Plastic Nev

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. Norton is a well known problem. I recommend getting rid and using something else eventually. However for now, with the laptop disconnected from the net, disable the Norton, then check and make sure the Windows own protection is turned on. Then try the internet connection again and see how it goes. Let us know what you find please so we can advise further if that doesn't improve things. Nev.

The complexity of the Windows operating system is sometimes impossible to understand, so a complete repair, or refresh is the only way to sort out whatever part of it that may have become corrupted. Hopefully all will be OK from now on and thanks for letting us know. Nev.

Meant to post this earlier, however thanks for letting us know and lets see how you get on with it. Nev.

Hi, a good clean out of dust does usually help, is there any message when it goes blue screen? Can you let us know what the message is if there is one please.

Hi, it looks like Samsung have sent out a patch for a known issue then, see how it goes and hope all is OK. Nev.

Hi, I am no expert on these tablet devices, however I did find two possible answers to try on the Dell forums, http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/mobile-devices/f/4585/t/19585052.aspx This second one may have something useful with a mention of a test download, have a look here too. http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/mobile-devices/f/4585/t/19585494.aspx Nev.

I very much doubt that it is software related as far as updates, if it was, the sound would be off completely I think. I am actually suspecting a hardware fault. When the sound goes off, have you tried a gentle tap of the case, or moving the headphone jack in and out? If that brings the sound back it is a poor connection inside. Being a laptop, it is not recommended to take it apart to look unless very familiar with how to dismantle it, there may be a maintenance manual available on line to show that. However if not sure, it may be best to take it either back to where you bought it, or a reputable technician. If knocking it, or other movements do nothing, we can try upgrading or replacing the sound system drivers. Also on looking back, you mentioned the test symbols in the sound management window, do they actually produce sounds even though video's or other music doesn't? A yes or no to that could be important. Nev.

First of all I would recommend installing 8.1, although on the surface it may not seem much, it is the major improvements to stability and security which are basically under the bonnet sort of thing. After that, see how it goes, if however you still find problems, there are two alternatives to check if it is either hardware or software which is to try external speakers plugged in firstly to the sound out 3mm port, and the second is to try some USB speakers that plug into a USB port. That will at least rule in or out faulty laptop speakers. Nev.

Hi, sorry for the pun, but this sounds more like an internet connection problem. Have you any sound, music or whatever saved to your computer, or a disk drive that you can play a CD, if so is there any problem with sound then? Also, why haven't you upgraded to 8.1? Doing the upgrade might help. Nev.

For video editing I think you will find that the things you wish to do such as colour correction, sharpness etc within a video, you will have to pay for a program, I have tried many different free video editors, not one of them would do what you want. However I did write a review on one that at least can improve on colour and to some extent other problems, and you can find the review and a link for the software in our forum magazine here :- http://magazine.freepchelp.uk/look-lightworks-video-editor-pro/ It is a paid for software, however not too expensive in comparison to some others, unfortunately the down side to that is the license is only for twelve months, so if you wish to continue you do have a fee to pay each year. That though is no different than some paid for antivirus software as they are also for twelve months at a time. Lightworks is a fully professional software and as I said in the review, to use it to its full potential, it does have a big learning curve, though well worth the effort once you find and learn its capabilities. Nev.

I have to ask about the Photoshop software and how genuine it is, and also do you intend paying Adobe for a license key to make it activate? If there is any sort of piracy suspected we cannot help, and I suggest that you buy a current copy from either a legitimate dealer or directly from Adobe. If there are problems after that, then we may be able to help. Nev.

Hi David, it may be those power settings have gone back to the default settings, that can sometimes happen when updates are installed. Just check and if they have, reset them to not turn off again. Otherwise, Windows 7 can be installed, either as a dual boot or to completely replace Windows 8.1 Not many folk like Windows 8 on ordinary computers, laptops or desktops, in fact most of us only got it to help learn how to fix it, not actually use it. I haven't even got it yet and don't want too. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. The first thing to do is to change the password for that account, and to change it to a strong or difficult to guess one. The ideal is random letters mixed with three or four numbers and at least eight letters and numbers. If hackers are involved, the quicker you change your password the better it will be for you, as once done, the hacker is locked out. This type of hacking is common on Hotmail, Google Mail, Yahoo Mail and a few others The hackers use a very fast working password guessing computer program, the first thing it does is run through all the more obvious and well known passwords, then goes to more complex ones. If it hasn't cracked a way in to an account after several minutes, they know they have a difficult one and move on to someone else's account, the stronger and better the password, the less chance they can hack into your account. As an example, I always make my passwords at least ten characters long and with random numbers mixed in. Where capital letters can be used in a password, those should also be included. An Example could be, (don't use this one though) :- hL3neWcr1X7. Yes that is impossible to easily remember, which also helps make it such a good one. Nev.

