KenB

Hi and welcome to ExTS It does sound like water damage. Try a hair dryer set on the lowest setting and dry the keys out. Turn the laptop over and use the hairdryer through the vents. Eventually the water will evaporate. DO NOT switch the machine on as - if water is present - it could short out the circuitry. You can - if there is still a problem - use a USB keyboard. Give the water time to dry out.

You didn't answer this.

Sorry - mixing up threads Start > type in ....cmd .......do NOT hit ENTER yet Right click on cmd.exe that appears top left of screen > Click on Run as Administrator At the command prompt type in .......chkdsk z: /f/r Note the spaces before and after z: ( substitute the drive letter for your drive for z: ) Hit ENTER Again - this will take time

We need to run a check on your hard drive. With it connected to your mum's computer check which letter is allocated to the drive. Assuming mum's OS is XP Assuming your drive is Z:\ ( which it isn't !! ) Start > Run .....type in ....cmd .............ENTER At the command prompt type in .......chkdsk z: /f/r Note the spaces before and after z: ( substitute the drive letter for your drive for z: ) Hit ENTER This will look at the drive condition and attempt to repair if anything is found. It will also look for bad sectors and try to retrieve any info it can This will take some time to complete.

Hi Bob. Under the circumstances this is probably a good decision :)

104C is still hot. Switch off at the wall but leave the plug in to maintain the earth connection to the m/board. Take the side panel off. Inspect the inside of the case for dust. Pay particular attention to the Video Card. Do you have onboard video too? Another VGA socket at the back of the machine where you could plug in the monitor.

Win95 uses a start-up floppy ( from what I remember ) I may be confusing this with 98 Are you running this first?

Is this a laptop or desktop machine?

Your system specs seem OK to run the game. Nev may be right with his "overheating" Download Speccy from here: http://www.piriform.com/speccy Play the game and take a note of the temperatures before it crashes. Let us know what they are.

Hi Bob You don't have many options left. If the CDROM drive doesn't work and you don't have the option to boot from a USB device you are virtually dead in the water. You say the CDROM drive is not working. Was it not working before this problem arose - or just when you put the XP disk in ? It could be a simple case of changing the boot order in the BIOS. If it isn't working........ If you are prepared to replace the CDROM Drive you can, at least, have a go at re-installing the operating system.

You can by simply typing "System Restore" after you click on the Start button ( bottom left ). I would suggest that you wait for one of the security experts to give this the OK first.

Have you tried booting off the drive now?

Thanks Pete - I knew you would have an explanation. babyhornetdan I will pick this up later - off to bed now :) If the scan comes up clear you could access the drive and take off any files / data that you need. We will not be wiping the drive - but if you can access it then it is best you take off anything important. If the scan DOES find anything at all then wait until we can look at the log.

No problem at all. If I can put up with Nev ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you are not a problem at all :)

The scan may take some time :) If it does find anything it will show in the log that will be produced in Notebook after the scan. If there is anything there - copy the log and post it here.

OK Go to Computer > Right Click on the external drive There will be an option to scan with Malwarebytes > click on this. The MBAM box will pop up and the scan will begin. This is just checking your drive so that nothing is transferred to your mum's drive if there is any malware on your drive.

Have you installed it and updated it? ==================== You are right Nev - I got re-directed too !! Starbuck may have an explanation.

It is odd that you are being re-directed. This is from the MajorGeeks site and should go direct to the download box. Check that it is d/loading MBAM - it will say in the box. http://majorgeeks.com/downloadget.php?id=5756&file=15&evp=693ee0b20204960edfd909666f809b26

take a look here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-card-radeon-geforce,3067.html You will need to Google System Specs for the card of your choice

MajorGeeks is a legitimate site - but my link goes directly to the MalwareBytes site. This is a link direct to the Free Software - at MBAM http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

Fine. Local Disk is normally a partition on the main hard drive. Can you check to make sure. If mum does not have MBAM installed download it from here: Click on Products - you want the free version. http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_pro Install it and update it. Don't run a scan with it yet. Let me know when it is installed. It is good to have on your system as it will scan for malware ( it is one of the best on the market )

Did Windows recognise new hardware ? Is E:\ your hard drive? One of these will be the CDROM drive. Unplug your external drive from the USB ports - does one of the letters disappear ?

I am logged on - but not visible so no green light :)

OK With the laptop switched off. Assuming that the drive is in the enclosure .........Plug in the 2 USB connections. Switch on and boot up. You should get a message that Windows has identified new hardware. Let it complete the process - 30 seconds or so - it should tell you it is ready for use. Go to Start > Computer. (This is where we hope .........) You should be able to see a new drive letter - just as you would when you plug in a pen drive. ( memory stick ) Can you access the drive ?

Hi, The other guys may have different ideas but until they get to you....... Connect the drive up to a working PC - use both of the USB connections as this will ensure that you get enough power to the enclosure. Take a look in My Computer ( Computer for Vista / 7 ) and make a note of the letter that is allocated to the drive. Let's say the letter is Z:\ Start > [ Run for XP ] type in .....cmd ...... if using XP hit ENTER ..............if Vista / 7 then do not hit ENTER Vista / 7 right click on cmd.exe that appears at the top left of screen. Run as Administrator. At the prompt ( XP / Vista / 7 ) type chkdsk z: /f /r .......................note the spaces before and after z: ...and substitute your drive letter where I have typed Z: This will check the disk for file system errors and bad sectors and attempt a fix if problems are found. This may take a long time to run through.