PANIC! Laptop won't turn on!?!?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Just come to turn my big laptop on and nothing! The little light on the power supply is on but the laptop does squat when I press the button!
Any ideas what the best plan of action is, I have a chap comeing to collect some photos this afternoon!!!

[Mark Grant]

I would disconnect the laptop from the PSU, take the battery out of the laptop, wait a minute, put the battery back in, connect PSU and try again.

also check that the PSU is actually outputting DC power with a multimeter.

Hope you get it working !

Mark.

[REM]

Could well be the PSU, mine went kaput a couple of months ago, very common problem I was told.

[Haselsh1]

Make sure the last time you used the laptop it didn't go into hibernation. If it did, there will be a procedure to reboot it.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Crap crap crap, nothing is working tries battery out for 10 mins still nothing, psu works with my web laptop...
I wonder how quickly I can buy a set of bits to make a new pc ... I hate bloody computers!

[webby]

Can you hear it doing anything Hamish? Maybe the screen has died. Can you connect to a video out port?

[Mark Grant]

If its stuck in hibernate sometimes holding the power button down for a while might do it. ( with PSU connected of course as battery may be flat)

I had an old Sony laptop that got stuck in hibernate occasionally if I closed the lid too soon while it was shutting down.

might be another way to wake it up though as Shaun says.

[Rare Bird]

Yes Lee Connect the VGA of your lappy to a Computer monitor or your TV if it has a PC in

[webby]

Yes Lee Connect the VGA of your lappy to a Computer monitor

Yes, I was asking if Hamish could do that.

[Themis]

If there's no noise at all at startup, I'm afraid the motherboard is dead. :(

[The Vinyl Adventure]

It's is completely fecked, dead as a dodo no lights no sound no nothing... I'm on ebuyer now trying to get my head round computer specs now

[Rare Bird]

Reason i don't buy em no more

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I really don't fucking need this shit in my life right now!

[Dave Cawley]

Do some tests. Is the battery flat? Does the mains PSU work?

Dave

[Themis]

I really don't fucking need this shit in my life right now!
Nothing serious hamish :
- go get an external HD enclosure with USB output that accepts 2.5" hard disks
- open the laptop and take out the hd
- put it in the enclosure, then plug it in another PC
- transfer all files you need

Then, give the laptop for servicing

[Rare Bird]

I really don't fucking need this shit in my life right now!

:lol: Chuck the khant thru the window like i do

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Ok here's the situation -
the psu works with a different laptop, so I know that's working
with the psu pluged into the Sony I press the on button and it does nothing, no sound, no lights no reaction, I have tried taking the battery out an leaving it out for a bit and plugging it back in... Still nothing. Maybe the on off switch has failed...
Fortunatly everything is on external hdd including all my backed up software so i have 2 choices - take this thing to a repairers which could be bad money if it fails again, or spend £300 on a new tower pc
it seems I can get bits from ebuyer next day delivvery for £9.99...
Any thoughts on what are good computer Lego these days?

[Themis]

Ok here's the situation -
the psu works with a different laptop, so I know that's working
with the psu pluged into the Sony I press the on button and it does nothing, no sound, no lights no reaction, I have tried taking the battery out an leaving it out for a bit and plugging it back in... Still nothing. Maybe the on off switch has failed...
Fortunatly everything is on external hdd including all my backed up software so i have 2 choices - take this thing to a repairers which could be bad money if it fails again, or spend £300 on a new tower pc
it seems I can get bits from ebuyer next day delivvery for £9.99...
Any thoughts on what are good computer Lego these days?
If it's less than 2 years old -> service
Otherwise -> recycle HD and bin the rest

[webby]

It's is completely fecked, dead as a dodo no lights no sound no nothing... I'm on ebuyer now trying to get my head round computer specs now

Sorry to hear that Hamish. That sucks.

[Rare Bird]

If your using it day in day out i'd go for desktop, what people fail to understand is lap tops are not ment for everyday rigorous use really they are portable on the go units IMHO

[Themis]

Any thoughts on what are good computer Lego these days?
Get a DELL
If it's a laptop you need : get an ASUS

[Dave Cawley]

Just go to PC World, much cheaper than bulding one!

