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There are one or two repair services for this fault - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-INSPIRON-M5010-M5030-M5040-MOTHERBOARD-7-3-beeps-GPU-graphic-video-repair-/321177874537?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4ac7b17069

Some will work, it is the wireless chipset that is important. This post details some of the chipsets known to work. http://www.puppylinuxforum.org/thread-298.html

You can clear the hard drive using a boot CD. Gparted is a Linux tool, dead easy to use, and will run from a boot CD here http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php

Yup, Windows has everything - even a self destruct program I have seen run many many times ;)

Is the new battery an original Sony? If not, I would send it back. Plenty of cheaper batteries do not work correctly. I've learned the hard way, had two or three replacements for macbooks, advertised as OEM standard that failed or just did not charge correctly.

One more thing to check is the resolution you have set on your old monitor. Some resolutions are not 'native' to LCD panels, and the symptoms you describe could be due to an odd resolution. The best way to check to check it is to run your PC with your old monitor, set the resolution to something low, say 1280 x 1024, and make sure the refresh rate isn't high - 60Hz say. Save and reboot with your new monitor and see what happens.

I am guessing you are using Internet Explorer? Return does not seem to work in IE10 on the forum, use it in Compatibility Mode and it works just fine :)

Just had a look at the other forum response...... At least two versions of XP Professional are available to the general public, OEM and Retail. Versions are almost (if not) identical to the user, but product keys are NOT interchangeable. Then there are the OEM modified versions which tend to have an extra folder on the install CD to brand the installation. Bottom line is that if you have not used the original media supplied with the computer, it is likely you have the incorrect version.

Hi, There are only two possibilities, either your version of XP is incorrect or the key is incorrect. What version are you trying to install, and where did it come from? Was the original version installed from new, and do the parts of the key you found in the registry correspond to the parts you can see on the sticker?

For most modern systems, leave it at 'System Managed' unless you are having problems of some kind.

Just to confuse things.... For reading, Kindle's are the best imo. I much prefer reading on a smaller Kindle compared to a larger iPad. For apps, and web browsing, an Android tablet will be most versatile, iPad, great but.....too much money for too little functionality unless you are a true Apple fan.

I'd recommend Macrium too - use it to clone the partition. I've done it recently, mechanical drive to SSD, Windows 7, dead easy as long as you have a way of connecting both source and destination drive at the same time. Macrium locks the drive state and clones it over, plus you can select partitions rather than full drives if you are cloning to a smaller capacity drive. One other possibility, have you checked the firmware version of your SSD, some need an update from the manufacturer to get them running on certain systems.

It's not worth the hassle. You'll need an expert to get it installed, and then who will maintain it? It is so off mainstream, if it goes wrong or you need to move it to another machine you will be stuck. If all else fails, you could try creating a USB bootable Linux, and run it from there?

Hi, I've found the Linux download, can you direct us to the Windows install instructions, and tell is what version of Windows you are using.

Chrome for me. I like its speed, and also the facility to swap through gmail accounts easily.

If you send it away for recovery, many companies will have a look and give you and estimate for free. Cost really is dependent on how much work there is involved, so for example cloning a faulty drive is possible with the right tools, and quite easy for an expert, that is your cheapest option. Then you are looking at a drive being disassembled, and various parts being replaced to enable the platter to be read, time consuming and more expensive. If the platter is not damaged, all your data will be available, it is just down to cost, £500 isn't out of line.

For me, the best option is to use a utility to restore the Windows bootloader. What version of Windows are you using? The only way I can see to repair it is to create a bootable USB drive, and fix it from there, I'd be looking at something like this http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2012/03/10/restore-the-windows-bootloader-to-mbr-after-dual-booting-with-linux/ There is a also a consideration of backing up your important data before repair, just incase.....

Yup, agree it is illegal, and so many are for sale on ebay. I've seen these actually install, and they brand the PC 'Dell', as far I understand the install can check the BIOS for Dell instructions and won't install on the wrong machine.

I'm wondering if you mean rebuilding the partition table. If you ran a simple format, as you suggest all of the data will still be there, just the partition table will have been erased. I don't know of any software that will rebuild it on the fly, without copying your files to another disk, and the ones I have come across, I've used to repair partition information rather than rebuild. As I remember it, if you lose your partition information, there is a mirror hidden away somewhere, and the software utilities utilise that mirror to rebuild it. I would have thought any really useful software would cost more than the extra hard drive you need to copy to. Maybe it is worth having a look at Testdisk or the Easeus recovery software. http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step http://www.easeus.com/data-recovery-ebook/partition-table-doctor.htm

Bear in mind your copy of Windows 7 on the Fujitsu will have been 'tinkered with' to allow it to run illegally for the time you have owned it. The tinkering normally comes in the form of a program that plays havoc with the registry, and at this point using a legit key from another machine may cause more problems. In the long run you may find Windows just will not run. It's not a good idea. If you want to keep the machine, you will have to reinstall Windows to ensure the installation is correct and reliable. In that case your best bet is to buy a copy of Windows 7 unfortunately. Of course, you could take the refund offered and buy a machine with a legit licence.

Hi, I haven't used RAID for a while, from memory you should be able to enable RAID, and then set up the array in the BIOS without wiping the data. Both boards have the ICH10R chipset so all should be ok.

I've used Macrium Reflect recently, the way I cloned my drive was to put the new drive in a USB caddy, run Macrium on the old drive, and tell it to clone the full running drive to the new one in the caddy. Macrium locks the old drive state, clones it and then you can swap it over and boot from the new one. Windows installs a driver or two and restarts to complete the swap. Then you use Easeus Partition Manager to tinker with the partitions on the new larger drive. Thought it worth a mention as an alternative solution.

Open Spotify, go to the menu. Select Edit, then go down to Preferences Scroll to the bottom, Look for Open Spotify Automatically After You Log In To The Computer Select the Don't Open Automatically option. Done :)

Thanks for the feedback, I read this thread a few times and couldn't understand why you had an Intel wireless card - Dot S machine's were not fitted with Intel. Mystery solved!

Hi, Have a look at this page http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DocumentIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&contentType=SupportManual&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=5258539 Go down to the Setup and Install - General section, and click on the Upgrading and Service Guide. That should do it.