Mega
I still have XP on one of my drives and Win 7 on the others. I find 7 much more stable and think you would appreciate the upgrade. I use a little program called Classic Start Menu to give me the old look. You can switch between styles with a click of the mouse. You can set up a plain desktop background and switch off all the pop up/interactive stuff. I also use "Display Changer" to change screen size at a click but not everyone would need that that (an eyesight question).

@iiwarm,thanks for the information,have to admit its odds on favourite it will be Win 7,especially as you can make it look like the old XP theme but still be as bullit proof or more so that the brilliant XP that i have used for years.

All i have to do is try and find the combination number for my wallet,that i am afraid is going to be far harder than choose a new operating system :o)

Once again thanks to you all for your help/advice,oh and you skinny :o)

Luddite! :-)

Plenty of Luddites! MS is bringing back the start button.

Microsoft today officially launched Windows 8.1 Preview, the first public beta of its flagship operating system’s next version, at its Build developer conference in San Francisco today. For Microsoft, Windows 8.1 represents a chance to fix some of the issues with Windows 8. The fact that Microsoft is bringing back the Start button and now allowing users to boot right into the desktop is a sign that the company has been listening to its users. In many ways, 8.1 — even in this Preview version — is what Windows 8 should have been.

Mega
You're welcome. Just to avoid confusion if you want "classic start menu" it's included in the "Classic Shell" program.

IE 10 is the one I hate. It takes ages to login here with it.

Windows 8.1 preview

I will take a look on Ebay later and see if i can find a copy of Win 7 for a decent price,of course it must be a legal copy with the key :)one can find some really good reliable bargains that dont require the combination lock on my wallet to be used.

I have a Panasonic 32" TV with a SD card recording option. When I record a program, I can only play it back at about 40% of the screen size, even if I record on 'Normal', 'Fine' etc. I have tried playing with the TV screen size option, but it makes no difference. Is this unique to SD cards or is there an option to change the viewing size?

I have a 50" Panasonic Viera that works fine that way. Have you tried to do the same using the USB port to a memory stick available.

Not tried USB, but presumably that would entail copying it across from the SD card. I am keen to try to sort the SD option first.

I meant record the programme onto a USB stick that might reduce the problem to record or playback.

Ah, no I haven't tried that. On my list of things to investigate!

Just realised that I may have some catching up to do! I am actually playing & recording content on a micro SD card and using a SD card adaptor. I assume this does not produce the same results as using a full sized SD card? The micro SD is 2GB capacity, but maybe the format doesn't support full sized recording?

I doubt that there is anything on the SDcard that could influence what is on it, whether full size or micro. The data is recorded in a manner pretty much the same as on a PC hard disk. In fact I can plug a PC hard disk that has a USB cable, into my Panasonic TV.

You have either a recording problem or a playback problem. I would see what the USB port does on recording and playback. If there is a problem, them I would play the USB through a PC or laptop and see what I get. You could try the SD card on a laptop if you have a reader. I have a device that cost 99p which converts an SD card to USB.

Thanks for your help so far Haystack. Much appreciated. I am now into the realms of SD, SDHC & SDXC and trying to fathom the differences. It may possibly be a TV fault as I have also discovered it won't read the photo album on the card, just the MPEG files. This could take a while!
Or maybe it's the formatting???
• A JPEG image modified with a PC cannot be displayed.
• Images imported from a PC must be compatible with EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2.
• Partly degraded files might be displayed at a reduced resolution.
• MPEG4 view can only show moving pictures recorded by this TV, Panasonic DVD recorder DIGA or mobile camera D-snap.
• When recording in MPEG4, format the SD card with this TV. The card may not operate properly if formatted with different equipment.
• Memory cards must be formatted with FAT12 or FAT16 in order to be viewed on TV. If the card is not formatted, it may cause incompatibility with certain memory card adapters. If this happens, reformat the card using your digital camera.
• This function cannot display Motion JPEG and still image not DCF formatted (i.e. TIFF, BMP).

Son's just started uni this week. At his student accommodation, he has internet access but only through a wired connection. Problem is, he's only taken an iPAD with him as he couldn't lug his desktop machine all the way. What options does he have to get on to the network using the ipad? I understand there are various types of adapters. Would appreciate some pointers.

Can't he tether (I think that's the term) it to his phone?

Otherwise there seem to be a plethora of adapters - eg :-

F8277 Portable 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi Express Adapter Network Card for iPhone / iPad / MacBook - White

ipad to internet adapters

I find that movies play best on the TV if recorded as .avi files. I download movies on a PC and play them on the TV. I usually look for downloadable files that are in .avi format.

Thanks skinny. Not sure about the tethering bit...will explore that too. The adapter way seems best though. Looking at those now to see which one might be best for his situation. The management of the accommodation building do say that they will have wi-fi in place around October.