Dave

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I'm gonna build one my self.
I'm looking a quad 3.33ghz socket 1156 i5 intel ... As it seems to get good reviews for what I need it for... Any thoughts?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Just go to PC World, much cheaper than bulding one!

Dave

Yeah maybe but you get crap Lego, build it my self and I ge the exact bits of choice

[Themis]

I'm gonna build one my self.
I'm looking a quad 3.33ghz socket 1156 i5 intel ... As it seems to get good reviews for what I need it for... Any thoughts?
Don't look at the speed : Get the highest cache possible and a very good motherboard.
Don't get an HD of more than 1Go.
Get a graphic card accordingly to your use. These days ATI is better/cheaper than NVidia.

The rest is of no importance.

[Rare Bird]

If it's a laptop you need : get an ASUS



Only one i have that's actually lasted

[Themis]

Only one i have that's actually lasted
Monsieur est un connaisseur ! :)

[Dave Cawley]

Trust me, I use my i7 Acer from PC World for a living. Even I could not build one as cheap from ebuyer.

Dave

[The Vinyl Adventure]

.... £330 and I have 3.33ghz 4mb cache, 4gb ddr3 1333mhz ram, 1156 Asus mboard? Expensive?

[John]

I had similar issue at xmas a real pain at least you got everything backed up

[Kris]

Moral of the Story, always back up to external HD!

Glad it looks like you've sorted the problem, and you'll have a new PC as well!

Kris.

[Themis]

Trust me, I use my i7 Acer from PC World for a living. Even I could not build one as cheap from ebuyer.

Dave
Dave, Acer have amongst the highest return rate of all (they are amongst the cheapest, too, that is). That being said, if you change your computer ever 18 months you can't care less about quality.

On the other hand, we can't make a rule based on <2-years-old computers. How old is your Acer ?

[Themis]

.... £330 and I have 3.33ghz 4mb cache, 4gb ddr3 1333mhz ram, 1156 Asus mboard? Expensive?
A laptop ? :scratch:
Could you provide a link please ?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

It's a toughy this, if I make my own I have to foot the bill for windows too (oem £75) if I buy built I can get a pretty good one and get a monitor and all the gubbins and not pay as much as allthe extra gubbins cost separately but the internal arnt quite as hand picked as I would like
basicaly £400 gets me shit hot internals but no windows or a monitor or £600 get me slightly less good bits internally but I get windows and a 22" monitor...

[The Vinyl Adventure]

A laptop ? :scratch:

No pc, home built

[Themis]

basicaly £400 gets me shit hot internals but no windows or a monitor or £600 get me slightly less good bits internally but I get windows and a 22" monitor...
A monitor+ oem win7 costs under £200

[The Vinyl Adventure]

these are the bits im looking at

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190022

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755 or http://www.ebuyer.com/product/185942

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158711

[Themis]

A 750 is much better than a 661 except for scientific calculations : http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-ci5-660-p2.html
The rest looks good.

[Kris]

Custom PC mag also recommend the 750. According to them, it's a no-brainer.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

the 661 looks better for photoshop too .. and thats what il be using it for? what you recon?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

... ...
i guess more cashe and higher grade proccesor is gonna give me the edge over all compared to that extra bit of speed??

[Themis]

... ...
i guess more cashe and higher grade proccesor is gonna give me the edge over all compared to that extra bit of speed??
Yes : more L2 and L3 cache and two extra cores for the 750. ;)

[Dave Cawley]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-M5810-Desktop-PC-Core2Quad-i7-860-2-80GHz_W0QQitemZ280453832241QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_C omputing_DesktopPCs?hash=item414c59de31

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Dave, you do make what would apear to be a compling argument... What's the difference between i5 and i7

[Kris]

The new Intel branding (i3, i5, i7) is done by performance rather than features, so there is some overlap features wise between i3, i5 and i7. (the higher the number, the better the CPU) The i5's all have 2 physical cores and 2 virtual cores, except for the i5 750 which has 4 physical cores. Physical cores are better than virtual cores. Also, the i5 range all have integrated low spec GPU's, except for the i5 750. But if you're using a graphics card, you won't be needing the internal GPU. Although the i5 750 is slower (in gHz terms) than the rest of the i5 range it has more cache, which, when put with the 4 physical cores, makes it a better and faster CPU than the rest of the i5 range. It's also cheaper than the next down i5 CPU, the 650. So in the i5 range, the 750 is the one to go for. The i7 range all have 4 physical and 4 logical cores, and most use a different socket.

