Plastic Nev

Hi, just how old is that version of Firefox? if you go to program files, via Computer, then hover the mouse over it it should give an information box and date of installation, even if it won't open for you. I would really recommend though to remove it altogether if more than a year old, and download and install the most recent version, if only because of the security aspect of it. Hopefully a new version will open anyway. Nev.

Hi Maskalyn and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. Please be patient, this is a forum run by volunteers, not paid staff who have to be online 24/7. If lucky you may get another reply this evening, if not, tomorrow morning. As to your present predicament, do other programs install OK, or have you had problems with other programs not installing or giving a similar message? Also have you tried asking Seagate for help? Nev.

Hi and welcome from me too, you beat me to it there Seedy mate, and a welcome back to you to. Nev.

Hi, have you tried to get the computer into safe mode? From boot up or pressing the normal start button, as soon as you see the Packard Bell logo start tapping the F8 key. You should get the Advanced boot options page first as below, use the up and down keys to select Safe Mode, then click the enter key. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/plasticpig/Safemodefirstscreen.jpg In safe mode things look larger, that is normal, see what you can access from there and let us know please. Nev.

In agreement with both Armageddon and Beeceebee here as it does sound like an overheating issue. However considering the power supply fan isn't running, that needs to be rectified first, then any other issues sorted afterwards. Also are you sure it is the power supply fan and not the fan on the main CPU or even a case fan? Though the power supply fan may be replaceable, it is a job for a technician due to the high voltage mains power and not to be attempted unless qualified. Because of the cost to do that, it is simpler and possibly even cheaper to replace the power supply with a new one of similar or higher rating. Being a Dell machine, we could do with the information that should be on the power supply label before recommending which type or where to get one from, as Dell quite often fitted none standard parts. It may just be a standard ATX type, but unless we know what is on that label we can't be sure. Also, until that has been sorted please try not to use it any more as damage from the overheating could occur. Nev.

Welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help Sam. I assume you have something in common with border collies, I have known a few in my time and a very bright and intelligent dog they are too. Nev.

Hi, as you suggest, it may have been registry corruption, and as Ken said in his first post, we do not ever recommend registry cleaners as this is all too often the result of using them. There are two very interesting articles written regarding these so called registry cleaners, a bit technical in places but do explain why they are no use and why they can cause damage. http://www.whatthetech.com/2007/11/25/do-i-need-a-registry-cleaner/ http://www.edbott.com/weblog/2005/04/why-i-dont-use-registry-cleaners/ Uninstall any registry cleaner you have, and don't try another is the best I can offer in advice. Nev.

It is only a two core slimline CPU, though it will handle hyper threading at four times, but it will still be a tad slower than some others, have a look here for a review of that CPU. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i3-2367M-Notebook-Processor.64165.0.html Depends though on what you want to use the laptop for, if games are included then a no for that. Nev.

And the one most people are now using, Speccy from Piriform= http://www.piriform.com/speccy Nev.

One picture you can copy and paste if needed which is the Advanced Boot Options screen you first see from boot up and F8 key. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/plasticpig/Safemodefirstscreen.jpg

Just to add to Kens good advice, if the blue screen and any stop error disappears before you can read it, follow kens advice for advanced start up by tapping F8 from boot up, you should first see this screen- http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/plasticpig/Safemodefirstscreen.jpg Use the up/down keys to select "Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure", then click the enter key. The next time you get a blue screen it should stay on it so you can make note of the stop error for us. Nev.

Hi George, in actual fact the missing files will be the files actually on the hard drive which are there in part for the drive to be recognised and read. If the drive fails, then obviously those files cannot be seen or read by the computer. The computer as in this case, recognises there is a device connected, but if the disk doesn't spin up, then nothing further can happen, hence why it couldn't find the files. Hard drives can fail at any time and without any knocks or jolts to cause it, so it is unlikely it failed due to anything you have done, just one of those things I am afraid. Hope you find another and longer lasting new one to replace it. Nev.

Hi, first thing is to see if you actually need those drivers, so we need to look in device manager, a quick way to get to device manager is to first press the windows flag key and the letter R key. That will bring up the "Run" command box. Then type or copy and paste into the "Open" box, devmgmt.msc Then click OK. Scroll down the list and look for Sound, video and game controllers. click the little arrow to the left to expand, are there any red or yellow marks against anything? Nev.

Hi, Firstly there doesn't appear to be a problem according to the Malwarebytes scan. P2P is turned off by default in Malwarebytes so if a scan of it is required it has to be turned on in the Malwarebytes controls. However that is not a be all and end all, there is a chance something may be lurking, but only a small one. I will also reinforce the warning regarding registry cleaners, they can remove vital files from the registry resulting in at best poor performance and at worse an unusable computer. Now then as far as torrent sites and the associated programs, there is a tremendous amount of problems can be brought in upon yourself through the use of them. Borrowed from Starbuck one of our computer security and malware experts, I hope he doesn't mind= "P2P Warning Please note that as long as you're using any form of Peer-to-Peer networking ( Frostwire, Limewire, Bit Torrent etc.) and downloading files from non-documented sources, you can expect infestations of malware to occur. Once upon a time, P2P file sharing was fairly safe. That is no longer true. P2P programmes form a direct conduit onto your computer, their security measures are easily circumvented, and Malware writers are increasingly exploiting them to spread their wares onto your computer. Further to that, if your P2P programme is not configured correctly you may be sharing more files than you realise. There have been cases where people's Passwords, Address Books and other personal, private, and financial details have been exposed to the file sharing network by a badly configured programme. Many of the programmes come bundled with other unwanted programmes, but even the ones free of any bundled software are not safe to use. When you use them you are downloading software from an unknown source directly onto your computer, bypassing your Firewall and Anti-Virus software. Hardly surprising then that many of these Downloads are being targeted to carry infections. You may decide to continue P2P sharing, but keep in mind that this practice may be the source of future malware infestation. If we clean your computer of infection, and you return to us a short time later with an infection contracted by the use of P2P programmes, we may refuse to help you." Nev.

