Plastic Nev

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. One thing to try which will at least prove the BIOS OK or not. If the laptop has a working DVD drive select that as the first boot device and try a Linux or other bootable disk in the drive, if it boots from that then most of the system is OK, but proving then that it is most likely a connection issue for the hard drive. Nev.

Hi, it's getting complicated isn't it? OK, the graphics card fan being noisy could be the bearings on the fan, that means a replacement fan if that is possible to do with your card. Also, it could just be the card starting to fail as opening a web page will be making the card do a bit of work, not much mind but more than just idling along, that in turn could be the source of the noisy sound system, but I am afraid that is only guessing. A replacement card, or remove it and go back to the on board graphics if the motherboard has it, would prove it one way or the other. Nev.

Hi, in most cases with Windows 7, an ADSL modem may not work any way, in which case, though the ISP may charge for it, they will supply a router that they will have configured to work with their system and Windows 7. My ISP, "Supanet" did. Nev.

Hi again, considering the computer is only just above a month old, I would try the system restore option first, it is the simplest and will bring your computer nearly back to the condition it was in after buying it, but hopefully after you transferred the data. Though general data such as music, documents, pictures should stay there anyway. Nev.

Hi, OK to that, we can rule out the safely remove option as a reason. You say you see nothing for USB in device manager, usually it is at the bottom of the list, "Universal Serial Bus controllers" are you sure that isn't there? if it is, click on the arrow to the left to expand it, any red or yellow marks next to anything? If not it may be a driver faulty and needs updating, or removing and replacing, but let us know what you find in device manager first please. Nev.

Hi again, if all the move was just across the room, any slight knock or bump, even just putting it down again may have loosened a connection inside which may be what is causing the problem. The best and in fact the only real way to sort that one out is to disconnect from the mains, remove the cover, then one connection at a time, fully remove it, then replace it, Some may have locking tabs, be careful to spring them apart so the connection can come off. The computer being as you say eight years old, there is a very good chance of connection pins being a bit dirty, so removing and replacing them is usually enough to get a clean contact again. I once had a strange sound problem that turned out to be the connection plug and socket for the hard drive, on the motherboard end of the cable, pulling it off and replacing it cured the fault. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. I assume you were using the Windows add or remove programs facility to uninstall Google Earth. The problem with the Windows system it leaves behind too many files and other data. Two things you can do, either go to system restore, and choose a time to restore to which is before you first installed Google Earth. That will get rid of all traces for you, but also will remove any other programs you installed since the date you choose. Or there is a free uninstaller that searches out all files and folders for you and removes the lot, it is called Revo Uninstaller. You can download the uninstaller from here- http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html You can try the 30 day trial pro version, or scroll down the page and download the free version. I will recommend that the free version is more than good enough for what you need. Once Revo is downloaded and installed, first fully install Google earth again, then open Revo, it will find the Google earth as well as all other programs you have installed, to uninstall any program, select it then click the uninstall button, or alternatively double click the program icon, you will be asked "Do you wish to uninstall ****, " click the yes and you then get the box to select the mode of uninstall you want. The default is usually the Moderate and that is good enough, however if you wish, you can select the advanced mode for a deeper scan and removal. Once you have removed all traces of Google Earth, you should then be back to where you want to be. I will also add that I didn't bother installing Google earth on this W7 machine as it is much easier to just open the Google web page, then click on the top row, "Maps", when that opens you get the choice of plain maps or the satellite view just as in Google earth, no need to download and install it for general viewing and route making or following. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. When you disconnect any of the USB drives, are you using the "Safely remove" system before disconnecting it? If the computer hasn't had the message to disconnect, the problem you describe can happen, and also you risk damaging the drive or worse the computer. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. Have you checked everything in device manager as well? if not let us know if there are any red or yellow marks next to any entry. Considering you have already checked everything else I could suggest, and installed a new sound card, I think hardware is possibly out of the question now, so we may need to look at the source of the sound as in what does it consist of, sound and music files stored on the computer, or sound direct from a CD or DVD? Also sounds from a microphone if you have one. If only sounds as in stored music files, they may have become corrupted, but if the problem is there with sound from a CD or DVD, we will have to look further. Edit to add, Where you have moved to, what type of mains connection are you using, please check that the earth connection is good, as a bad earth will possibly allow mains hum into the system. Nev.

Thanks for the update and so long as all is well, there should be nothing more to actually do that is necessary. However I will recommend you download and install Malwarebytes, the free version. This is a malware in general, scan on demand program that can find and remove the odd rogue that ordinary anti-virus programs might miss. The download page for Malwarebytes is here- http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/ Click for the free version as it is all you really need, unless you do like what is offered for the paid for version. Once downloaded and installed, make sure you click the update tab first, then run a scan. As I said it is an on demand scanner in the free version, so we tend to reckon running a scan once a week is sufficient for average protection, though nothing to stop you running a scan every day, but do make sure you use the update function before running any scan. Nev.

Hi Caskin good to see you again. Can you let us know the make and model of the computer, by your description I am assuming a laptop, can you clarify that also please. First off though is a look in device manager, click on and open the run box, then copy and paste this into the text bar, devmgmt.msc Then click OK. When it opens, scroll down the list to "Sound, Video and Game controllers, click the arrow on the left to expand it and are there any red or yellow marks? It should also tell you the sound system installed, for example Realtek AC97, or Realtek High Definition Audio. Or it may be one of the other systems that have been used in the past. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. Could you please tell us the make and model of your motherboard, or at least make and model of computer so we can check compatibility. Thanks, Nev.