Hope that makes sense?

Kris :scratch:

[Rare Bird]

Always keep 6 computers spare you never know ;)

[smurfbrain]

Hamish dell is doing promotion on i7 at moment
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...kc=&oc=D024303
by using Code G7FPTX83H50S17 you will get another £50 off taking price down to 457.08 offer valid till 2.2.10

also if photography is your living i would look into pva or sips panel monitors as these are the best for for
photo editing

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Hamish dell is doing promotion on i7 at moment
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...kc=&oc=D024303
by using Code G7FPTX83H50S17 you will get another £50 off taking price down to 457.08 offer valid till 2.2.10

also if photography is your living i would look into pva or sips panel monitors as these are the best for for
photo editing

cheers for that!

i have an eizo display, (http://shop.colourconfidence.com/product.php?xProd=2774&xSec=10312) i couldnt afford anything better than this at the time but it is easily good enough for my likeing, its about as damn close to the prints my lab make me, so i recon its as i could ever need! i did want one of the proper colouredge one's but i cant see me needing whatever extra that brings for a while!
cheers for the pointer though

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Hamish dell is doing promotion on i7 at moment
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...kc=&oc=D024303
by using Code G7FPTX83H50S17 you will get another £50 off taking price down to 457.08 offer valid till 2.2.10

also if photography is your living i would look into pva or sips panel monitors as these are the best for for
photo editing

you linky no worky

[The Vinyl Adventure]

The new Intel branding (i3, i5, i7) is done by performance rather than features, so there is some overlap features wise between i3, i5 and i7. (the higher the number, the better the CPU) The i5's all have 2 physical cores and 2 virtual cores, except for the i5 750 which has 4 physical cores. Physical cores are better than virtual cores. Also, the i5 range all have integrated low spec GPU's, except for the i5 750. But if you're using a graphics card, you won't be needing the internal GPU. Although the i5 750 is slower (in gHz terms) than the rest of the i5 range it has more cache, which, when put with the 4 physical cores, makes it a better and faster CPU than the rest of the i5 range. It's also cheaper than the next down i5 CPU, the 650. So in the i5 range, the 750 is the one to go for. The i7 range all have 4 physical and 4 logical cores, and most use a different socket.

Hope that makes sense?

Kris :scratch:

yes, from my investigations it does make a bit of sence
cheers

[smurfbrain]

try this one
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&kc=&oc=D024303

[The Vinyl Adventure]

that looks pretty bloody good!!

[smurfbrain]

just remeber that this combo will not recognize more than 3gig ram. you can upgrade the graphic card at the cost but even than dell restricts motherboards. case will need some persuasion ;) to put some extra components later. i reckon this is the best deal for money.
good luck

[The Vinyl Adventure]

it let me add an extra gb of ram ... how do you mean it wont recognise more than 3gb?

[smurfbrain]

i am assuming you are going to use 32bit os (xp,vista,windows 7). with these operatin systems available memory dependps on how many devices are installed. hardware supports 4gb but software limts this as a default to around 3gb or in some cases less.

[Kris]

As Martin says, it's a great deal, but there are compromises.

i7's are triple channel Ram. So you want 3 or 6 gigs (if you have a 64bit OS),4 gigs is a waste of money and might actually reduce the system speed due to the ram being off balance. All three Ram sticks should be the same and matched. With this Pc they aren't.

The case will be a downside, as will airflow. Also it will have the stock CPU fan which is ok, but the PC will run hot. The MOBO will be a cheapie and not very good.

There are lots of other problems, but as we say, if you're prepared to live with the compromises, it's an excellent price :)

Frankly, the best bet is to find a friend who knows what's what and get them to build you a PC. Other wise, go with the Dell.

