Upgrading Inspiron 1318 CPU and Screen

I would like to upgrade my Inspiron 1318 processor. The main reason is because I need the Intel VT-x extensions, which the T6500 does not support. What I am concerned about is if the Dell BIOS on the laptop (A06) will not allow VT-x to be enabled. Does anyone have any information about this?



Also, I would like to upgrade my LCD to a higher resolution. Is there such a possible upgrade?

Reply 1 : Upgrading Inspiron 1318 CPU and Screen

If the motherboard doesn't support VT-x then you are outta luck.



I don't see a higher resolution upgrade for this model..

Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

Hi,



I'm currently looking to replace my DIR-655 Rev A3 with a DIR-655 Rev B1 (better CPU and upgraded Atheros chipset).



I've been using the DIR-655 for over a year and yes it has it's share of problems but I'm very use to the D-Link configuration and the range/performance has been very good. I have four laptops in the home all with Atheros chipset WLAN which works very well with the DIR-655 which also has Atheros hardware.



Are there any other routers out there with better range on wireless N with 2.4Ghz and works well with Atheros chipset WLAN?



Thanks,

Reply 1 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

The WNDR3700 is a dual-band router but it's all Atheros and worked pretty good with my Intel and Broadcom stuff so it should be good with other Atheros too

Reply 2 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

I was looking into the WNDR3700 as a lot users on DSLReportsForum have said it's very good but I'm unsure if it uses a Atheros chipset like the DIR-655.



Also, many users have reported the WNDR3700 V2 (which replaced the V1 in stores) is not as good as the V1 range/performance.



I like the way the router looks as it goes good with my Motorola modem but range/performance and works well with Atheros chipset WLAN is my top priority.



On top of all that it has to be an upgrade from my current DIR-655 Rev A3 in range/performance and Atheros WLAN compatibility.

Reply 3 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

Got the WNDR3500Lv2 and when I accidentally turned on a free WAP had half my apartment building on it. It gets good range and is 2.4 only.

Reply 4 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

So the WNDR3700 V2 sounds good right now even though I don't need 5Ghz wireless (I think 5Ghz can be tuned off) but I can use the Gigabit LAN/WAN ports for my single wired desktop and Motorola modem which has a Gigabit port.



I just hope I get a WNDR3700 V2 (02R4) as reported by users is good or else a V1 would do.

Reply 5 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

Atheros chipset is not a requirement. 801.11n is far from its beginnings and all devices work OK with all kinds of chipsets.

If it's the 2.4GHz range you're after Linksys E4200 is the best by far. It's a bit pricey though.

Reply 6 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

I did some more research last night and the Netgear 3700 cannot run in N more only like the DIR-655 which is a minus for me plus the NetGer costs $140 as oppose to $75 for the DIR-655. I'm just not sure it's worth double the cost if I'm not using 5Ghz and all my devices are on N wireless.



I'll look into the Linksys E4200.



Thanks,

Reply 7 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

E4200 is quite expensive but take a looks at this table:

Cisco Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance Wireless-N Router Reviewed - Wireless Performance 5GHz, Competitive, Closing Thoughts - SmallNetBuilder



Locations E & F are the ones that are far from the router.

As you see E4200 manages close to twice the throughput of WNDR3700 and WNDR3700 v2 in those locations.



The thing is- if all you care is good coverage and speed in all places you'd be better off spending $70 on a Netgear WNR3500L and buying two simple routers like WRT54G (the old Linux ones) to work as WDS.



Buying WNDR3700 or E4200 you're also paying for a lot of RAM, 5GHz band capabilities that you don't seem to need.

Reply 8 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

I found this Asus RT-N16: Newegg.com - ASUS RT-N16 802.11b/g/n Gigabit Wireless Router up to 300Mbps DD-WRT Open Source support with USB Storage, Printer And Media Server



The router seems to fit me needs perfectly, 2.4Ghz N and Gigabit WAN/LAN ports.



