[S4B]

My laptop keeps losing it's connection and I am rebooting every 10 to 15 mins which solves the problem but is annoying me! How can it say I'm not connected to the internet but when I do a connection test thing it says that the connection is excellent! What is all that about? I know when it's going to happen because it stops downloading avatars, sigs and pics in general then just won't connect to anything, then I lose MSN but once I reboot it is all fine again.

I've tried using a different browser and that does the same thing. It can't be the router as this never happens to Mr S4B. I am VERY fed up now. Any ideas?

[markool89]

buy a new laptop.

[Console]

Ah, another reason as to why juggling is your hobby of choice.

[markool89]

please explain....

[MK Chris]

You're clearly inept at computers, so it wouldn't be that.

[markool89]

You're clearly inept at computers, so it wouldn't be that.

im only bad at the hardware of computers. the software, im quite a master at it!
but then again, im only bad at sorting out problems with the hardware, not what they are used for, and such stuff.

[Console]

The above problem sounds very much like a software problem, yet your solution was to buy an entirely new laptop.

[S4B]

I've disabled Norton following Bruvva's advice and it seems to be a bit better although now I've said that the whole thing will probably be invaded by virus's now. Can anyone suggest a good anti virus thing I can download?

[Andy B]

Norton's crap! It totally buggered my brand new laptop up and now I've removed it it works much better!

I'm switching to that Nescaffe one.

[Console]

Why does everyone use Norton? It must be an OEM thing, because surely people have learnt by now that it's a complete piece of crap and that it should be avoided at all costs.

As for a good one, there are a couple of decent free ones, but the only one I can recall off of the top of my head is Avast. It's in the top five of the free ones if I recall correctly, and it covers basic virus checking, checking on emails, instant messages, P2P apps etc.

[Andy B]

I never really liked OEM, their second album was rubbish...

Mine just came with the laptop just as sky comes with nescaffe

[S4B]

I used Norton cos it came free with my laptop! What's OEM??? Thank you Console you are a star xxxxx

[MK Chris]

Why does everyone use Norton? It must be an OEM thing, because surely people have learnt by now that it's a complete piece of crap and that it should be avoided at all costs.

It is an OEM thing. Norton comes with pretty much every Dell and HP with Windows that you can buy. The 'genius' is that it's installed as a trial version, which is very difficult for the average user to remove, and then they are conned into paying for the full version.

Another free one is AVG Free Edition.

[Console]

What's OEM?

When software comes pre-installed on your computer (be it Window, MS Works, Norton Crap, etc) it's referred to as OEM software. The supplier you got your computer from buys the software and the licenses in bulk and so it's cheaper when you buy the PC as a package (sometimes even if you don't want the software at all).

[S4B]

I learn something new everyday on here.

[Boboff]

S4 are you running Vista ?
It's just my wife is and hers does exactly what you have been saying. Mine is on XP and I have no problems. ( we share an office both on Wi Fi)
Have you gone and gotten all the free windows updates ? That may fix it.
Also turning of the router and leaving it off for a minute and turning it back on again can sometimes help ( yes I know !)
Spybot is also a good free check for spyware stuff I think, especially if you have been "surfing" some of the more shall we say adult sites ?
Don't turn all Norton off just the fireware, I think that you can turn on Windows firewall at the same time so you should still have protection ( not sure about this, Console etc would have a better idea )
I really can't think of anything else, except whether it's always on the same Website it could be their end ?

Anyway, hope that helps !

If all else fails buy a new laptop with juggling balls included

[S4B]

haha Boboff no juggling balls thank you!

Not using Vista using XP and it only happens when I'm on here and Facebook and, strange as this may seem, I don't browse "Adult sites". I have removed Norton completely and downloaded Avast as suggested and it has certainly improved. I keep turning the router on and off but this seems to annoy Mr S4 for some reason

Thanks for the advice Boboff xx

[Boboff]

We finally fixed Mrs Boboff's by switching over to Firefox, which Topher and others kindly recommended, and I for one certainly wouldn't go back !

[S4B]

I may have to do that. Still having problems just not as often.

**Sigh**

[masterChief]

Hi S4B,

Don't sigh

What make is your laptop and router??

How far away is your laptop to the router??

Lastly, Where is the router located?

MasterChief is on your case!!!

[ladbroke]

Why does everyone use Norton? It must be an OEM thing, because surely people have learnt by now that it's a complete piece of crap and that it should be avoided at all costs.

My thoughts exactly-Norton is utter crap, and McAffee isn't much better. A real resources hog. I use Zonealarm (free version), and Antivir (free version) which seems to catch most stuff. As suggested Search & Destroy is very good, but ensure you always update before you scan. Starting the PC in safe mode (pressing F8 repeatedly at start up) and then running Search and destroy will sometimes be more effective too. A programme called Combofix is very good aswell at removing malware etc, and can also be run in safe mode. All of the above can be found with the help of Mr Google. You may want to get the latest drivers for your laptop, just visit the manufacturers website. For example there could be new drivers for your wireless adapter, which could solve the connection issues. As for removing Norton, it can sometimes leave traces behind. You can download a removal tool from Symantec which should remove all evidence of the ghastly Norton

Failing that do a fresh install of the Operating system (if you have the disk that is) which will essentially make it all shiny and new!

[MK Chris]

I'm looking for a decent corporate antivirus solution at the moment, if anyone has any clues. Top of the list is Sophos at the moment.

[ladbroke]

I'm looking for a decent corporate antivirus solution at the moment, if anyone has any clues. Top of the list is Sophos at the moment.

Sophos is what we use at present, and seems to be pretty much the programme of choice at the moment

[Andy B]

I think mine is generally just vista running stupid at the moment. I'd reload it but I've spent ages putting all my music and whatnot on there and I'm buggered if I'm doing that again. It's taken me a a month to get less than half my music across!

[MK Chris]

This is why it's a good idea to have your data on a different drive to your operating system.