KenB

It is more likely to be the likes of you and me that get hit .......... if Fossen is right. As you say - it is just speculation. How many people keep important details ( bank details for instance ) on their computers? Millions upon millions I suspect - worldwide. $50,000 is not a lot if you are guaranteed access to these sensitive details. Do phishing emails get sent to banks and multi-nationals? It is joe public they target because they know we are basically stupid ( generalisation :) ) Also - I doubt that banks and multi-nationals would still be using XP. They would have upgraded years ago. And if they are still with XP then I suspect that they would upgrade before MS support is totally withdrawn. No, if there is going to be anybody targeted it is going to be the general public. There is another angle to this too. Micro$oft would be only too happy to see a "zero day" exploited. They would come back with an offer to XP users to upgrade. :) Not so stupid are they ? Watch this space.

Hi Harry and welcome to ExTS It sounds as if your hard drive is on its way out - if it hasn't left already :) If you can take the drive out and connect it to another machine ( via external enclosure / HDD to USB adapter / cable direct to motherboard ) we can run a test on it to see if it is OK or not. Is this possible ?

So - is all ok now or do you need some more advice? :)

Hi Ian If you want to create an extra partition after you have sorted things out it is no problem. You can do this from Disk Management within Windows. Are you trying to boot from the Win7 CD again or something else ? If it is something else - this would need to be a "bootable media" .....e.g. a disk with an operating system on it.

Interesting. Whilst I can see that it smacks of Big Brother I can also see it being useful say for anti-terrorist data and tracking known crooks and terrorists. ( MI5 probably do this anyway :) )

The Windows 7 disk .......... is it an original or a copy ?

I think T-T suggest 2 weeks notice ( I may be wrong ) If you are intending changing on 20th Aug you may not be giving them enough time. You may need to get back onto Sky and have the date moved. Also - if you have any problems with T-T contact Sky - they will be only too pleased to help :)

Hi Here are the Sky deals at the moment: click here These two links may help: click here click here too You may find that T-T offer you a good deal for your next contract .......... which may be worth considering. Take note - if you are still within your contract it will be expensive to leave.

Hi You said a new HD ......... you should have let us know that you had partitioned it :) Not quite true - XP requires at least 1.5GB hard disk space ....... although if you have more this is better. You will still need the SP3 upgrade - SP1 is far too basic. It seems you have had this problem before: click here

That is probably your problem. You need to get the SP3 upgrade. You can get it from here: click here You may need to click on "Expand All" on the page. Microsoft Support for XP ends March 2014.

I am shocked. I wasn't aware that he was ill - I am so sorry to hear this news. I had spoken with him many times on Skype - I think the last time was around the time that there were floods near to where he lived. Barry you were always one to give great advice - not always computer related. You will be sadly missed.

You are welcome - glad to be of assistance :)

Which Service Pack do you have? XP should be showing SP3. Start > Right click on My Computer > Properties

Hi There are 2 Vista options listed here: click here Give one ( or both ) of them a try :)

Hi and welcome to ExTS You state .... Compaq Presario CG5814 Did you mean CQ5814 click here If this is your machine it looks as if there is only a LAN ( cable ) connection ............... RTL8105E-VC I have had a quick look and cannot find Vista drivers for this - not to say they don't exist. Let me know if I have the correct machine.

I thought for a minute that the PSU had been missed off the list then noticed it was bundled with the case :) Nice one Vr5fx.

All's well that ends well :)

Hi and welcome to ExTS One of our security experts will be along to advise you further. Please be patient - they have day jobs too :) I will leave a message for them - just in case they assume I am helping.

It does sound like a dud ! Contact the seller and ask for your money back. eBay have a strict code of conduct - so you should be OK. The seller saying that it has been tasted and working is no guarantee that it actually is. The fact that it "was working last time I used it" is no guide to a working m/board. Send it back - good luck :)

Hi Dugg88 If you look very closely at the screen can you see any very feint graphics in the background ? If so this could be the inverter or back-light. Was the m/board new or used? It could be that you have been sold a defective board.

Maynard - the poster has an active thread on this already ....... see here Adamalzo66 - please continue in the other thread.

You cannot format a hard drive from the installed OS. Actually you can - using a 2.5 inch hard drive to USB adapter. It connects the drive to the USB port and you can treat it like a memory stick. Alternatively - you can put it into an external enclosure ( caddy ) and connect this to the USB port. You need to know if your drive is SATA or IDE - do you ? It doesn't help your present problem.

If you can't get past this we are going to have to try something else. When the Packard Bell logo shows hold ALT down and tap F10 about once per second. If there is a recovery partition it should show up here. Do this with the installation disk out of the drive. If the above doesn't work: If you can take the hard drive out and connect it up to another machine you should be able format the hard drive then try installing the OS again. If you need advice on how to do this just ask.

Hi and welcome 1. What OS was on the laptop in the first place ? ( sticker underneath should say ) 2. The version of XP you are trying to install - what is written on the disk itself ? 3. When you put the disk in the disk-drive and switch on .... do you get anything on screen at all ? 4. Before you tried to install XP - did the laptop work?

Hi Jack, Some suggestions to ponder until Vr5Fx can add his thoughts : 1. Your choice of Video Card is good. see options here - click here There is a 650 Ti 2Gb too that gets good reviews - you may want to compare prices. 2. You need something like a 650 Watt PSU. Decent makes - OCZ / Corsair / Seasonic / Thermaltake 3. Your CPU will decide which m/board you get. You have to decide between Intel and AMD. You will never get replies on any forum to agree on this one. There is very little to split them. Once you have decided on the CPU then Vr5Fx can probably advise further :)