BeeCeeBee

Good suggestions and observations, Paul. I would dispute only your recommendation of AVG. I think you will find bit Avira and Avast to be far superior with far less getting through. What were your upgrades. Also just for briggsy's information, if you are considering anything close to serious gaming you would need a non integrated graphics card and that can be costly on a laptop. I don't think that the Syms would be considered serious gaming though.

Leaving aside the question of whether you have a malware issue (you mention AVG but nothing else) and taking into account that you are connected, there appear to be a number of areas that may be causing a problem. Broadband is a shared resource and you indicate that your problems seem greatest both before and after work. This is a normal overload time in most residential areas. How is your connection at other times. I use Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test and usually get pretty reliable results. Even if they are inaccurate it will show the comparisons at different times. The fact that you seem to speed up when you reboot your router may mean something but it is not likely that the root of your problem lies there. In short the most likely answer is that you have issues with your ISP. Your apparent lack (and I may have read you wrong here ) of any security beyond AVG does give some cause for concern. There are far better free programs available and anti virus alone is not sufficient for your protection. I would also suggest that you empty your internet cache deleting all temporary internet files.

Just to be clear, when using Word (and perhaps open office) the combo of Ctrl;Alt ; = pressed together will toggle between regular and superscript. Remember it is like a toggle switch. The point is everything you type afterward will be in superscript. So if you want degrees just hit o, same with th etc. Far easier if you do not need a specific symbol.

What simple question was that? :D

If you go into your security center and disable the firewall briefly and try again it will indicate whether that is the issue or not. If it is the reset the firewall to its default settings and see if that effects a permanent cure. I have my doubts by the way and still believe that it may be malware.

Dougie if you are only referring to MS word or other Office applications the simple short cut is to press Ctrl Shift and equal (=) at the same time. Release them and you should then be typing in superscript. To return to normal just repeat the process like a toggle. If you try that on the forum all that will happen is a zoom.

There was a point when I could not isolate a random event. I am not even sure what it was. I did the following and it worked. It is, however, about as annoying a process as you can get. Open your task manager (ctrl, alt, del) and leave it running with applications showing and sit there. If the cause is a program or application it should appear at the same time as the "knocking." I would also keep my finger poised on the PrtSc and hit it as soon as something pops up. Not much fun but it may help isolate the source.

Just some of the software extras nothing to worry about. If you buy it we can help you sort the good from the bad.

Mike you still have not told us about the discs.

Can you please tell us the make and model of your new PC so we can take a look for you?

I know that you are going to get suggestions here. Mine is to place little value on the anti virus that they offer. It is usually Norton or McAfee and, frankly, not all that great. We have some really good free programs that we recommend and have absolutely no financial interest in. What are the actual specs on the Dell and how will you be using it. That makes a great deal of difference.

Please let us know if the scans show anything or if you need disinfection help. Otherwise watch this space. RPG = Role Playing Game?

Not anywhere near as much as we hate it when people edit their post after an answer is supplied to make it seem like we missed something. :) There is a shot editing period allowed sufficient for minor corrections right after posting. That is not the case here. I am glad you clarified the issue as it makes a world of difference. Speakers never occurred to me. Our hardware guys are around soon and may be able to help get to the bottom of this. Also Plastic Nev seems to know his way around the sound part of things as much of what he does involves music. A little patience should bring you suggestions.

Assuming that you do not have a disc spinning in your optical drive or that it is not deciding to "go for a spin" on its own there seems to be only two other things it could be. 1. A fan is acting up in some way, perhaps from dirt or dust, and is knocking, or 2. Your hard drive may be failing. That sort of covers the array of moving parts. One thing I would do ASAP is make sure you have good backup on an external media just in case it turns out to be the hard drive. I am leaning toward the fans (because a failing hard drive sound is usually described as ticking) but lets wait for the hardware guys to weigh in.

There are a number of simple things you may want to look at. First, under internet options, are your security settings set higher than Internet? (Ie. Trusted Sites) If you are using a firewall, is it being blocked in some way? Are you only being blocked from entering the encrypted area of the site such as your account or is the entire site blocked?

Are you doing anything at all when this happens? Could this be described as a ticking sound?

How to obtain the latest Windows 2000 service pack Apparently correct.

You asked about trying your boot using disc again. You did not, however, reply to Tootech's question. It was asked for a reason and the answer would have helped find a possible solution. I really do not know why you feel you are being neglected, Mike. If you will supply the information needed you will get a reply.

Laptops do that Roger. The thing is the high cpu usage seems to only be related to the use of the optical drive. I take it that all other issues in this regard are gone, is that correct? If so, it may be prudent to try another drive. Even an external one to see if you get the same result. It would be a shame to format your drive and go to all that trouble only to find it was a hardware issue all along. Unfortunately the reverse is also true if you go out and buy a new drive.

You will be able to find the updated drivers for your printer here: Select software and drivers* I would suggest that you just go with the basic drivers rather than the full featured download. It seems that if your bold € symbol show up on word it is not the keyboard. For some reason your printer is not processing this command. If the drivers don't solve the problem then I would suggest installing a different printer if you have access to one. If there is still no solution we will have to dig deeper.