Most users report the router is very good and an upgrade from the DIR-655 in range/performance and the price looks good too.



Of course the only thing about the RT-N16 is that the stock firmware is very buggy and I'll be either running open source DD-WRT or Tomato.

Reply 9 : Best 2.4Ghz N Router for Range.

Buffalo nfiniti kicks a for range. Bought one for about 110€ worth every penny. Sends a strong signal straight through cement walls let alone other things.

Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

Curious as to the number of people switching to the m14x in place of their m15x. Torn between switching over as I love my m15x but hate the throttling (on battery) and battery life limitations.

Are you taking the plunge, keeping your m15x, or keeping both systems.

Reply 1 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

I, for one, do not know what to do.... keep the m15x until my warranty ends or something?



Trade?

For m14x? for m17x?

Reply 2 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

By trade I just meant getting rid of m15x for a newer model since they are doing away with system.

Not sure keeping both systems seems logical.

Reply 3 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

Although its very tempting to trade the M15x, since it is supposed to be discontinued, i just can't convince myself to give it up for an M14x simply because the 5850 is such a good card, and I don't want a downgrade in performance for the GT 555M. The only thing that I like about the M14x is that its the ideal size/weight, even though its probably bigger than a standard 14 incher.



Also the M17x/M18x are just too expensive, so I'd rather not go there at all.

Reply 4 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

Well, I have a 5730 on my machine.... it might be a better option to trade.... is it? but my system is refurbished....

Reply 5 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

I plan on going to the M18x.

Reply 6 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

Should've made a poll?

Reply 7 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

I'm hoping to trade for a M17x R3.

Reply 8 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

Quote:

Originally Posted by widezu69 I'm hoping to trade for a M17x R3.

i hope for the same thing

Reply 9 : Anyone trading in their m15x for a m14x?

Yeah good luck to the both of us. I highly doubt it is possible, guess I'll just put mine up for sale and recycle the money.

What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

So, can somebody explain to me what these are supposed to be good for?



I used to create shortcuts to websites by dragging the FavIcon to my desktop, creating a file with a .url extension. Now (in IE9) when I do that, I get a pinned website on my desktop (.website extension). What does that do that I'd be interested in? Other than having the annoying effect of dragging the browser window associated with that website out of my current IE window? I mean, sheesh, all I want is a shortcut to that site on my desktop, and I have no intention of dragging the browser window around.



Oh, and when I opened a .url shortcut, the website would open in a new tab in my current browser window, which I happened to like. Now I get a new browser window, with a home button that's miraculously moved to the left of the address bar, and Forward and Back buttons of a different color. Is there any point to this?



P.S.: I know that I can get the old behavior by holding shift while dragging, so no reason to elaborate on that. What I really want to know is if these .website shortcuts give me any useful features that the standard .urls don't have.

Reply 1 : What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

No clue. I've never seen any use for pinned tabs in ANY browser except on my CR-48.

Reply 2 : What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

i have them pinned to my taskbar to have them bahave like apps. those that i use like apps, not like other pages (facebook, gmail, imo.im). so when i'm actually browsing, i start with an emty window, like years ago.

Reply 3 : What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

Pirx, thought provoking as usual. After reading this from Israel Hilerio, Ph.D.

Pinned Sites: Windows 7 Desktop Integration with Internet Explorer 9

I admit much of this is beyond my limited knowledge..



It seems that is geared toward manufacturers who can pin the desktop with all the useful shortcuts (some may call bloatware) in their factory images. For example ASUS - they could set one for their estore to help people get there sans searching. Plus it will pop in a new window thus avoiding confusion for novice computer users (not that there are any contributing to this thread) who think tab is a soft drink.

Reply 4 : What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

Ebay is currently running a targeted 10% ebay bucks promo requiring downloading a customized version of IE w/ebay features. I got an email about it, and since I'm looking at buying enough stuff during the promo, I installed it. Requires Win7.



