Laptops & Notebooks - December 2006

My dvd drive suddenly stopped being able to play dvds. It worked 2 days ago, but not last night. The drive recognizes that it is a dvd and loads the software to play it- but will not actually play when play is pressed. This happens with 3 different software applications. I have tried the device manager and it says it is working fine. The drive does still play audio cds. I have tried reloading drivers and uninstalling the drive itself- but it still will not play dvds. I was chatting with dell tech support last night and the girl kept saying that it was a software issue- but can 3 softwares fail at the same time??? My laptop has not been connected to the internet- so it has had no updates that might have screwed it up, and the fact that it suddenly stopped working makes me think it is something else wrong. Secondary Question: I asked if it could be a video card and was told no because it still played audio cds?? Does that make any sense? What is wrong with my computer? Suggestions please

2006-12-01 12:08:38 · 6 answers · asked by emeazy 2

I got a laptop on August and it has few problems and I am going to return it. When I get a cash card should I buy another 1 and get Express vista. Or should I wait a month and get it preinstall on the new laptop.

2006-12-01 11:18:53 · 8 answers · asked by Best Helper 4

I am only putting linux on because i have to use it at uni along with XP. I have never run 2 O/s before so easy steps please.

2006-12-01 11:17:31 · 6 answers · asked by KazzyBee 2

I bought a used macbook. Is there an easy way to reset it to factory settings? It seems to have the previous owners ID and stuff. Thanks for your help

2006-12-01 10:59:24 · 2 answers · asked by newlex 2

2006-12-01 10:34:07 · 3 answers · asked by Classic Gal 1

i have a Dell Inspiron 1150

i know about mirrors and moving the router, i have no access to moving or removing any of those so i need other ways.

please let me know what i need if anything and how much it will cost if anything. The easyiest way possible is greatly appreciated but i'll manage with anything.

Thank you so much in advance.

P.S.--i will pick a best answer....as always...

2006-12-01 10:05:13 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-01 09:45:59 · 4 answers · asked by a380 1

2006-12-01 09:44:48 · 17 answers · asked by a380 1

need upgrade,want to try local store rather than sending laptop away to acer

2006-12-01 08:39:26 · 8 answers · asked by smiler 1

2006-12-01 07:26:03 · 4 answers · asked by Sephus 2

I'm considering taking the leap and buying a MacBook Pro (I'm currently a Windows guy). My work will require me to have access to a Win system since I cannot run Microsoft Project and Visio on a Mac....what are the benefits of taking the leap to Mac? Will my Win running on my Mac have any issues?

2006-12-01 07:22:20 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

every time i download a "free" registry cleaner,it finds about 600 problems with my laptop and then it will clean about half of them. then i have to pay to get the rest of the problems fixed. is there a complete registry cleaner and repair available that is free?

2006-12-01 06:58:29 · 5 answers · asked by tracey l 1

I've got a Packard Bell Easynote laptop, which works fine when connected on AC power. However as soon as the power lead is unplugged the laptop cuts off, despite the fact that it says the battery level is 100% before unplugging.
Anyone have any suggestions, as it just makes my laptop unportable.

2006-12-01 06:53:14 · 8 answers · asked by Ash 2

Ok, yesterday my laptop really started acting up, I would turn it on and it would just go really slow, when I clicked on the internet explorer, it took like 5 minutes before it would display my home page and after that it would work, but it kept on locking up and I was also listening to music and the music kept on freezing and skipping. Then it tarted saying when I turned it on that there is a problem with disk drive 2, back up all your data immediatley and disk failure is imminent???????? It's working better now, I switched wireless networks, it's not going slow anymore but if it has to display something such as a music video, it won't show it, I can still play music though and it won't let me redownload the media player or anything and btw it is still showing that disk failure when I turn it on. Any suggestions, I have only had it for 3 months now but I don't really have the money to get it fixed. It's a Compaq presario v5000 by the way. Thanks to all responses.

2006-12-01 05:28:40 · 9 answers · asked by It's MIRANDA!!!! 4

the other pcs are connceted to the internet... the problem is that the laptop can verify the connection but it can't recieve the internet information.... u know when u open ur connection properties u can see the (sent and recieved bytes) ... . there's nth recieved therefore it doesn't connect to the internet... though the connection say : connected at 100mb speed ??

2006-12-01 05:28:13 · 3 answers · asked by Saed Madanat 3

I have Windows XP, Media Center Edition

single 64-bit AMD proc
1.5GB RAM

When I shut down, it often hangs as if there are 1 or more processes that won't shut down or are maybe conflicting w/ one another, preventing my machine for properly shutting down.

I don't really know if this is really what's happening but I was wondering if there is some sort of monitoring tool that I could use to see if this is the problem. Or are there any other suggestions to see what's going on?

2006-12-01 05:25:07 · 1 answers · asked by JP 1

I'm interested in purchasing either the Think Pad R60 or Dell Inspiron 1505.
PC Mag. cautions against a "stiff" keyboard on the R60. Has that been a problem for you or is it overstated?
Any opinio0n between the performance of the above 2 computers.
Thanks

2006-12-01 04:35:03 · 3 answers · asked by gordem 2

2006-12-01 04:17:41 · 12 answers · asked by Smiles 4

2006-12-01 04:01:56 · 24 answers · asked by Vikram E 1

2006-12-01 03:48:27 · 7 answers · asked by Smiles 4

I have an Inspiron 600m. The problem: If I close the top of the laptop down, it stops playing songs, for example in iTunes or in Windows Media Player... Is there any way to fix this, does anyone know? Thanks so much!

2006-12-01 03:35:12 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-01 02:22:28 · 2 answers · asked by Chris Y 1

2006-12-01 02:19:18 · 8 answers · asked by old_engineer 1

I want to run Final Cut Express (video editing) on it and that is all I need it for. Does anyone know what the cheapest laptop for this would be? I don't want to pay for zillion gegatron technology if I don't need it

2006-12-01 01:59:28 · 3 answers · asked by Jason O 3

2006-12-01 01:32:16 · 10 answers · asked by Jason O 3

what is the big wait all about? Won't windows media work as well. All I need the os for is games, surfing and burning dvd's. what do you think?

2006-12-01 00:35:49 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

I'm trying to wipe my laptop and then re-install it as it's about 4 years old and running VERY slow. It needs to start again!! I've tried various boot disks to get me to a DOS prompt but it either won't allow me to 'format c:' or says 'Invalid drive specification'. I'm running XP Home edition.

2006-12-01 00:22:45 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous