio support and they told me to uninstall the Network adapter in Device manager, switch off then Vaio re-installs. Next step click on network connection, where the Vaio asks me for a WPA key to enter. Vaio support say this is a matter for Buffalo support. The Buffalo guidance notes say they don't use encryption. There is a SSID LAN MAC address but no sign of WPA or WEP. Advice greatly appreciated.

Lost File As a finale to this thread may I thank all those who have offered help. I suppose my optimism that something could be done stems from an article in a magazine stating that there is no safe way to delete/overwrite data on a hard drive and that there are spooks/geeks out there who can recover anything that has once been on there. They went on to say that the only safe way to keep prying eyes from your data is to take a hammer and physically destroy the drive:-)

Lost File Well I've downloaded RECUVA and used it to search the whole computer for all deleted files both recoverable and overwritten, which took more than an hour, but didn't find the one I'm missing. This looks like the end and I'll have to start over again, but I'll be for ever curious about how such a large file can vanish without trace. Thanks

Lost File No one used my computer immediately after each editing session, but my son uses it to put images of stuff he's selling on eBay about once a month and my Grand daugher uses it, when he's finished, to play games. He keeps his (scanned) images in a separate file and I'm always nagging him to delete those he has sold, to free up my computer. So maybe accidentally...........:-)

Lost File It's unlikely but certainly possible. I normally load into photoshop by selecting from "recent" files menu, and likewise when saving don't alter the location. However, having searched the whole computer for any and all image files, and the results are displayed as thumbnails, I would have spotted them under another name. Thanks

Lost File PS On further reflection I think it likely that I saved each individual edited image into the StBarb file and not a separate folder, therefore there will be only one missing file and not several.

Lost File Well I have done a complete search including system and hidden files and all of drives C and D. All that turns up is the StBarbF1t mentioned earlier in the thread and part of which (1 thumbnail) is now saved as StBarbF1t.jpg. Thanks

Lost File Many thanks for that comprehensive reply. I'm still not sure I have described the original scan properly. I have a frame containing eight 2"x2" holes in which to fit mounted 35mm slides. This frame just fits the A4 size bed of the scanner. The result when fitted on the screen (about 7.5% of full size) is a single image comprising the outline frame and 8 small slide images. This image was saved as StBarb. I then imported this (several times)into photoshop, magnified to maybe 25% and cut out one of the slide images. This image is "improved" and saved separately (about 5mb) as a jpeg. This process continued over (say) eight days and I cannot imagine that I failed to save them on each of several days. In fact I know I saved them because some were re-opened for further work on subsequent days. However I cannot be certain that I saved them to a particular folder, but save them I did:-) I think I have included hidden and system files in my search routine but I'll try again. Thanks