[smurfbrain]

in order to take full advantage of 4gb ram or more you would have to shift to 64bit os.
then you would have check compabillity issues with the software you already have.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

i think i need to wind my neck in a bit here and perhaps go for a i5... this is only really for photo editing and a bit of video editing not to mention i only really want to spend about £350
whats the score with i5 then can i have 4 gb of ram happily with this bugger
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755

[Maximum]

If you are going for windows 7 you might as well go for 64 bit. Like others have said 32 bit systems are limited to 4GB address space, which includes things like graphics cards which have memory to be addressed. PAE allows some programs to use more through paging, but virtually no program uses it and rely on direct memory access which is better for performance.

If you buy a computer from the likes of dell they will skimp on things like quality of ram/power supply/case/motherboard. You also have the warranty on the computer as a whole rather than on the components.

[smurfbrain]

dont forget that you will need decent psu, case, heatsink with fan,possibly another case fan. these components will take you above your budget of £350.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

i hate computers

[Spectral Morn]

i hate computers

Ditto :(

Since Firefox went to version 3 my PC does not run it right. Its got worse with the latest .5 version. Runs slow, needs refreshing regularly to get it to change pages/do anything at all, and it locks up quite a bit. Since AoS got Google adds AoS loads more slowly too. I reckon its a memory/cache issue :scratch: I think. Sites high in visual content or moving adds are worst.

Frankly its getting to be a real pain in the ass. I changed the way the graphics are displayed in control panel to basic (ran fine but looks crap)...I then changed it to Windows XP and its back to having problems.

I hate PCs too.


Regards D S D L

[Kris]

Since AoS got Google adds AoS loads more slowly too

AOS has ads? I didn't know! But then again I use the Firefox add blocker, so I never see any ads anywhere thankfully. Firefox runs fine for me, is totally stable, and AOS loads just as fast as any other site, which is pretty fast as I'm on 20Mb cable Internet.

[Spectral Morn]

AOS has ads? I didn't know! But then again I use the Firefox add blocker, so I never see any ads anywhere thankfully. Firefox runs fine for me, is totally stable, and AOS loads just as fast as any other site, which is pretty fast as I'm on 20Mb cable Internet.

Broadband bandwidth could be an issue as well. I have a basic package with Virgin. I didn't see the point of paying for a con which 20 Mb is mostly...very few providers actually give you any where near that. However before the recent upgrades to Firefox things ran fine...but not now...go figure.


Regards D S D L

[Alex_UK]

Ditto :(

Since Firefox went to version 3 my PC does not run it right. Its got worse with the latest .5 version. Runs slow, needs refreshing regularly to get it to change pages/do anything at all, and it locks up quite a bit. Since AoS got Google adds AoS loads more slowly too. I reckon its a memory/cache issue :scratch: I think. Sites high in visual content or moving adds are worst.

Frankly its getting to be a real pain in the ass. I changed the way the graphics are displayed in control panel to basic (ran fine but looks crap)...I then changed it to Windows XP and its back to having problems.

I hate PCs too.


Regards D S D L

Neil, I had a similar issue, been using Google Chrome ever since, no speed problems and now prefer its simplicity, too.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Chrome is pretty good streamlined is the best word I recon... I still prefer firefox myself although I do agree, it doesn't seem as fast as it used to...

[Haselsh1]

I always build my own PC's. That way when it packs up you know exactly what is going on inside. It's so easy to grub around inside and fix issues. Always have a spare drive either in an external case or inside especially if you are a photographer. Somehow I feel I am preaching to the converted though.

[Spectral Morn]

Interesting....glad its not just me.

I will have a look at Chrome..but to be honest I am not a huge fan of Google..I view it as a necessary evil. Any other options?

Regards D S D L

[Kris]

I have a basic package with Virgin. I didn't see the point of paying for a con which 20 Mb is mostly...very few providers actually give you any where near that.

Agreed. Thankfully, in our area, Virgin cable 20Mb is exactly that. Even at peek times it only goes down to 17-18 Mb, and I've never clocked it at less than 15. I guess we're lucky!