PIA to install, but once it's there, you right click on the tray icon and all sorts of ebay actions pop right up in a list.



Best I can tell, they're gonna have easy access combined with 'alerts' to keep one 'stoked for bidding'



Don't know much about this, as I don't use IE, don't like 'customized'(read: invasive) software, etc., but for the promo, I'll run it on a spare box.



Afterwards, I'll wipe it and restore the image I saved prior to installing this crap.

Reply 5 : What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

Pinning to the taskbar allows to quickly navigate to a specific part of the web property if it is coded to use IE9 Pinning. Facebook, Linkedin and most of the site on Microsoft's Beauty of the Web Campaign Site have special functionality with pinning.



If you right click the pinned site you get additional options.

Reply 6 : What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnjroach Facebook, Linkedin and most of the site on Microsoft's Beauty of the Web Campaign Site have special functionality with pinning.

Ahah, now that is actually interesting! I checked out some of the sites on that Beauty of the Web site, and some of those indeed have some quite useful functionality. Of course, I have neither the time nor the patience for time-wasting cr@p like Facebook or LinkedIn, but the NYTimes site offers some real value in its pinned site handling. Thanks!



On the other hand, none of this is accessible when you drag a link to the desktop (or any folder, for that matter), so I still think IE9's default behavior should be to create a .url link on the desktop or in folders, and to only create a pinned website when dragging into the taskbar. And, of course, there is no reason to remove the website that I am looking at from the current context, in the browser window that I was using when I created the link. That behavior makes no sense at all.

Reply 7 : What's the point of pinned websites (IE9)

well, no reason to not like it. if you don't see use, don't use it. i see use for the "always on" pages, so they don't pollute my browser window. they pollute my taskbar, like all the other always open or sometimes-open tasks/apps.



i'm using the ones from chrome, though. but it's similar (not yet using the ie9 additional features, though.. hope they implement that, too)

Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

With the Alienware M11xR3 and Alienware M14x released today, would you choose the outer shell to be Stealth Black or Nebula Red, and why?

Reply 1 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Nebula Red: It's different than all the other sleek pieces of technology that's being featured this generation. Plus, my favorite colour is red.

Reply 2 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Nebula Red. Had both but enjoy the uniqueness in the red over the black. Plus it goes well with blue lighting.

Reply 3 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

I would choose red if the entire laptop was red, including the inside. Since it's not, I'd rather have black.

Reply 4 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Lunar Silver!!!! It makes me sad that they don't offer it anymore, it would look great on the M18x.



If I had to choose between Red or black though, I'd go with black. Red just isn't for me.

Reply 5 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Def. go with red. I always love picking the flashier of options

Reply 6 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Red is played out now since the new m11x, m14x, and m17x R3 is being offered in red.

Reply 7 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Black. Anything other than black or another neutral color diminishes resale value.

Reply 8 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Voted 'other'. Custom painted

Reply 9 : Stealth Black vs. Nebula Red

Black, since some of the the lightup keyboard colour combinations don't go as well with red as they do with black.

New Monitor for a 386

Hello -

I'm looking for a new monitor for my old 386 PC running Windows 98se (!) What are the chances of finding one in the marketplace today?

Thanks for your help.

Reply 1 : New Monitor for a 386

Between stores, ebay, craigslist and thrift shops, chances are very good.

Reply 2 : New Monitor for a 386

I was hoping you would reply - Thanks for the reassurance --

Reply 3 : New Monitor for a 386

It was the usual 15 pin D style. Do you recall what this has?
Bob

Reply 4 : New Monitor for a 386

A 15-pin is just a standard VGA connector. I would look for any old CRT VGA monitor that isn't too large. Probably best to go for one of the 15-inch variants, since this is what those computers were designed for. However, I have heard of larger monitors being used on old systems. At any rate, any normal aspect ratio VGA CRT should work fine.

