Plastic Nev

Hi Louise, no need to be sorry to us, we are here to help and actually a shame I am so far away in Lancashire. However that of course means I cannot possibly know any reputable dealer or repair shop in your area, Ken also is similarly placed as he also is not too far away from me. If we do have other members in your area they may be of more assistance regarding that if they pick up on this subject. As far as Windows 8 is concerned, I know very little as I have yet to even try it, however I do know there is a program that can be downloaded for turning the main screen into similar to Windows 7 or even XP, Ken I think does know more than I do about that program though. Nev.

It won't hurt to try this link, it will test you current shockwave flash player or prompt you to update it if out of date. If it needs to be updated and you allow it, be careful when it asks if you want to install Chrome, if you don't want the Chrome browser, remove the tick from the boxes. http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/ Nev.

Acer are pretty good and usually reliable, I hope it is OK for you. Nev.

The trouble is that there are so many different things can cause that crackling noise, a program running in the background, even a mobile phone nearby can do it. By now you may have a lot of things on the computer, but if not I would try a fresh install of Windows, just in case there is a problem in the operating system. However one easy thing to check, is disconnect from the internet first, then turn off or disable temporarily all of your security, antivirus, firewall etc. At least that will rule out them or not. Nev.

Hi, it's saying unspecified because Windows cannot recognise it properly. The only thing I can say now is to try to get in touch with the manufacturer of the headset, explain the problem and ask if they have an install disk for it, there may be a small charge for it including any postage if they do have one. Nev.

Hi,have you tried the first thing in that link and turned off all the enhancements? does doing so make any difference? Nev.

Hi John, when the Samsung drive is plugged in and supposedly running, can you feel any slight vibration on it? the best drives in the world will still give a slight amount that you can feel when holding it. (Except of course for solid state or SSD drives) If there is no vibration at all, that will be the answer as the disks will not be spinning. That can happen when a drive is stored unused, the disk bearings can seize up. If no vibration at all, try rapping it with your knuckles, not too hard, but enough to hopefully get the moving parts actually moving. Nev.

Might be a silly question here, but the original version of Macrium Reflect you first downloaded to make the clone, unless you uninstalled it, should still be on the system. Is it? If it is, now you have installed a newer version, it would probably be best to find and uninstall the earlier version then there is no chance of confusion arising from it. Nev.

It's a typical download manager with the first download, a lot of software vendors are using them now. You download the manager, hence the small file, the manager installs itself, then in turn downloads the main high file sized software. Rather strange though where all those PUP's came from for Jontye. Nev.

Hi, has it made any difference though? or is the crackling noise still there? If it hasn't done so, there are many other reasons for this problem of crackling. So after a search I found this blog post from Corey, try his suggestions, if still no good look down the comments underneath, there are plenty of other idea's including turning off a part of Malwarebytes if you have the pro version, and even a download of the original Vista driver, any one of them might be the cure. http://corey.degrandchamp.com/2010/11/25/fixed-windows-7-sound-popping-cracking-skipping/ Nev.

Hi, Which version of Windows 7, is it 32bit or 64bit, and also has it already got SP1 installed with it? There are many odd reasons for the crackling sounds, though if the original driver is a 32bit one and you have the 64bit Windows7, might be a cause. However it could just be a faulty driver anyway, even though it reports as working OK. Go back to device manager, and find the Realtek driver, check that it says the driver version is 6.0.1.5983 or a higher number please, if different let us know first and what the version number says. Then click "Uninstall". Then reboot the computer, Windows should then search for and reinstall new drivers. If it can't, let us know and I will look for the current driver to download and install. Nev.

Hi Joanie, nothing will be lost or deleted during these updates, they are only changes to Windows itself, and does not affect any other data, pictures, music, documents will all stay the same. Nev.

Thanks for letting us know Bernie and good to know it has worked out well for you. Nev.

Hi, we could do with some information please, firstly what make and model of computer, if you installed Windows 7 what was the previous operating system on it, do you know how much RAM is installed, and lastly can you tell us the type of sound system it has, is it the Realtek HD or the earlier AC 97? Nev.

Hi, although the software is newer, there hasn't been much changed in the way you use it, so Kens Tutorial should see you through OK. I will only add that for the rescue disk that should be made and kept safe, I do recommend making the Windows PE environment disk, it does take longer to do than the Linux disk, but is worth the time taken as it is a better disk and easier to follow the instructions which come with it, if and when it is needed. Nev.

This article explains how someone lost over $400,000 to the criminals while actually dealing with the bank. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/on-line-banking-how-safe-is-it/ Nev.

Hi Bernie, I also agree about those things and I bought a cheap mini optical mouse for a few £'s, plenty of them about in most major supermarkets. As for disabling the touch pad, I would recommend you only disable the tap function to prevent odd taps causing a link to be clicked inadvertantly etc. If you disable the pad altogether, and something goes wrong with the external mouse, you have a problem. To disable the tap function, click "start" then select control panel, and find Mouse, open that and it then depends on who made the touch pad, however if it is like mine it is a Synaptics one, click on the device settings tab, then click the settings button, look for "tapping" and click that, you should see a tick box, just remove the tick, click apply where necessary and close out. The tap function should be disabled then. Moving a finger over the pad will still move the pointer around, but to click on something you need the left or right buttons. Nev.

Hi Pev, I assume the keyboard port on the old computer is the round PS2 type, or is it even earlier and a "D" shape? I take it there are no USB ports on the computer too? If the computer has a PS2 style port, you can get an adapter to take a USB type plug, have a look here :- http://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-Replacement-USB-Keyboard-Adapter/dp/B000A0K2JO/ref=pd_sim_computers_4 Can't be sure it will work, but at the price, why not try it? Nev.

Please don't try that, it isn't needed unless the price is lower than this, and actually may not do what this will do. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-Optical-DTS-AC3-Dolby-to-5-1-Analog-SPDIF-RCA-Audio-Gear-Sound-Decoder-/290632471975 According to the specifications this will take the digital coaxial signal from you SPDIF output on the TV, then give the three outputs to the green, black, and orange analogue 3.5mm connectors you have from the 5.1 sound unit. Nev.

Connecting to the headphone jack will not give surround sound as that signal is not digital which SPDIF is. I haven't time right now to look into what that Creative system requires, but will do so tomorrow and be able to let you know better what is needed. Also any chance of a look at that SPDIF output socket on your TV? Is it of the RCA type? Nev.

Hi, can you give me the make and model of your 5.1 system please, it might help. However the digital input to it should be the orange connection for wired, however the black may also be an optical digital input, the SPDIF out of your TV, I hope is also optical if it is of the TOSLINK type. If I can be sure that optical is at both ends, a simple optical cable is best, however if the black one is not an optical input, it will mean a SPDIF to wired converter, However there is a large range of different combinations for connecting one to the other, we just need to know if it is optical or not. If you would like some technical information about what SPDIF is all about, have a look at these links. Some of it is a bit deep, but the general idea is there. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/printpage/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-the-SPDIF-Connection/82 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPDIF Nev.

Looking good and we now know what to recommend if someone else asks for similar, well done.

Ideally a sound system that can connect directly to the SPDIF output is the best, however I would suggest the SPDIF converter being second best rather than trying to use the 1.5mm headphone out. Nev.

Hi, I don't know of any software that can do that directly, the only reasonable free sound handling software which is really meant for recording sound is Audacity, it may be worth looking into though perhaps and you can download it from here :- http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Otherwise, a more up to date headset isn't expensive. Nev.

Hi, as you say, after looking at various images on line, there does not appear to be any "F" keys, however the very top row of smaller keys, although I cannot make out what is on them other than their main function, they may become "F" keys in combination with the FN key. None of the images of the keyboard are really clear enough to make out what their function is when combined with the FN key, but is worth looking into. Nev.