Kris.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Interesting....glad its not just me.

I will have a look at Chrome..but to be honest I am not a huge fan of Google..I view it as a necessary evil. Any other options?

Regards D S D L

opera - http://www.opera.com/
safari - http://www.apple.com/safari/

[Alex_UK]

avant browser (http://www.avantbrowser.com/) - "the fastest browser on earth" - not sure about New Skaro, though...

[Spectral Morn]

Agreed. Thankfully, in our area, Virgin cable 20Mb is exactly that. Even at peek times it only goes down to 17-18 Mb, and I've never clocked it at less than 15. I guess we're lucky!

Kris.


Hi Kris

I could pay for more, but I can't really afford more.

When we moved from dial up to broadband, everything worked fine, but its got worse over the last 6 months or so. I am happy with the speed, though ITV player and some You tube etc is a stuttering/freezing frustration (not the BBC though). However TV is for TV in my view and not a PC.

Regards D S D L

[Spectral Morn]

opera - http://www.opera.com/
safari - http://www.apple.com/safari/

Hi Hamish

Thanks for allowing the slight thread drift;).

Which is the better ?


Regards D S D L

[Spectral Morn]

avant browser (http://www.avantbrowser.com/) - "the fastest browser on earth" - not sure about New Skaro, though...

Should be fine ;) Alex :)

How does it compare to Firefox ?


Regards D S D L

[Alex_UK]

Been a while since I used it (it pre-dates firefox, and to my knowledge was the first tabbed browser) but it was pretty good - best bet is to try some - you can always uninstall.

[Spectral Morn]

Been a while since I used it (it pre-dates firefox, and to my knowledge was the first tabbed browser) but it was pretty good - best bet is to try some - you can always uninstall.

True.


Regards D S D L

[The Vinyl Adventure]

safari is the best portable browser i have used on the iphone, but i have no idea how well it works on a pc
opera seems ok when i have used it, although i seem to remember it being a bit clunky, especially on my web pc with its little screen
i know a lot of people who very much recomend chrome to be honest, i know that isnt first choice, but it does seem to be the way to go for the average user

[Themis]

I don't trust companies with a business model based on advertisement : no Chrome for me, thanks. :ner:

[Themis]

avant browser (http://www.avantbrowser.com/) - "the fastest browser on earth" - not sure about New Skaro, though...
It's just an IE web plugin... there are tens of that everywhere. I'd even written one a few years ago, a day I was bored. ;)

[Spectral Morn]

It's just an IE web plugin... there are tens of that everywhere. I'd even written one a few years ago, a day I was bored. ;)

Hi...? what ? some of us have limited PC knowledge. What does IE Web Plugin mean? Is that bad, not up to much. Basic problem is that Firefox is causing me problems...is there an alternative ? Is Avant Browser a suitable option ?


Regards D S D L

[REM]

I don't trust companies with a business model based on advertisement : no Chrome for me, thanks. :ner:

You can now get Ad Block for Chrome, so bye bye adverts. I still use FF though, you just get used to some things....:)

[Themis]

Hi...? what ? some of us have limited PC knowledge. What does IE Web Plugin mean? Is that bad, not up to much. Basic problem is that Firefox is causing me problems...is there an alternative ? Is Avant Browser a suitable option ?


Regards D S D L
Internet Explorer is a front-end (kind of "dressing" if you prefer) of an Windows Explorer core component which displays web pages. You can use this core component by opening an Explorer window (NOT IE) then by typing an internet address in place of the file name.
This core component can be used by any windows application : it's enough to provide a handle (a container) of an existing window.
It is not bad in itself. It just has two (potential) inconveniences :
- It is not faster than IE (since IE uses the same thing to display pages)
- It can be potentially insecure (if you are not sure of the provider, ie the guys who programmed it)

[Spectral Morn]

Internet Explorer is a front-end (kind of "dressing" if you prefer) of an Windows Explorer core component which displays web pages. You can use this core component by opening an Explorer window (NOT IE) then by typing an internet address in place of the file name.
This core component can be used by any windows application : it's enough to provide a handle (a container) of an existing window.
It is not bad in itself. It just has two (potential) inconveniences :
- It is not faster than IE (since IE uses the same thing to display pages)
- It can be potentially insecure (if you are not sure of the provider, ie the guys who programmed it)


Thanks.