Reply 5 : New Monitor for a 386

Bob - all I can remember is that it's VGA 30 lines

Caldrum2010 - Thanks - I was just about to ask what I should ask/look out for.

Reply 6 : New Monitor for a 386

A bit weird to "reply" to my own post, but thought you'd be interested to know that my existing monitor is nearing 16 years old - doesn't seem at all reasonable.

Reply 7 : New Monitor for a 386

That is pretty old indeed. On the same token, however, you could say the same about a 386 PC. Not exactly cutting-edge technology! But it still used the same old VGA connector, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a standard VGA CRT to upgrade it if you so desire.

Looking for a new [cheap] card !

Hi there,
Sadly my old Geforce MSI NX8600GT has reached it's end, and now i'm looking to buy a new one, but i'm not really updated with all the new technologies and stuff, so i need your help with this!

I don't have a lot of money to spend, my budget for the card is around $50-100 and i really don't want to spend more than that if it's possible.

My actual hard is the following:
Mother: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
Micro: Core 2 Duo E4500 2200MHz
Ram: 2gb DDR2-800
Monitor: Dell ST2410 Full HD 1920x1080
PSU: Powercooler 500w

Keep in mind i don't want to update any other part of the hard for now and i'm not going to perform any overlocking [i'm really afraid of that ahah]

So based on this configuration and the low amount of money i want to spend, what is the best option to go for?
Is the psu enough to support all the things?

Thanks for your time.<span id="INSERTION_MARKER">

Reply 1 : Looking for a new [cheap] card !

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-graphics-card-geforce-gtx-590-radeon-hd-6990,2879.html writes:

"The GeForce GTX 460 768 MB delivers impressive performance and a
reasonable price tag, relatively low power usage (especially after
having tested the GF100-based boards), and low noise output. At $150 it
offers enough of an upgrade over the Radeon HD 5770 to garner a solid
recommendation."

A full review is at http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-gf104-fermi,2684.html
Bob

Reply 2 : Looking for a new [cheap] card !

Hey thanks for your reply!
Unfortunately i live in Argentina, and here the prices are higher when talking about hardware.
For example, the GTX 460 is about $270 so i need a cheaper option.

Reply 3 : Looking for a new [cheap] card !

It continues to be a great list to buy from.

Just ordered the R3

I called customer service and they said I can return the R2 I just got. I just ordered my new R3.



225-0846 Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish $2211.00

1 318-0718 Intel Core i7-2617M 1.5GHz (2.6GHz Turbo Mode, 4MB Cache)

1 320-2255 NVIDIA GeForce GT540 graphics with 2.0GB Video Memory and Optimus

1 317-6777 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

1 331-2219 Alienware M11x 90W A/C Adapter

1 320-2253 11.6in High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight

1 342-2611 256GB Solid State Drive SATA 3Gb/s

1 330-9552 Personalized Nameplate

1 330-6106 Personalized Nameplate Trigger

1 313-8792 AlienFX Color, Quasar Blue

1 421-5074 Alienware Command Center Software, M11x

1 421-1399 Genuine Windows 7 Professional, 64bit, English

1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp

1 420-9956 Vista PC Restore

1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG

1 318-0716 Hinge Up WLAN -BLACK

1 410-0548 Adobe Acrobat X Reader Factory Installation, CNB

1 421-4817 Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled

1 430-4102 Intel Advanced-N WiFi Link 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology with WiMax

1 330-6350 Automatic Updates: Critical Updates Only

1 410-9453 McAfee Platinum, 15 Month, MUI

1 410-3942 Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Student, English

1 953-0090 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus On-Site Service, Extended Year(s)

1 953-0080 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus On-Site Service, Initial Year

1 953-0140 Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, 2 Year Extended

