KenB

Hi kyle and welcome to ExTS If you have no disks then I suggest the following: Take the hard drive out of the machine. This is usually located underneath one of the panels at the base of the machine. You will need to buy a hard drive to USB adapter or external enclosure ( caddy ) to connect the drive to another machine. http://www.amazon.co.uk/SATA-Transfer-Adapter-Power-Drives/dp/B004ND4632/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319701576&sr=8-2 This will enable us to do two things: 1. You should be able to locate any files / data that you have stored and retrieve them. 2. We can run a check on the drive from the second computer and hopefully correct the Boot Manager problem. Let me know if you want to go down this route.

Hi Ash and welcome to ExTS Right click on the Monitor Icon ( bottom right of screen ) Right click on "Connect to a Network" then right click on your Network > Left click on Properties I suspect that your computer is set to WEP and the Router has WPA security setup. This is possibly why your Network Key is not being recognised. Under the "Connection" tab check that " Connect Automatically ........." is ticked. Under the "Security" tab make a note of the settings. Try typing in the Network Key that you know to be correct. If the number of stars match the number of characters chances are the Key is correct. You can try the Security Type - It should be WPA - mine has 4 different options for this ......hence make a note of the original settings. Encryption Type - ( mine is set to AES )

Just out of interest - how big is the D:\ partition ?

Hi and welcome to ExTS. Sorry for the slow response - I have been away for a few days. There is a review for your card here: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_radeon_hd6450&num=1 This is a PCIe 2.1 card. To get maximum benefits your motherboards must be PCIe 2.1 compatible. You left this off your list. If you have XP on your system I suspect that you have an earlier version - we will only know if you can tell us the exact m/board or failing that the make and model of the computer. I suspect that your PSU may be under-powered for this card too. Again - if you can let us know what you have we will be able to advise further.

Sorry for the late reply - I have been away for a few days. I have checked the Acer Site - and believe it or not - There are no CDROM drivers available for your model at all. I was hoping to point you in the right direction there. http://support.acer.com/us/en/product/default.aspx?modelId=717 Windows should, however, have re-installed the appropriate drivers. Take a look here for me please: Start > Type in ....regedit .......ENTER Click the + or > next to the following .... HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Class Scroll down and look for this specific Key {4D36E965-E325-11 CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} Click on it. On the right side there will be a list....... (default) / Class etc. If Upper Filters and Lower Filters are there delete them by right clicking > delete. Close the Registry. Reboot. [ The Upper and Lower Filter may not show. I have just checked mine and they are not listed. Don't worry if this is the case with your system ]

Nice example of a dead capacitor though :)

Hi, If she is carrying the laptop backwards and forwards I don't recommend a 17 inch - it will be too heavy. There are 3 recommendations here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-laptop-deals And a lot more here: http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Computer/cat/Laptops?gclid=CPC5mK-j_KsCFYob4Qodv2IAlA I suggest you go for a brand name like Acer / Dell / HP / Lenovo / Toshiba A basic laptop would probably be good enough for what she wants to do. Regarding WORD and POWERPOINT. You are talking about MS Office 2010 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/buy-office-2010-FX101843016.aspx?WT.mc_id=ODC_ENUS_OATProdHome_MonBuy This is not cheap. There is an alternative - Open Office. It is free. http://www.openoffice.org/ This is WORD compatible. She would need to select Save As .........then change the .odt default to Word97.doc from the drop-down menu. Easy to do. WORD cannot read .odt format. Open Office is fully compatible with WORD documents.

Hi, That is an extreme example of a blown capacitor. Normally they just bulge. It would certainly have been the cause of the noise you heard. I used to demonstrate to students the effects of mistreating a small value electrolytic capacitor and literally blew them apart. They went with a huge bang. That one of yours would certainly have gone with a crack.

Hi Ruby and welcome to ExTS, Bearshare is P2P software. In other words a gateway to malware on your computer. Download MBAM from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/ Click on Products - you want the free version. Install > Update > Run it. It will produce a log. Copy this and post it here please. If it shows anything one of our Security Experts will advise further. They will also advise on ridding your system of bearshare too.