My Internet explorer seems to be directly tied into the Virgin Media site. I don't want to use that. I have tried launching it separately and it always goes back to the Virgin home page.


Regards D S D L

[Themis]

You can now get Ad Block for Chrome, so bye bye adverts. I still use FF though, you just get used to some things....:)
I'm not certain that Google doesn't use IP localization and anonymous site utilization statistics. You should read the privacy statement of Chrome : http://www.google.com/privacy.html
From what I understand, they do.

Now, this is not a real problem, but I simply don't like it. ;)

[Themis]

Thanks.

My Internet explorer seems to be directly tied into the Virgin Media site. I don't want to use that. I have tried launching it separately and it always goes back to the Virgin home page.


Regards D S D L
You have a Virgin program that changes the home page. If you don't use it, then you should uninstall the program.

Give Opera a try. ;)

[Spectral Morn]

You have a Virgin program that changes the home page. If you don't use it, then you should uninstall the program.

Give Opera a try. ;)

Okay :)


Regards D S D L

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I made my laptop work... I shall never tell anyone how stupid I have been :) all good now though!

[Themis]

You forgot the lock switch on... :lol:

[The Vinyl Adventure]

NOPE...never tellin

[The Vinyl Adventure]

the voltage switch had been knocked on the psu, when i tested it on the little computer i set it what it was suposed to be for that, but then when i went to use it on the sony again i just flicked it back to what it had been knocked to. i didnt check because i had rememberd it (wrongly obviously) being the highest voltage. set it back to 19 this morning (when i was feeling a bit less paniced about the situ, and hey presto computer works. i happily admit, i am a fool :doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::o:o:o:o:o:o:o:lolsign:
well if you cant laugh at your self when you do such stupid things.... see my signature for referance on my feelings towards this type of thing :)

[Themis]

:lolsign:

[Kris]

Glad you got it sorted.:)

A little embarrassment is cheaper than new computer. . . .

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Glad you got it sorted.:)

A little embarrassment is cheaper than new computer. . . .

indeed it is (got my heart set on one a bit though now... gonna leave it for now though, see if i can better get my nut round the technobabble )

[Rare Bird]

No moaning over whats crap & what aint, technology is all crap, reliablility is unthinkable ..you may aswell throw you notes on the fire, the thing is the whole world is built around this consumer throw away shit.

[DSJR]

Hamish, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:peace:

[Spectral Morn]

indeed it is (got my heart set on one a bit though now... gonna leave it for now though, see if i can better get my nut round the technobabble )

The one good thing that came out of this was me...asking about my problems.

I was listening to Radio 4 today and they were talking to companies than work on An Open Source model, such as Linux and Firefox and guess what they're working on a loading problem with version 3 :doh:. That explains a lot I think. No problems before version 3, and nothing but problems with version 3 onwards (with me anyway) .6 is due soon.


Regards D S D L

Dimitri can you provide a link to Opera...just so I get the right thing.

[Themis]

Dimitri can you provide a link to Opera...just so I get the right thing.
Of course, Neil : http://www.opera.com/

I apologize for not having given it already.

[Spectral Morn]

Of course, Neil : http://www.opera.com/

I apologize for not having given it already.

Thank you.


Regards D S D L

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I hadn't even thought about it until the compo got working again today, I have been blaming it crashing and ballsing up on things like lightroom, but today with 2 firefox windows open with a couple of tabs in each - they both stopped responding and flashing orange in the windows bar thing at the bottom... I that what it's doing for you neil?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

It's done it quite a few times actually, hannah was just saying it's done it to her when she was buying something off a website and had to spend ages fiddleing to see if she had bought 2 big star shaped mirrors...

[Alex_UK]

As me old Granny used to say, "all's well that ends well" - glad your laptop is ok Hamish!