1 953-0100 Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year

1 950-3339 3 Year Limited Warranty

1 421-1723 Soft Contracts Dell In-Home Hardware Agreement for Alienware

1 993-8582 Warranty Support, 2 Year Extended $15.00

1 994-3730 Warranty Support, Initial Year

1 988-1189 INFO, No Datasafe $0.00

1 421-1360 Steam and Portal Factory Installed $0.00

1 421-1585 Alien Schematic $0.00

1 421-1595 Alien Schematic $0.00

1 469-0503 No Mobile Broadband Selected $0.00

1 330-5090 Thank You for Purchasing AlienWare $0.00



The total was in the upper $2600s, but I used that coupon code and it brought my total down to $2226. Pretty good considering the comp is maxed out accept for the ram (8gb instead of 16gb). It was a hard decision between this and the m14x, but in the end portability won.

Reply 1 : Just ordered the R3

LOL , you are buying the ssd from dell directly?

Reply 2 : Just ordered the R3

Wow!!......

Reply 3 : Just ordered the R3

Yowza!! I can't speak with any knowledge on the quality of the SSD provided by Dell, but you sure can get them cheaper elsewhere and throw it in yourself. My specs were exactly the same except I got the 500 GB hard drive., all for

$1118.00.



Someone needs to publish a Public Service Announcement about the ridiculous cost of the Dell SSDs on the main Alienware forums page!

Reply 4 : Just ordered the R3

nice!!! going to be awesome

Reply 5 : Just ordered the R3

$2600 for an M11x? Snap son!!



That's US Dollars or some other obscure, and hopefully devalued, currency?



You probably don't want to hear this, but i'll say it for the sake of anyone considering following your majestic and legendary path - DONT DO IT!



Max out the processor and that's it. Go as cheap as you can on memory, and disk - you can pick them up much cheaper elsewhere and they are simple to install yourself.

Reply 6 : Just ordered the R3

I checked Newegg to see what SSDs they had and at what price. The SATA SSDs with the same or similar amount of memory were about the same price as the one from Dell.

Reply 7 : Just ordered the R3

Quote:

Originally Posted by csacwp I checked Newegg to see what SSDs they had and at what price. The SATA SSDs with the same or similar amount of memory were about the same price as the one from Dell.

Not sure of your needs but the Momentus XT which is a SSD/HDD Hybrid with 500gb of storage is a popular choice for upgrades and can be had for ~$100..Also,8gb DDR3 ~$75 and the Intel N 6300 for $30..I agree,max the CPU and do the other upgrades yourself.

Reply 8 : Just ordered the R3

Really? My internets must be broken then.



Dell want $500 USD for a 256gig SSD, and 10 gig of that (ish) will be the recovery partition they install for the machine. So it's actually less than 256gig.



Crucial 256gig SSD at Newegg is $419, 80 bucks cheaper than dell. A 250 gig OCZ (remember, you aren't getting 256 from Dell without repartitioning etc) is $339 ($309 with a mail in rebate), a saving obviously of nearly $200. That's a load of Steam games.

Reply 9 : Just ordered the R3

Quote:

Originally Posted by g1xx3r Not sure of your needs but the Momentus XT which is a SSD/HDD Hybrid with 500gb of storage is a popular choice for upgrades and can be had for ~$100..Also,8gb DDR3 ~$75 and the Intel N 6300 for $30..I agree,max the CPU and do the other upgrades yourself.

Oh well, it's too late now. The Dell SSD is $500, about the same as the other 256gb SSDs on Newegg. I'm not too upset. Actually, I'm just drooling over the prospect of unboxing this mini beast

Webcam Isn't Working After Card Swap

... Any ideas?

Reply 1 : Webcam Isn't Working After Card Swap

Perhaps the connector under the keyboard has come loose. Was what happened to mine.

Reply 2 : Webcam Isn't Working After Card Swap

Is the little white light coming on / blinking at all? I'm thinking it's a connection problem as well as the connector is quite close to where you would have been working.



