KenB

Hi - just on my way out so will have to be brief... This is why we needed to know if other laptops have any problems. Yes - it could be the network adapter. This is why I suggested looking at a USB wireless adapter. I know you have checked driver updates - but this time try uninstalling the driver from device manager and re-install. click here for drivers I will pick this up when I get back

I am just on my way out - I am away for a couple of days. Will pick this up when I get back.

Hi John Progress :) I am just on my way out - will pick this up Sunday / Monday

No - it should have scanned the external drive. Your external drive letter .......... is L correct ? Seems a bit odd. I am away for a couple of days - I will pick this up then ( unless somebody else assists ) :)

It would help if we knew that other laptop(s) were having problems too. Have you re-booted the router ? When the connection is down - how do you connect again ? If the laptop has no problem when it is close to the router - I suspect the router signal. You could try a USB wireless adapter click here I am away for a couple of days - I will pick this up Monday.

That looks like the one. Are you going to give it a go ?

Hi Ray Your logic is quite sound. That is what I was trying to determine by using Ubuntu - i.e. using the re-install as a last resort. If you want to go down that route - no problem at all. Give it a go. I think Nev pointed you to the tutorial that I posted ( see post #2 ) You must be sure that the OS that you are installing is exactly the same as the one that the Product Code relates to - otherwise it will not validate.

It could be that the signal is poor. If there are walls between your laptop and the router it may be that, depending on where you are in the house, the signal is better / worse. Try switching the router off for a minute or two and re-boot it again. What is the make and model number of the router ? Can other laptops connect from the same location when yours cannot ?

Hi If a mouse is attached it only takes the slightest movement to revert back to the desktop. Is the time factor the same on each occasion ?

Hi Ray You have the spacing correct. The problem is that you are using an XP machine. The system files will be different. I assumed that you would be using a more recent OS. - sorry. =============== OK - let's try another tack. Download Ubuntu from here click here Select 32 bit. Burn it to a CD. Put it in your CDROM drive and switch on. The Ubuntu OS will begin the install process. You will be given an option to install or run from the CD. DO NOT select install. You want to run it from the CD. See if Ubuntu will boot up. If it does then the hardware - motherboard etc is probably OK and the problem is with the hard drive. You could have the hard drive installed before trying the Ubuntu CD and when Ubuntu boots up you could take a look at the hard drive to see if you can see any of your files / photos etc. Let me know how you get on with this.

Give it a day or so - let us know how you get on.

Hi - you can't "mess it up" .... unless you change other things inside the router settings. Try channel 6 ( 11 is too close to 13 ) It could be that your neighbours are using 11 - 12 - 13 and there is a bit of radio interference. If there is no change - try channel 1 You can always change it back to the original settings. Let us know how you get on.

Hi and welcome to ExTS If you are having difficulty connecting - or staying connected - it may be worth trying a different channel ( from within the router settings ). There will be about 13 channels but the ones to try are 1 - 6 - 11 If you don't know how to do this post back with the make and model number of your router.

Hi and welcome to ExTS I don't like the sound of this. Either 1.There is a problem with the caddy .................. do you have another hard drive to try in it ? Also - does the caddy have a mains power supply or does it use the USB ports ? 2. There is a problem with the drive itself. 3. There is a problem with the USB port. Can you use other devices in the same USB port ? Not sure what you are asking here - the old hard drive will, if it is able to be connected to the second computer, always become part of the second system i.e. drive F: for instance. You are correct - a complete re-install would wipe all data. The data MAY be able to be accessed if the drive can be connected to another system without crashing it. Let us know the answers to the questions above.

Hi Ray Attach the problem hard drive to the second computer again. If the hard drive is recognised in "Computer" make a note of the drive letter. ( Let's say X ) Then Start ....type in ....cmd ......right click on cmd.exe that appears top left of screen > Run as Administrator At the prompt type: sfc /scannow /offbootdir=X:\ /offwindir=X:\windows .................where X is the drive letter of your drive. [note the spacings] Again - you can try this a couple of times. ============= Regarding using the Digital River option ........... we will leave this as a last resort.

Hi John You will need to take the hard drive out and connect it either direct to the motherboard of a second machine or use an external enclosure ( or hard drive to USB adapter ) that will connect the drive to a USB port. If you can do this and the hard drive is recognised in "Computer" make a note of the drive letter. ( Let's say X ) Then Start ....type in ....cmd ......right click on cmd.exe that appears top left of screen > Run as Administrator At the prompt type: sfc /scannow /offbootdir=X:\ /offwindir=X:\windows .................where X is the drive letter of your drive. [note the spacings] Hopefully this will check the system files on the problem drive.

No problem Ray -it doesn't take much to confuse me these days :) Keep us informed as to how you are getting on.

Nice one Nev :) I never knew that the French had a sense of humour !

Hi Ray Try unplugging the problem drive and see if the Seagate software runs normally now. It should detect the internal system hard drive.

I thought - from your first post - that this was the case and you were getting the Windows Chimes :) However - if you have just enabled sound then we need to know if the hard drive is booting up normally ............ but without Video.

Let us know how you get on with the new TV :)

Hi Does this help ? click here Not sure that it will run on Home Premium

If you can't read the text on that ...........I know a good optician :) Let us know how you get on.

Hi Ray Sounds very much like a Video Card problem. Take the card out - give the contacts a clean with a pencil eraser and put the card back in. Try again. Check the cable connection at the back of the pc for bent / broken pins. Move this about to see if there is any reaction on screen. Try the monitor on another system - just to rule this out. If it still fails to show anything on screen I would be inclined to try a different video card in the system.

Hi Ray I still suspect that hard drive. Download Seatools ( Windows ) click here There is a PDF guide on the page. Click on "Downloads" from the link. This version installs onto the system. Connect up your problem hard drive to the good computer. Seatools will identify all connected drives and you will need to put a check in the box against the problem one. Run Seatools and let us know the results please :)