[smurfbrain]

first its good to hear that it was minor issue with your laptop Hamish.
regarding firefox few things that make it run faster are described here. used in the past and it worked.it works with latest firefox 3.5.7 just checked. the speed boost is quite good.
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/8-hacks-to-make-firefox-ridiculously-fast-468317
hope it helps

[Spectral Morn]

I hadn't even thought about it until the compo got working again today, I have been blaming it crashing and ballsing up on things like lightroom, but today with 2 firefox windows open with a couple of tabs in each - they both stopped responding and flashing orange in the windows bar thing at the bottom... I that what it's doing for you neil?

More or less.

It runs slow, loading, loading..you hit refresh and it loads. Or it locks..you try again and a message comes up "Program not responding" ERRRRRRRRRRRRR...you then just shut it down "End program" It takes ages and then Micro-Soft want you to file a report "about the non-responsive program"

I can't take it anymore..happened tonight again....:steam: Then firefox would not load up at all....I had to shut the PC down.

Fire Fox begone...............


Regards D S D L

[Stratmangler]

More or less.

It runs slow, loading, loading..you hit refresh and it loads. Or it locks..you try again and a message comes up "Program not responding" ERRRRRRRRRRRRR...you then just shut it down "End program" It takes ages and then Micro-Soft want you to file a report "about the non-responsive program"

I can't take it anymore..happened tonight again....:steam: Then firefox would not load up at all....I had to shut the PC down.

Fire Fox begone...............


Regards D S D L

You could of course do the 3 fingered salute (Ctrl/Alt/Del) and close Firefox.exe from there - it'll save a lot of time shutting down and turning on the computer.

Chris;)

[Spectral Morn]

You could of course do the 3 fingered salute (Ctrl/Alt/Del) and close Firefox.exe from there - it'll save a lot of time shutting down and turning on the computer.

Chris;)

Hi Chris

Thanks for the Tip it helps when you know what you are doing. I am very much on a computing learning curve.

Just down loaded Opera and wow....firefox is I think doomed....we shall see.


Regards D S D L

[Spectral Morn]

hi hamish

Just tried Safari....:doh: Worse than Firefox (on my PC)...quite slow at loading and refreshing pages. Oh yes and nearly all of the nice features mentioned on their homepage...not available on a PC:eek: Yet they don't mention this at all anywhere on the homepage. I hunted through all the menus, sub menus etc.

So its been exterminated.


The quest continues.....


Regards D S D L

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Shame ... It's pretty snazzy on my phone, but that's really the ony experience I have had of it!
Did you try opera?

[Spectral Morn]

Shame ... It's pretty snazzy on my phone, but that's really the ony experience I have had of it!
Did you try opera?

Yes, its good, very fast, but I don't like the way it stores bookmarks or the fact it keeps a permanent visible record of whats in your Cache...why ? You can't delete it..what a waste of storage...useless info...well useless to me.

I am not keen on Google Chrome (I feel the same way as Dimitri) and a friend suggested that Chronium might be an option, but its still Google :doh:I don't understand how she thought it was Google free. Its open source okay, but Google are behind it.

I will try Avant next, I think.

The ideal solution would be if FireFox fix whats wrong with fireFox.

Regards D S D L

[Themis]

Neil, are you sure your problems with FF don't come from an installed plugin ?

[DSJR]

[Edit] See Themis' reply below and treat paragraph below with caution...

'Scuse me if I'm telling granny about sucking eggs (again...!), but it's well worth while getting a registry cleaner if you haven't got one aready Neil, as adding and removing software don't-arf leave its mark. I found Uniblue's Registry Booster and the freeware C Cleaner work for me.... take backups when asked and you shouldn't go wrong..

P.S. Go into - control panel - system - advanced - error reporting and check the "disable error reporting" box while leaving the "notify on critical errors" checked.. This may help to prevent the system slowing down on programme difficulties...

[Themis]

'Scuse me if I'm telling granny about sucking eggs (again...!), but it's well worth while getting a registry cleaner if you haven't got one aready Neil, as adding and removing software don't-arf leave its mark. I found Uniblue's Registry Booster and the freeware C Cleaner work for me.... take backups when asked and you shouldn't go wrong..

