Of course it's possible to survive without it all :) But you're talking about necessity versus choice.

The original posts asked if civilisation was worth the complexity that goes with it.
...

But - with respect - the most likely reason that it was 'the best week ever' was because deep down you knew you could go back to the other life once you were through with the experience.

Your/our...

Have you tried removing and redetecting the soundcard from the Control Panel?

Are you sure that your Soundcard needs the AC97 drivers and not SoundMAX? There are some issues where updating the...

What's even more funny is that the solution I provided - and which appears to be totally invisible to everyone - does not include any javascript (thank you very much), gives you an 'animated' button...

Clean install of XP. It'll save you loads of messing around.

You don't know what files are damaged, and they may not just be the 'network files' ones.

Clean install, then focus on the network...

I've not got any experience of them.

Google for 'plus.net complaints' and 'plus.net reviews' - there's not much mention of them at the moment:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/review219190.html

It doesn't matter that it was working before because it isn't now!

Remove the mains cord from the back, take out the battery, and put the mains back in. Try turning it on.

Does that light...

When you say you imaged it, do you mean you took an image of Windows on the bad drive and put it on another?

If so, surely with bad sectors the installation you took an image from is effectively...

Download and install this first:

http://tinyurl.com/y9598x

Then download and run this (and let it create the default folder):

http://tinyurl.com/y5zohv

Use the program called...

I can't find any reference to 2-6 beeps as you described.

Mixing and matching throws up 2 beeps (memory), 8 beeps (video RAM), 2-3-3 (memory again), 6 beeps (mobo fault or keyboard controller...

It's booting up into Windows? Is that what you mean when you say you 'heard everything in [ your ] computer turning on'?

Everything points to the graphics card. You've already done all the tests...

A-ha! So something probably did change.

If it was me, I'd start with a full recovery and go from there. After all, you've no way of knowing what damage/corruption has been done.

Also worth...

If you have a viable DSL connection, then all you have to do is those three things I mentioned: connect the router to the line, connect the computer to the router, then tell the router your account...

First of all, nothing has changed - in theory - on the computer-to-router side of things, so the default gateway address should be the same as it was before. You mentioned 192.168.1.1 - are you...

The DI-624 is just a router not a DSL modem/router. So you'll need a DSL modem - and watch out for those awful USB-powered Voyager things the ISPs usually supply.

The most elegant solution is to...

I don't think there's a magic solution for this.

Look at what you have: machine is perfect except it will not display on the internal display.

When it first became apparent, the display was...

I know what you mean. HDDs are way too unreliable to trust as a primary backup, and yet they are also way too big to be backed up economically (timewise and DVD-wise).

When it comes to BIOS or firmware updates, I'm always of the mind that if it has been OK for x number of years, if it suddenly starts doing it now....

Obviously, call centres only deal with problems, so you don't get to hear about all the satisfied customers, but from the moment machines started being sold in the stores with 200GB drives there were...

Is the machine still under warranty?

The 8E error points at RAM problems. It's pretty unique for a STOP code in that it only points at RAM problems when you look it up! So there's a good start.

There are a couple of ways to diag it....

You can't really narrow it down any more than you have!

PSU error light with nothing else connected? So a PSU fault.

And you have extended warranty? You're covered for everything except...

Well, a message like that can't be any more specific!

You could try removing and redetecting the driver in the Device Manager to see if that resolves the issue.

Or you could download the...

If it does do it again, since it is a new machine this next suggestion is likely to be no problem for you...

If there's anything wrong with it you need to identify that as soon as possible and...

In the UK, it would be repaired within days.

It depends on your retailer's support structure. Often, if retailers have their own technical support they repair under licence in 12 month warranty....

What card is it? It's not a Radeon, is it?

I'd agree. Do you have a spare card to test?

(Note: When you reply, post a new message in the thread rather than edit your original, because that way those involved get a notification :))

Toshibas are good, reliable machines in my experience (compared to many other makes, and inasmuch as a laptop can be considered reliable compared to a desktop).

Let's face it: multiple Windows...

OK. According to their website you get 5MB of webspace (assuming you are on high-speed/DSL and not plain old dialup).

That is more than enough for you at this stage.

Holding in the power button on the tower would work whether it was in Windows or not - although if it didn't work at all then that would point to a definite problem.

The yellow standby light...

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Whoever you pay to let you connect to the Internet usually (not always) allows you some space to upload your files to.

Who is your ISP?

Your ISP most probably provides you with some free webspace. Most do.

Does it give a blue screen just before it restarts?

Will it restart immediately after shut down?

Does your BIOS have a CPU temperature monitor in it?

Can you run a RAM test to check all...

What computer is it?

I'm trying to figure out where all the AOL files came from.

Well, better a 50-day wait than no computer, period!

That's just bad service, of course, and I can't comment on it directly - not knowing the full details.

If we book out an engineer (or...

This is the point I was making about these things leaving 'holes'.

I've tried to remove MyWebSearch from several computers for people and it seems to be different each time. Sometimes the...

You do use AOL as your ISP, I assume? It looks like it from all the other AOL specific files on there.

Apparently, AOL.EXE is... as well as being part of the AOL software.

However, your...

Ah. Well, under warranty you are quids in.

Unplug everything and let it stand for a few minutes - just the tower with nothing connected.

Plug in the mains and look at that led on the back.
...

Before installing anything that might make matters worse, try the instructions here for removing MyWebSearch:

http://www.pchell.com/support/mywebsearch.shtml

If you are going to install...

The problem with installing and running anti-spyware after you have spyware is that there is a risk it will make things worse.

Some of our agents advise it to get customers off the line quicker,...