Plastic Nev

From what you say, you got this odd junkware when you downloaded Firefox, where did you obtain the download from? Ideally it should be downloaded from the Mozilla Firefox website here :- https://www.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/ Nev.

For those who use it Superantispyware have released a completely new version, it has a much improved user interface, and also some new additions. More here from their website, :- http://www.superantispyware.com/ Nev.

Hi, I have nothing to help with your problem, however I can say that there is nothing wrong with Firefox itself, the download is straight forward and nothing special to do, except to make sure any unwanted software and additions other than Firefox are unticked during the download and install. The long agreement thing is nothing more than the usual end users license agreement (EULA) that you would find with most software downloads. If you are using Kaspersky antivirus and that is saying Firefox is bad or not secure it is a false positive on the part of Kaspersky. No other antivirus programs have a problem with it. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help Gandalf. I just wonder if the cloud storage you are using is similar to the one now being used by what was Windows Live Mail, they only store the documents pictures etc for a limited time, have a look at any fine print agreements and check if there is a time limit on fully live storage. Not being a mobile device user, I can only guess, another member may have better knowledge. Nev.

Hi David, we seldom lock a thread unless we really need to, however I have marked it as solved, that way if you do need to add anything more you can do. Thanks though for the update and glad that at least you have got yourself happily sorted. As a by the way, and from your latest information, it may well be a hardware fault requiring replacement of either the wireless board or card, or the Local Area Networking (LAN) cards in the old laptop. Might still be worth keeping though as a fall back computer should the need arise. Nev.

:D It explains it all doesn't it. :D If no more problems I will mark this one solved in the morning. Nev.

Possibly that the disable through the key combination hides it so well even Windows doean't know it's there. Any way glad that is all it turned out to be and thanks for letting us know. I will mark it solved later if there is nothing more. Nev.

Ah, from a spec sheet I have found here :- http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/laptop/roma3001.htm That the combination of the Fn key and F11 will either enable or disable the camera, try that key combination just in case it has been disabled by accident. From searches, it seems the normal user manual is all that is available, there seems to be no service manual available. Advent or ECS want you to send it to their repairers and not giving any info for other repair shops. so if it eventually comes to it, as far as actually getting into the laptop to replace the camera, there doesn't seem much help out there apart from a video of someone replacing a screen. Nev.

If it is not showing in device manager, there will be no drivers to replace or update. I will go have a look at what information I can find first regarding the webcam and let you know what else to look for, however, providing the web cam did once work, (I did once come across a situation where it hadn't even been fitted) I still feel it may be duff or a broken cable, as it should be in device manager as "Imaging devices". If it is duff, Windows won't be able to find it to put it into device manager. Nev.

This is an entirely new approach by the malware writers and consequently quite scary as it resides in the registry only and is very difficult to detect or remove, more here :- http://news.softpedia.com/news/Registry-Residing-Malware-Creates-No-File-for-Antivirus-To-Scan-453374.shtml Even more reason to be careful of any E Mail, even from normal contacts.

Hi Mokles, can you let us know the full model name and number of your Advent, we might be able to find some information from that. However, with there being no Imaging devices in Device manager, it could be that it is duff, or the cable that goes from the lid through the hinges has broken, as it looks like Windows cannot see it at all. If you know what the name of it is, as an example, mine is Acer Crystal eye. Type whatever yours is called into the search option after clicking start, see if it come up with anything.. Nev.

Hi Yockie, If the Lenovo firmware update didn't fix the problem and considering it is only a few months old, ideally it should go back under warranty. Quite a lot of the newer laptops and small notebooks it is not an easy job to get at and remove the battery and ideally you would require the full service manual which would of course show how. I have found that service manual for you, have a look here :- http://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/ideapad_z500p500_hmm_1st_edition_sep_2012_english.pdf It is in PDF format so you will require either the Adobe reader, or similar PDF reading program. Have a look at page 21 for general checks, then if you do need to remove the battery look at page 39, you do need to disassemble quite a bit. To check the power adapter as described on page 21 you will require a volt meter or multimeter. Personally and looking at that manual and what is required, I would certainly send it back under its warranty. Nev.

OK David, if you do want the touch screen, and there is no need for high demand programs, the Asus you linked to will be fine for you. If connection problems are there with a new laptop, it will at least mean the fault is definitely with your ISP, especially if they provided router and other equipment, as it could well be the router, even if your other smaller netbook seems to have no problems. A shame really that there is now little chance of any new laptop that comes with Windows 7 on it, they seem to have all been sold. Nev.

Hi Chappell, I am afraid life sometimes isn't that simple. Can you tell us what happens now, does it start up and run? Or is it dead and will not? What exactly happened when it crashed, what messages did it come up with? Nev.

