If its given you grief, I'd give it the 'Fawlty' treatment!



PC world have some £100 cash back offer on certain PCs until Tomorrow - £100 casback

skinny, :-) That is the first treatment I try in most situations, especially with technology - the user manual comes a distant 999th!

Thanks for the heads-up on the PC World offer. Some of the laptops on offer do look tempting.

Developers force Microsoft to release Windows 8.1 early

An outcry by programmers has forced Microsoft to give them early access to Windows 8.1.

The furore came after Microsoft announced that developers would get the new release at the same time as everyone else.

That marked a change from established practice which saw certified developers get early access to new versions.

Microsoft has now given coders access to 8.1 so they can start testing and developing before the public release.

Programmers who subscribed to Microsoft's TechNet and MSDN developer services historically got early access so they could ensure code for their own applications was not broken by the new versions of Windows.

Microsoft's strong developer community were unhappy with the change Microsoft made with 8.1, particularly as the new version made changes to its appearance and the way programs can work with it.

Windows 8.1 is due to be released to the public on 18 October. The version that will ship to customers has been ready since late August.

Klal, presumably the replacement graphics card due to be installed isn't the same as the duff one, so might be worth asking what is being put in. Price depends on the memory on the graphics card & the processor speed. Maybe not worth sticking in anything fancy if it's an old machine?

Thanks HC. The machine is about three years old. Hopefully, the technician will be able to obtain a matching graphics card. You're right - certainly don't want to put in anything excessive. If the solution goes in that direction, I'd rather scrap the machine and buy a new one. Desktops are so much easier!

Require some help please on updating to a later operating system than WinXP Pro,i have used WinXP for years even on new machines but they are stopping support for it sometime early next year.

I have to upgrade at some time and i think my only option is either WIN7 or 8,have to admit Win8 does not really grab me so can Win7 be setup feel and look like WinXP ??? and also is it bullit proof like XP.

Many thanks

I hate win 8. Only use it if you have a touch screen PC. If you are tempted to get win 8 then go to PC world or similar where you can play with it.

I like it and I don't have a touch screen PC.

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.