Hi, you need to change the boot order to the CD/DVD drive so it can see the restore disks now. You should be able to change the order in the BIOS system and to get to that, straight after pushing the main start button, keep tapping the F1 key. If that doesn't work, try again using the F12 key. Once you have changed the boot order so that the CD/DVD drive is at the top of the list, put the first disk in, then when asked select "Repair my computer". Let us know if that works or if you get the same errors. Nev.

Hi, I am scratching my head now and wondering if there is some malware doing it now as other options seem to have been tried. have you done a scan for and to fix any virus/malware with Avast? Do you have any other security software such as Malwarebytes, if so have you run any scans with that? Let us know about what any scans find and if needed we will get the malware guys involved. If not sure about where to get Malwarebytes and how to use it if you don't already have it, just follow step 1 for now from this page :- http://extremetechsupport.com/threads/15547-Before-posting-for-Malware-Removal-help-Windows-8#.U8GJJbE1CCA We will only need to go the full distance of that page if there is something nasty shows up with any of your scans. Nev.

OK, Quirky, indeed it is sounding weird, however, all I can ask now is to think back to whatever you did from when the video worked, to the present moment when it no longer does, there has to be something doing it. Even opening a program, if badly coded it can change a setting somewhere else. If all update systems were effectively off and the fault still occurs, it has to be something else that has been done causing it. Nev.

Great news Andy, it is surprising that connections can work loose, also sometimes the metal of the plug contacts can oxidise, so removing and replacing scrapes the oxide off back to a clean surface. Otherwise, If it does go off again, it may be worth buying another cable just in case it is a little faulty, they aren't that expensive. Nev.

Hi Andy, this is a real disappointment for you after what we have done so far. A lot of what you have showed us in the screen shots is pointing to a possible hard drive failure, or it could also be faulty RAM. How many stick of RAM are there? Here are a few things to look at, first is to check that the small ribbon data cable is properly connected to both the hard drive and also the mother board, pull the plugs off then put them back is best. Do that with the power cable too. If still no go, if more than one stick of ram, remove all except one and try it. If still no go, take that one out and replace it with one of those you did pull out until all have been tried one at a time, if one is faulty it should show up straight away. Let us know what you find with that please. Nev.

Good to hear that and that all is working well. I will mark this as solved, and thanks for letting us know. Nev.

Hi, can you just clarify something for us please about the disk you have, did it come with the computer, or is it a disk you made when the computer was new, or is it the original Microsoft disk used if the computer was a built one either built by you or someone else? If one of the first two, it may be that it will only reinstall to the original hard drive! Next, did you manage to get it to install before it asked for the product key, or did it refuse to install without the key? If it is refusing to install, did you have a look at the link Wellies gave, there are instructions for obtaining a dummy key to start the install. This is the link, try clicking on this :- here is someone who has If nothing will work, it may mean a call to Microsoft. Nev.

You should be able to install the Windows 8 onto the SSD, then use the Microsoft updates to then install the upgrade to 8.1. The original product key will still be the same so shouldn't cause a problem. However, I am not fully up to speed on Windows 8 as I don't yet have that system so others may know more. Nev.

Been using Firefox for years, OK it has had its problems, but usually quickly fixed when the Mozila team are made aware of them. At present this version 30 is nice and stable. Nev.

Thanks for the clarification Rusty K, we are still waiting to see if Quirky has found which update is causing the problem. Nev.

Happy independence day to all our American members, hope you are all having a good day.

Hi, if it shows you have it in your control panel, you should be able to download the shockwave player which will update the version you have, from Adobe via that page I linked to, at least then you know it is genuine. However, I have just re-read your first post, the pop up says "Previous" web page? If you have changed to a new page I can't see it being relevant. Have you run scans with security/antivirus software? If so what results and which software was used please. Nev.