Does it show up correctly in the Device Manager?

Reply 3 : Webcam Isn't Working After Card Swap

Darn, the light does not come on at all, Aliensense does not come on nor does it work anywhere else. I tried the hotkey Fn+F9 to no avail.



I wasn't actually the one who opened it up... this could be a problem...



It shows up in Devices and Printers, but the Manufacturer and Model is unavailable..



EDIT: In Devices and Printers it also says the device is functioning properly... and the Troubleshoot can't find any solutions.. Strange. Help?

Reply 4 : Webcam Isn't Working After Card Swap

^^^ its a wiring connection problem... happened to me as well just as widezu says... Open up the keyboard and re-seat all the power connections...should help... try a power-drain trick after that and I think it should work...

If you need help in opening up the keyboard, let me know.... won't take more than 10 minutes to do it.. Hope this helped.

Reply 5 : Webcam Isn't Working After Card Swap

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sgt. ^^^ its a wiring connection problem... happened to me as well just as widezu says... Open up the keyboard and re-seat all the power connections...should help... try a power-drain trick after that and I think it should work... If you need help in opening up the keyboard, let me know.... won't take more than 10 minutes to do it.. Hope this helped.

Even if it's still showing up in the device manager?

Reply 6 : Webcam Isn't Working After Card Swap

..^^ yup, that is what happened to me as well...pretty sure of it. PM me if u need to know the walk-through of opening up the keyboard panel without ripping apart your CPU and GPU. It's fairly simple and risk-free.

Upgrade v. Full

I'm a student and I'm interested in buying the student discounted version of Windows 7 Professional 64bit from Microsoft's website. The site says that the product is an "upgrade", but I've seen some places that claim that it works entirely the same as the full version. Any ideas on this?

Also, have any of you used this before and/or know how many systems the DVD of the OS allows you to put the OS on?

Reply 1 : Upgrade v. Full

The upgrade was a "license upgrade" and the student was irate that this Windows 7 64 bit version would not upgrade their 32 bit Windows. They also found out that it wouldn't upgrade the 64 bit versions and they had to perform a clean install.

Yes, it's a great deal but be careful when you install it. PLAN AS IF ! ! ! all your files are going away and you'll be ready.

Be sure to collect all your machine's 64 bit drivers before you install this.
Bob

Reply 2 : Upgrade v. Full

Oh, it will be on a new machine and I don't keep much on systems anyways (usually use externals, etc.).

Reply 3 : Upgrade v. Full

And we don't have the product code or site to check, we have to wait till more is known if this will let you pass without a prior OS.
Bob

Reply 4 : Upgrade v. Full

Even if it works technically, legally it would be a violation of the license agreement and thus technically be considered pirated software.

If you use an upgrade version, you basically transfer the existing license to the new version you're upgrading to. So without that initial license, the upgrade version would be considered pirated.

Which would mean we can't discuss it here, so my advice would be to see if there are any educational discounts on the fully licensed copies of Windows if you're looking to install on a new system with no prior qualifying OS.

Huge thanks to dell.

They fixed the "R1=R3" problem on there site. Finally I can get the default drivers and my SD card slot is going to be working again! !

Reply 1 : Huge thanks to dell.

that means that r3 is knocking the door???????

Reply 2 : Huge thanks to dell.

Unfortunatly, in the process, they broke the drivers for the R2. Now, the site says there are 5 drivers available for me to download for windows 7 x64 and none of them are useful.



Lovely....

Reply 3 : Huge thanks to dell.

Nevermind, guess their system had a hiccup. All are showing now. Gotta love it when they change things. Definitely a sign something is coming up.

Reply 4 : Huge thanks to dell.

Yeap, the R3 I predict, is very close to release. I wonder what's different. A Sandy Bridges architect i7?

Reply 5 : Huge thanks to dell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlienOnions Yeap, the R3 I predict, is very close to release. I wonder what's different. A Sandy Bridges architect i7?

it does: looks like it's on sale for the Germans....



