I think it's about 4/5 years old. is that bad then?

and also, it seems my internet is bad, is it worth downloading firefox, or would that slow it up even more. because i've cleared all the rubbish that wasn't being used, files and that, so might it be just the internet?

The issue with your internet can be caused by a number of things, including programs running in the background on your PC. Especially if you have P2P installed on your computer.

I am looking to buy a laptop as I need it for school.

Was thinking about using Dell but would like to know what other is there to get a better deal online for custom laptops?

4 or 5 yrs in terms of a pc is now very old , my Alienware pc was top of the range 4 years ago Intel Pentium 4 3.2 ghz cpu .....now everbody is going dual core and quad core ...but of course you can only get what you can afford ...unless you are heavily into gaming (which i am ) your pc will still be ok for most things .

The internet speed does not depend on your cpu really ..more how fast your connection is and the things O Dogg mentioned , having a few torrents downloading can bring your internet surfing down to a crawl .

conner- nothing being downloaded as far as i know, and i'm not into the gaming so thats shouldn't be an issue.

O Dogg- by programs running in the background, do you mean like limewire, and stuff like that? because i only usually have two internet windows open at a time, and sometimes limewire.

Limewire is usually set to start up with your computer as default when installed. You should change this asap, as this will slow down your broadband speed. Your PC will be sharing files, and if uploading, it will ruin your download speeds.

yeah , i had to tell my brother to do that ....after closing it down our internet speed shot up significantly . You can see if it is running by looking at the bottom right ..on the toolbar ..if the green/yellow Limewire icon is there just right click on it and choose exit .

You have to do that everytime you turn on your pc unless you do as O Dogg said , go into the Limewire settings tab and disable automatic start up when Windows loads .

Right this sounds like a very novice question but i have a digital camera and cannot for the life of me work out how to transfer pictures from it onto my laptop. Help!

well most cameras now come with a usb cable that connects the camera to a usb connection on your pc/laptop . There must be a rubber flap or little clip on your camera that opens to reveal a slot or something that will connect a cable from the camera to the laptop .

Hmm the only flap is where the batteries go in. And i don't have a USB cable.

F*ck!

Ah i have found the flap but still don't have a cable.

Aye Yi Yi.

well you should have received some kind of cable with the camera and have a little instruction manual to look at , unless you got it second hand . If so not sure what the answer is .

Do you have a make and model number ..?

I found it. Not sure what to do now i have connected it to the PC.

Turn on your camera after you've connected the two. Then your Pc should detect the presence of a new USB device?

Ah I've sorted it now, cheers lads.

OK no need to take the pi55 i know when it's open or not. And i didn't have to set it up so it does't open automatically, its never done that since i've had it.

we must have been through every possible solution as to what could be slowing it dow. And nothing's worked

How many computers do you have running?
Are you using a router?
Who is your Internet Service Provider?
Have you contacted them to run checks on your line?

Two in the house, connected by a wireless router.

i think my ISP is orange i think. We changed it recently because it was cheaper, we were on wanadoo. incidently the computer went slow around the same time that we changed, so could that be a possibility?

Could very well be.
So the router you have is an ADSL Wireless Modem/Router right?
Is it slow on both PC's?

yea that rings a bell.

No i think it's just mine, my brother doesn't have any problems with his.