Hi, yes you must stop and uninstall any previous anti-virus before installing a new one. here is the best and safe way to do it, first download the anti-virus of your choice to a folder where you know where it is, (I have one specifically for downloads and Firefox is set to automatically download to that folder) Next is to download the tool for removing the McAfee free trial from the McAfee website. You may have to search for it as at the moment I don't have an address for it. Next is to disconnect from the internet, and then use the removal tool to uninstall the McAfee. (Some anti-virus uninstallers may still need a connection to work, so disconnect straight after the uninstall is complete) Then open and install the free anti-virus of your choice. Once it is installed, you can then safely connect back to the internet, then open the new anti-virus and use its update function to make sure it is fully up to date. it is recommended to then run a scan with it. Hopefully there will be nothing to find, but if it does, please let us know and what it found. Our security guys can advise further if that is the case. Nev.

You can tell it is getting cold and the temperature is below freezing when that lump of dog mess trips you up.

OK thanks for the update on this. However, I have to ask, was the CPU cooler correctly mounted and with thermal paste? also it should be set up so that the pump to circulate the water is the first thing that starts. If no to both, then quickly overheating will be the result. Nev.

Please also remember that actually taking your computer to any repair shop, is actually worse! Once you leave it, any unscrupulous dealer or so called engineer can access even more of your private data than could be seen by remote access, and do so without you seeing it done. At least with remote access, you can to some extent see what area's of your computer and data are being looked at, and you can pull the plug and stop that at any time. So, all of the above means that whatever is the reason for requiring assistance to repair a fault, you have to be absolutely sure you can trust that person. Also, wherever possible, either do try to not have private or sensitive information on your computer in the first place, or secondly, if it is necessary to have that information, then cover it with encryption and password protect it. There is plenty of ways and software available to do that, or before taking it for repair, delete it. Nev.

It should go straight back to them with a very big complaint and a mention that trading standards will be informed if nothing is done, or if they refuse any further work. At this stage anything you do now will be a lever for them to get out of doing a correct repair. Nev.

Unless absolutely necessary, we never advise updating or flashing the BIOS. If it is working OK leave it alone as the BIOS is one thing that cannot be easily recovered if it goes wrong, so you are then left with an expensive, but pretty door stop. Disabling the Defrag, This is for Windows 7, but should be similar for Vista, go to all Programs, then Accessories, then System tools, you will find "Disk Defragmenter", open that and click "Configure Schedule" there is a tick in the box for "Run on a schedule". just remove that tick. As for the raid issue I will leave that to someone who knows the system. Nev.

Sounds good to me, don't forget to turn off the defrag, it isn't needed on a SSD, but if left running it is said that it can reduce the life of the SSD due to it moving files by deleting and rewriting them. Nev.

I would be inclined to look for a bigger drive than that myself, however if you do not store music, video, pictures or much of other file types, also look at any programs you wish to install and what their size is, but the 32GB drive should be OK for the uses you mention. As for the old hard drive, if you do decide to start storing stuff, it can be left in the case if there is room and connected if there is a spare SATA slot on the motherboard. Or if not wanting the hard drive running all the time, you could get a caddy or enclosure, for the occasional use as an external USB connected drive for storing music, video etc.. Nev.

Hi, sorry I couldn't reply yesterday as I finished work, then had to go out again. However, try Randy's good advice, then we can hopefully get your Autoplay working again, click the start orb, then control panel and look for Autoplay, open that and you should see a tick box for "Use Autoplay for all media and devices" up in the top left corner, make sure there is a tick in that box. There may be some differences in Vista, but hopefully not too much. Nev.

Hello and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. When you first insert the card do you see the Autoplay window open? If so, scroll down the list and click on "Open Folder to view files" That should then open to show the list of files on the card. your video files should be there, depending on which make of camera took the video does influence what name the video files or folder is under. If the Autoplay window does not open, the card itself should still show as a drive, either in "Computer" or in Windows Explorer, in that case right click on the drive and select the "Open folder to view files" from there. It actually may say "Open Autoplay", or "open in new window". I am running Windows 7 which may be a little different from Vista, so options may be named slightly differently. Nev.

Hi Jomo and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. The first thing is to try and find out if it is the monitor or the PC, so is it possible to try the monitor on a different computer, if not one of your own, a friends perhaps? Also can you borrow a monitor and try that on your PC? Nev.

Hum? and while the top staff go off in a world wide walk searching for Einstein, I will just pop in to say hello and welcome Richard, I hope you have as daft a sense of humour as the rest of us. Nev.

It is if you decide you want to go back to Windows 7 that a full image is possibly the easiest way to do it. A question was asked for running the two together if wanted, yes it can be done, but not via the upgrade path as the upgrade is only a change of the original Windows 7 license. If you wish to have both Windows 7 and Windows 8 in a dual boot system, you must buy a fresh full copy of Windows 8, or conversely, upgrade the existing Windows 7 to Windows 8, then buy a full copy of Windows 7. This is so that both operating systems are correctly licensed. Nev.