Hi, that looks a lot like an overheating problem, if you have had the laptop for more than a couple of years and it has been used regularly, dust and fluff can build up inside, that then stops cool air from circulating. Do you feel any excessive warmth coming from it at all? A quick answer that can at least improve the situation is to get a can of compressed air, most computer retailers sell it, and then blow quick and short blasts into the air intake grills. Hopefully that will clear at least some of the dust and make things run a little cooler. Use only short blasts, as long and prolonged blasts can create and send in liquid (usually condensation) which would cause problems elsewhere. Otherwise it means dismantling to clean out properly, which unless experienced in dismantling equipment, is best done by a repair shop. (Laptops can be difficult to work on without good dismantling technique and knowledge) Nev.

Hi again, although I know Ken is going to be busy with this for you but my only thoughts left now are possible differences in versions of the Microsoft word you have used. Although most other programs are backward compatible with earlier versions, a lot of earlier versions of a program, cannot work with or see files created on a later version of the same program. That of course is a generalisation for a large range of programs, including some of my music creating stuff. However the principal may still apply with different versions of Microsoft office software. Just my thoughts on the problem. Nev.

Hi, having read through since we discovered the fault was the hard drive, and other opinions asked for, there are quite a lot of options I can offer from my humble brainwaves. Lets first go to an exchange of hard drives, so long as you have a screwdriver, removing the old and fitting the new is not a difficult task, just takes a little time and patience is all, you don't need to take it and be charged for the service in a shop. However, as you are aware, being an older computer and I think you said second hand when you got it, is it worth changing the hard drive only to find something else has failed a couple of weeks or months later. If you can afford a new computer then that is the way to go. As for desktop against laptop, as far as performance is concerned, there is little to choose between them, it used to be the desktop would always win but not now, there are some very high spec laptops available now that will run rings round some of the similar priced desktops. The only problem with laptops is because of the difficulties of getting into them, they are not easily upgraded if in fact any upgrade is possible. Whereas a desktop can be upgraded with say extra graphics cards or sound cards. Should components fail, desktops are easier to repair. Nev.

Hi, I have one of those cables, and there is nothing automatic, you don't just plug it in and everything goes from one to the other,you do have to do it all yourself via drag and drop. You can work from either the laptop, or from the desktop, but all you need is the mouse. It is some time since I last used mine so this is from memory, you need to install any software or program that comes with the cable on both computers first. Once the two computers are fully booted up, you then open the cables program on whichever computer you are working from, this then shows two windows side by side, one for the laptop, the other window being the desktop. In the desktop window, which is in your case, you navigate to whichever folder you wish to get the data from, say for example the "My Pictures" folder, then in the laptop window, you navigate to whichever folder is to be the destination. Then click on whichever file, or sub folder you want on the desktop window, and drag it across into the destination folder. These cables only copy the data across, they don't actually fully move it. Hope that has explained a bit more for you. I stopped using my cable when I got a router, with that I networked both computers and copy data via the network now. Nev.

I have just looked at the photo of the base in that manual I linked to and you are correct, it doesn't have any removable covers for individual components. However in chapter 3, there is a description of how to remove and replace the wireless LAN module, page number 3-21 to 3-23. This does involve removing the whole base. If you do not feel it is something you can do I certainly recommend taking it to a technician. When not sure, it is too easy to break something that may not be easily repaired. If on the other hand you are willing to give it a try, do read that chapter fully before attempting it. Take special note about removing all electrical supply, including the battery, and also taking precautions against static electricity damage, if possible with a wrist strap. Nev.

Hi again, yes indeed as both JPG photo's and MP3 sound files are already in a compressed format, so no further compression is available without losing quality. The WAV files though should compress a little by zipping them. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. First off, please open if you can Malwarebytes, click on the "Logs" tab, then open the last log you did and copy and paste that here. One of our malware experts will be here soon to carry on from there. Nev.

Hi, and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. This result you are seeing may be down to the nature of the file itself, some types of data, HD video for example and also JPG type photo's will not compress by very much in any case. What type of file are you trying to zip please? Nev.

Hi, The message "disk error" is actually now suggesting a hard drive problem. Either the drive is sticking and refusing at first to spin up, or is slow at getting up to speed from cold. As you may know, the hard drive is a multiple of magnetic disks which have to spin for the read head to see the data on them. If as you say the computer is fairly old now, the bearings for those disks may be either worn or running dry of lubrication. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. What we need to do is isolate whether it is the head set or the computer at fault, the best, and for you really the only way, is to see how well the headset works on a different computer, if you have one, or if not a friends. Let us know if that can be done. Nev.

Hi, I am a little confused here about your description of these hyperlinks, if those links are to websites on line, they should all work unless he has certain types of website blocked for security reasons. However you say the links are to other internal documents, (this is where I am confused) by internal do you mean documents that are also on the flash drive? or are they documents on your computer? If they are on your computer but not the flash drive, then of course they won't work on his computer, he won't have them.. Sorry if I am misreading what you mean, but thought I best say something as a just in case. Nev.