It does appear that something has gotten past Norton (which is not surprising) and managed to install the ad.yieldmanager.com onto your system. You can try to see if it shows up in add or remove programs (doubtful) and uninstall it but even then I suspect it will just come back. You did not do this voluntarily I assume. The fact that it is getting worse is also not surprising and I expect you will find it effecting IE7 as well. I would strongly urge that you follow our disinfection procedure. This should take care of the problem. Once completed you may want to consider alternatives to Norton. We will be happy to help you with that. Our program requires the installation of a few very safe and effective tools. When you are done I suggest you keep them and use them. Your computer appears to be infected with Malware. Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. It is a combination of the words malicious and software. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. It is in your best interest to note the following: Please disable your resident security applications (such as AVG, Spybot, WinPatrol, etc.) before performing the below procedure so that they do not interfere with the process. Perform all the steps in the order listed to avoid any conflicts. If unsure, please stop and voice your doubts. You might be required to go offline during the disinfection process. Therefore, it is recommended to print off the instructions below for ease of reference. If you stick to the above guidelines, all should go smoothly. ================================================ STEP 1 Download ATF-Cleaner by Atribune. Save the file to your Desktop. Double-click on the file to run the program. On the Main tab, check the Select All button. Next, click on the Firefox tab (if applicable) and check the Select All button. Note: If you would like to preserve your saved passwords in Firefox, then click No at the corresponding prompt. Now, click on the Opera tab (if applicable) and check the Select All button. Note: If you would like to preserve your saved passwords in Opera, then click No at the corresponding prompt. Press the Empty Selected button and click OK to acknowledge the corresponding prompt. Click on the Exit button to quit the program. ================================================ STEP 2 Please click here to download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Save the file to your Desktop. Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program. At the end, make sure a check mark is placed next to: Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware [*] Click Finish. [*] The program will download and update itself if it finds the necessity to do so. Please allow this. [*] Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click Scan. Note: Depending on your computer specifications, the scan may take some time to complete. Please wait patiently and do not interrupt the process. [*] When the scan is complete, click OK, and then Show Results to view the results. [*] Make sure that every entry is selected, and click Remove Selected. [*] Restart your computer. ================================================ STEP 3 Please click here to download SUPERAntiSpyware (Free Version). Save the file to your Desktop. Double-click SUPERAntiSpyware.exe and follow the prompts to install the program. Open SUPERAntiSpyware. Under Configuration and Preferences, click the Preferences button. Click the Scanning Control tab. Under Scanner Options make sure the following fields checked: [*] Click the Close button to leave the control center screen. [*] On the main screen, under Scan for Harmful Software click Scan your computer. [*] On the left, make sure you check mark C:\Fixed Drive. [*] On the right, under Complete Scan, choose Perform Complete Scan. [*] Click Next to start the scan. Please be patient while it scans your computer. [*] After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with potentially harmful items that were detected. Click OK. [*] Make sure every entry has a check mark next to it and click Next. [*] A notification will appear that Quarantine and Removal is Complete. Click OK and then Finish to return to the main menu. [*] Restart your computer. ================================================ STEP 4 Please visit the ESET Online Scanner, using Internet Explorer to initiate the scan. Note: If you are running Windows Vista, then you will need Administrative privileges to complete the latter part of the procedure. To do so, right-click on the Internet Explorer icon in the Start Menu and select the Run As Administrator option in the shell context menu. Check mark the YES, I accept the Terms of Use box. Click the Start button. Click the Install button on the following screen. Click Start. This will will initialize and update the scanner engine. Check mark the box beside Remove found threats. Click the Scan button. This will start the scan. Please be patient while it is in progress. Restart your computer. ================================================ STEP 5 Click on Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and select System Restore. Choose the radio button marked Create a Restore Point on the first screen and click Next. Give the restore point a name then click Create. The new point will be stamped with the current date and time. Keep a note of this so you can find it easily should you need to use System Restore. Next, click on Start > Run, type Cleanmgr and click on OK. Click on the More Options tab. Click the Clean Up button in the System Restore section to remove all previous restore points except the most recent one. This will remove any infected files that have been backed up by Windows. The files in "System Restore" are protected to prevent any programs changing those files. This is the only foolproof way to ensure the deletion of those files. Note: Please don't use it on a regular basis as this will clear all previous restore points. The feature might be very useful to revert your computer to working condition if something goes wrong. Re-enable all your security applications and please return here and tell us how the computer seems to be operating. Happy Safe Computing! http://extremetechsupport.com/forum/../../images/additional-smilies/thumb.gif Close browsers before scanning Scan for tracking cookies Terminate memory threats before quarantining

A few last questions that I forgot to ask. What browser do you use while on the inernet. IE 7 or Firefox or another. Also, have you been keeping up with your Microsoft updates. If you know what service pack you are running let us know. If you do not just right click on "My Computer" select properties and it should tell you right on the page that opens.

Can you tell us what forms of malware protection you are using? (anti virus, anti malware and firewall)

As this is thread number 55 I do knot know if this has been asked and answered already. It is far easier to simply ask again. Has there ever been a time when you removed the heatsink from the cpu even just to clean it?

What ad manager are you referring to? Do you notice anything out of the ordinary when navigating on the internet?