Der Dell Online-Shop: Stellen Sie Ihr eigenes System zusammen

Reply 6 : Huge thanks to dell.

Intel Core™ i5 2537M 1.4GHz (2.3GHz w/Turbo Boost, 3MB Cache) [Im Preis enthalten]



Intel Core™ i7 2617M 1.5GHz (2.6GHz w/Turbo Boost, 4MB Cache) [zuzgl. 190,00 € oder 5 €/monat1]

Von Dell empfohlen



Nice!

Reply 7 : Huge thanks to dell.

but whether it's a worthy upgrade is still in question.

Reply 8 : Huge thanks to dell.

540M is not very much of an upgrade.... I'm not so sure it'd be worth it even from the R1.



NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Reply 9 : Huge thanks to dell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zlog 540M is not very much of an upgrade.... I'm not so sure it'd be worth it even from the R1. NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Its like 20% faster than the 335m. Not bad.

VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Skype for Android Insecure File Permissions Weakness

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Highly critical
Impact : Manipulation of data
Exposure of sensitive information
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Unpatched

Software: Skype for Android

Description:
Justin Case has reported a weakness in Skype for Android, which can be exploited by malicious people to gain access to sensitive information.

The weakness is caused due to the application setting insecure permissions for files, which contain cached profile information and instant messages and can be exploited to disclose or manipulate stored information.

Successful exploitation may require tricking a user into installing a malicious application.

Solution:
Do not install applications from untrusted sources.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Justin Case

Original Advisory:
Skype:
http://blogs.skype.com/security/2011/04/privacy_vulnerability_in_skype.html

Justin Case:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/04/14/exclusive-vulnerability-in-skype-for-android-is-exposing-your-name-phone-number-chat-logs-and-a-lot-more/

http://secunia.com/advisories/44223/

Reply 1 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Manipulation of data
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: Jifty::DBI 0.x

Description:
Some vulnerabilities have been reported in Perl Jifty::DBI, which can be exploited by malicious people to conduct SQL injection attacks.

Certain input is not properly sanitised before being used in SQL queries. This can be exploited to manipulate SQL queries by injecting SQL code.

The vulnerabilities are reported in versions prior to 0.68.

Solution:
Update to version 0.68.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Reported by the vendor.

Original Advisory:
http://cpansearch.perl.org/src/SARTAK/Jifty-DBI-0.68/Changes
http://lists.jifty.org/pipermail/jifty-devel/2011-April/002424.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/44224/

Reply 2 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Manipulation of data
DoS
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: Fedora 13
Fedora 14

Description:
Fedora has issued an update for proftpd. This fixes two vulnerabilities, which can be exploited by malicious people to manipulate certain data and cause a DoS (Denial of Service).

Solution:
Apply updated packages using the yum utility ("yum update proftpd").

Original Advisory:
FEDORA-2011-5033:
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-April/058356.html

FEDORA-2011-5040:
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-April/058344.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/44240/

Reply 3 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Less critical
Impact : Privlilege Escalation
Where : Local system
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: Fedora 14

Description:
Fedora has issued an update for tmux. This fixes a security issue, which can be exploited by malicious, local users to perform certain actions with escalated privileges.

Solution:
Apply updated packages using the yum utility ("yum update tmux").

Original Advisory:
FEDORA-2011-5167:
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-April/058367.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/44239/

Reply 4 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : System access
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: Fedora 14

Description:
Fedora has issued an update for libmodplug. This fixes a vulnerability, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise an application using the library.

Solution:
Apply updated packages using the yum utility ("yum update libmodplug").

Original Advisory:
FEDORA-2011-5204:
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-April/058368.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/44238/

Reply 5 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Thunar "thunar_transfer_job_copy_node()" Format String Vulnerability

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : System access
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Workaround

Software: Thunar 1.x

Description:
A vulnerability has been discovered in Thunar, which potentially can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system.