It may be the right make, being Asus and not Acer, however as Randy said, it is too slow a processor and looking up the spec it is only a two core one. As just something to look at, this Toshiba would be slightly better for performance and is a lot cheaper too, unless of course you want the touch screen which this doesn't have. Believe me, I tried a touch screen and for intensive work, forget it. Your arms start to ache after a few minutes and if doing graphics work, touch screens have very little accuracy. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-C55-A-1N1-15-6-inch-i5-4200M/dp/B00H7911TQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_computers_28?ie=UTF8&refRID=11GVG0PGPWWXVMHTB1KP Nev.

OK David, thanks for letting us know that it seems resolved now anyway, all the best of luck and just see how it goes from now on. All I can add is that both DSTM and myself have very good reason to dislike Acer and so have a lot of other folks who actually have to work on and repair them, however if you are happy, that is in the end all that matters. Nev.

Hi, while you think about this, firstly you may find some difficulty in obtaining any new laptop running Windows 7, you may finish up with only Windows 8.1 again, though no harm in looking round. The better option would be a refurbished one that is running Windows 7. Next, though I know you like Acer, just type "Acer Aspire Problems" into Google. You will find thousands of different reports of trouble, some with fixes, others still to be resolved. It is up to you after that of course. Nev.

Hi and hello again, good to see you, not so good to see you have problems. A few things could be causing it, including the hard drive as well as your suspicion of overheating hence trying the dust clean out. So lets see what can be found first, if you haven't already got Speccy installed, you can download it from this live link, it downloads straight away. http://www.piriform.com/speccy/download/standard Once downloaded and installed, it will show us temperatures, and also some of the voltages, copy the temperatures and the voltages and post them for us to look at please. Next thing to look at is the hard drive itself and we need to perform a disk check to check that out and see if there are problems and if they can be repaired. To save me a lot of typing, performing a disk check is explained here in this Microsoft article, do as it says at the end, check and repair both file system errors and recovery of bad sectors. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-vista/check-your-hard-disk-for-errors You will be asked to restart the computer for it to perform the disk check and fix errors, please do so. Let us know how you get on with that and if any errors are reported as either fixed or not fixed. Next thing to look at is to see if the blue screen can stay there long enough for you to write down error numbers. From first start up before it boots start tapping the F8 key, you should get the advanced boot options screen. Use the up and down keys to move the highlight down to, "Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure" Then press the enter key, it will then boot up into Windows as normal, however the blue screen should stay there long enough for you to write down the error numbers for us. Please carry out all three as above and let us know the results, thanks. Nev.

Hi Dave, I wouldn't say you have been taken for a chump, however you may admit to not being experienced. Do have a look at my post above as I have added an edit. I will also say you may have a right to return as the vendor did not specify the disk was a reinstallation and for a Dell computer only. Nev.

Further to DSTM's good advice regarding Acer, which I tend to agree with, looking back at that disk, not only is it only a reinstallation disk, it has the Dell logo, meaning it is only for Dell machines, so not likely to work on your Acer anyway. If you decide eventually on a replacement computer, there are quite few good makes that are better than Acer. Edit to add, go back to Starbucks link and read page 2, there is important information regarding the product key, so you may finish up having to pay Microsoft for that key if all conditions of the downgrade are not met if using that ISO file download mentioned in DSTM's second posting. If you know already they can't be met, it may be better to be sure of buying a proper Microsoft issued Windows 7 disk from a reputable dealer, not via E Bay, as that seller was a little short of telling the full truth about the disk you bought. Nev.

LOL, I did say earlier PC World don't have such a good reputation and this is typical. Why on earth they should have needed to remove the graphics card in the first place when only fitting a new power supply is beyond me, however they obviously didn't fit it back correctly. At least now all is working, please let us know how you get on and if any more problems don't hesitate to get back to us. Give it a day or two, and if no more problems I will mark this thread as solved for you. Nev.

Hi, for once it looks like they did their part of the job right with a new power supply. So, did you fit the graphics card or someone else as it should have come with a disk for its own drivers, do you have that disk? If not can you give us the full make and model numbers of the graphics card so we can find a download site for you. Nev.

DSTM has a very good point, I am a lot suspicious of PC world and their so called technicians, I am just wondering if they disabled the card instead of fitting a new and bigger power supply. The paperwork, bill and receipt should be itemised as to what they are supposed to have done. If they have installed a newer and bigger power supply, it should all be there on the paperwork. If they haven't and as I suspect disabled the card by removing the drivers, there will not be a power supply listed. Let us know please, also was the repair bill more or less than £50, as that will give us a good clue as to what they have done. Nev.

Hi, our usual policy regarding warranty situations, which this seems now to be, if you are fairly sure the monitor is working OK, it must be the computer and I suggest taking it back along with the monitor as their work hasn't produced a working computer. My suspicion being that somehow the graphics card is no longer working. They should have tested everything and made sure it was working before returning it to you. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. Two things to try if you can, first is to try a different monitor, or try the monitor on a different computer. Whatever the power issue was on the computer, just might have damaged the monitor, so you need to be able to try those suggestions to rule out either the computer, or the monitor. Edit to add, DSTM posted at the same time, try that page he mentions first. Nev.