I have to disagree. Registry cleaners *may* do more harm than good. The registry size is not really a problem in 99% of the cases and unused entries don't slow down anything at all.

A more recent OS (win7) is a better solution.

[DSJR]

Thanks for advice. I'm stuck with XP Pro for now........

[Themis]

I don't want to alarm anybody, but twice I f*ucked up the registry using tools like that. They work perfectly most of the time, but...
Once the registry gets inconsistent (by having necessary entries removed), errors become random and there's often little information as to what should be reinstalled to make up for the lost entries...

[Mark Grant]

I also think it might be an extension or add on in Firefox that is causing it.

maybe disable them all ( tools>add-ons) and see what happens.

I would try http://www.ccleaner.com/ even though Themis does not like it :)
Never had a problem with it myself yet.
Dont let ccleaner install the yahoo tool bar, its a tick option that needs un-ticking during installation.

might be worth un-installing all the extra browsers first, reboot, then clean it.

Nothing wrong with firefox on most systems so must be something on your PC.

Mark.

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Guys

Sorry I am late picking up this advice....been busy today (all day..well since 9.30) installing new aerial cable from roofspace to living room. Floors had to be lifted, tons of household stuff moved...then it all had to go back, for 6.15 (before my wife comes home from work). Got that done mostly then, had to finish it all (nearly there now, just to cut cable in living room and fit an F plug). I also had to fix a few dodgy floorboards too. I am knackered.

I use cleaner to remove internet crap (find it to be very good and speed things up), tried registry cleaner once :doh: It screwed everything up...got it fixed (never again).

Hi Themis...ummm:scratch: a plugin..could be I suppose..however in saying that Firefox are working on a solution at the moment for something similar or identical to my problems...only happening since last set of version upgrades.

Opera works brilliantly, but there are aspects I don't like. I don't see the point of a permanent cache with every site I have visited listed. I can't delete it (you can with FF). I have removed Opera in order to see if reinstalling it would clear the cache..nope still there + all my bookmarks etc :(

I will try it again, but use the custom install option to see if I can start from scratch. I think I know what started the problem, Automatic Cache..so I will switch it off from the off.

So its FireFox only at the moment....still slow.

Hi Mark

I will try what you suggest...thanks.

Okay Yahoo tool bar removed. I have a few to do with AVG (I need them I think).. Java Quick starter (do I need that ?)....Ask tool bar for Firefox (do I need that?) What do you think guys.


Regards D S D L

[Themis]

Okay Yahoo tool bar removed. I have a few to do with AVG (I need them I think).. Java Quick starter (do I need that ?)....Ask tool bar for Firefox (do I need that?) What do you think guys.

Ask tool bar can be safely removed if you use Google.

[Spectral Morn]

Ask tool bar can be safely removed if you use Google.

Done.

Regards D S D L

[Themis]

Version 3.6 of Firefox works ok for me, btw... ;)

[Spectral Morn]

Version 3.6 of Firefox works ok for me, btw... ;)

Just updated to .6 and so far it seems better..we shall see.


Regards D S D L

[Alex_UK]

Same here Neil - 3.6 has cured my problems.

[Alex_UK]

(But I now think I prefer Chrome!)

[Spectral Morn]

(But I now think I prefer Chrome!)

I started a chrome download earlier and spy bot went ballistic about it. It said it contained dangerous elements...so I terminated the download..it was from Google's site.

So far so good, faster (not as fast as Opera), and no lock ups or freezing..so far anyway.


Regards D S D L

[The Vinyl Adventure]

check this out


Firefox is already running, but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Firefox process, or restart your system.

that happens everytime i try and open firefox... i havent restarted the computer yet but thats still pretty daft concidering i havent got any firefox windows open

[Spectral Morn]

check this out



that happens everytime i try and open firefox... i havent restarted the computer yet but thats still pretty daft concidering i havent got any firefox windows open

Hi Hamish

Yep..it seems that if you close Firefox down, and then change your mind and try to launch it again (immediately)it won't. You need to leave it for a few minutes..allows it to close down fully. I don't know why.


Regards D S D L

[The Vinyl Adventure]

coz it poopy