Hi, Do you have Adobe Reader on your system ? This is free and reads PDF files. Start > All Programs Have you looked in Control Panel > Programs and Features to see if Fox Tab is there? If it is - you can un-install it

Hi and welcome to ExTS I have split your post from that old thread - you are better with your own anyway :) You say you uninstalled the drivers. This is not normally a problem as Windows will re-inbstall them on re-booting. Just to check.... Start > type in ....devmgmt.msc .......ENTER Click the + next to DVD CDROM Drives What is listed? Are there any yellow exclamation marks or red Xs ?

Hi and welcome to ExTS If you have your machine up and running again it would be prudent to backup your important data onto an external device - DVD / external drive. I can give you a link to creating an image of your drive. The software is free. The image is a complete copy of the drive operating system / registry / files / data .....everything. If the drive fails you can replace the drive and install the saved image onto it.

Try Last Known Good Configuration Switch on or re-boot and constantly tap F8 ( about once per second ) At the Advanced Startup Options select Last Known Good Configuration.

Hi again Take a look here: http://search.laptopsdirect.co.uk/nav/pbgbp/07/type/laptops/graphictype/dedicated/0 They may not be best for price but there are a lot in your price range with the processor you want. Use Google to compare prices.

Hi Y-L I have seen this before with no obvious solution. Try this: Plug in your USB device ( memory stick ? ) Start > type in ......devmgmt.msc ......ENTER Click on the + next to disk drives > right click on the device connected to the USB port and click on Properties Then click on Policies > check the box next to "Optimize for Quick Removal" This is a work-around. =================== You could run System File Check Start > Run ....type in ....cmd ....ENTER ( assuming XP ) At the prompt type in ......sfc /scannow ( there is a space after sfc ) .....hit ENTER. This will check your system files. You may be asked for the installation disk during the process. You will be able to remove the device without the threat of data loss.

You may find this useful: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Best-Graphics-Card,2011-5.html I think AGP slots on the motherboard were gone by 2007 / 08 and AGP cards would have been available up until then and for a short time afterwards. They are difficult to get hold of now.

Glad to hear you are up-and-running again :)

Hi again If Imaging Devices is not listed in Device Manager the drivers for you webcam are not installed. I have checked on the Acer site and, according to the info I found, the drivers should be integrated into Win7. In other words - if your webcam is detected Win7 should automatically install the drivers for it. You could try this: Go back to Device Manager > Click on Action ( toolbar ) > Add Legacy Hardware. Follow the prompts. The system will search for any hardware that does not have a driver installed. You will get a warning about "You should only use this wizard ....." - click "Next" then follow the prompts.

Hi, Take a look here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810881

Hi and welcome to ExTS If you take a look here there seems to be a more recent driver available ( 2.10.00.105 ) You may need to read the release notes. http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/support/drivers/

Hi and welcome to ExTS Try running a System File Check. Start ....type in ......cmd.....DO NOT hit ENTER. In the top left you will see cmd > right click on this > Run as Administrator At the command prompt ( black screen ) type .......sfc /scannow ( space after sfc ) then hit ENTER You may be asked for the Win7 installation disk - if you don't have this let it run as far as it can.

Hi and welcome to ExTS You do realise that if you take the laptop apart and replace the processor you will void any warranty that comes with the machine ?

Sorry - I misinterpreted your post. I assumed you had bought the items for the upgrade but had not done it yet. You are aware that if you do this the machine will not boot up as Windows will detect a new motherboard and hardware ? You would need to re-install the Operating System. Unless, of course, the m/board is exactly the same as the old one. The links I have given you are correct for your motherboard - I was just pointing out that if something does go wrong with flashing the BIOS your system will not be able to boot up. I always advise that if you can possibly avoid flashing the BIOS - do so.

In addition to Randy's question .... How are you connected ? Router ? Is this a wired or wireless connection? You say "sometimes" - does this mean that normally you can access the net ? If you are connected to the net - does the connection drop or is this only when trying to connect initially ? ( we need answers to all of the above please :) )

Hi Eve and welcome to ExTS Try this first: Start > type in .....devmgmt.msc ......ENTER Click the + next to display adapters Right click on the device > Update Driver Software You will need to be connected to the internet as Windows will search for the most up-to-date drivers for video adapter.