The vulnerability is caused due to a format sting error within the "thunar_transfer_job_copy_node()" function in thunar/thunar-transfer-job.c when handling filenames containing format specifiers. This can be exploited by e.g. tricking a user into copying a malicious named file.

The vulnerability is confirmed in version 1.3.0. Other versions may also be affected.

Solution:
Fixed in the GIT repository.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Reported by the vendor.

Original Advisory:
http://git.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/diff/?id=03dd312e157d4fa8a11d5fa402706ae5b05806fa

http://secunia.com/advisories/44104/

Reply 6 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Exposure of sensitive information
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: Mojolicious 1.x

Description:
A vulnerability has been reported in Mojolicious, which can be exploited by malicious people to disclose potentially sensitive information.

Input passed via the URL is not properly verified before being used to display files. This can be exploited to disclose the contents of arbitrary files via directory traversal attacks.

The vulnerability is reported in versions prior to 1.16.

Solution:
Update to version 1.16.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Viacheslav Tykhanovskyi

Original Advisory:
https://github.com/kraih/mojo/issues/114
http://cpansearch.perl.org/src/KRAIH/Mojolicious-1.16/Changes

http://secunia.com/advisories/44051/

Reply 7 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : System access
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: openSUSE 11.2
openSUSE 11.3
openSUSE 11.4

Description:
SUSE has issued an update for libmodplug. This fixes a vulnerability, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise an application using the library.

Solution:
Apply updated packages via the zypper package manager.

Original Advisory:
openSUSE-SU-2011:0350-1:
https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/8086915

http://secunia.com/advisories/44173/

Reply 8 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : DoS
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: openSUSE 11.2
openSUSE 11.3
openSUSE 11.4

Description:
SUSE has issued an update for wireshark. This fixes multiple vulnerabilities, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service).

Solution:
Apply updated packages via the zypper package manager.

Original Advisory:
openSUSE-SU-2011:0347-1:
https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/8086844

http://secunia.com/advisories/44169/

Reply 9 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Wireshark Denial of Service and Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Highly critical
Impact : System access
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: Wireshark 1.x

Description:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in Wireshark, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service) and potentially compromise a vulnerable system.

1) A use-after-free error within the X.509if dissector can be exploited to cause a crash via specially crafted packets.

This vulnerability is reported in versions 1.2.0 through 1.2.15 and 1.4.0 through 1.4.4.

2) A data type mismatch error in epan/dissectors/packet-nfs.c (NFS dissector) can be exploited to cause a crash via specially crafted packets.

This vulnerability is reported in versions 1.4.0 through 1.4.4 for Windows only.

3) An error in the DECT dissector can be exploited to cause a buffer overflow via specially crafted packets.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may allow execution of arbitrary code.

This vulnerability is reported in versions 1.4.0 through 1.4.4 running on multiple platforms.

Solution:
Update to version 1.2.16 and 1.4.5.

Provided and/or discovered by:
1, 2) Reported by the vendor.
3) The vendor credits Paul Makowski, SEI/CERT.

Original Advisory:
http://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2011-05.html
http://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2011-06.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/44172/

Reply 10 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Security Bypass
Exposure of system information
Privilege escalation
System access
DoS
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: openSUSE 11.2

Description:
SUSE has issued an update for the kernel. This fixes multiple weaknesses and vulnerabilities, which can be exploited by malicious, local users to disclose certain system information, cause a DoS (Denial of Service), bypass certain security restrictions, and potentially gain escalated privileges, by malicious people with physical access to potentially compromise a vulnerable system and cause a DoS, and by malicious people to cause a DoS and potentially compromise a vulnerable system.

Solution:
Apply updated packages via the zypper package manager.

Original Advisory:
openSUSE-SU-2011:0346-1:
https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/8086845

SUSE-SA:2011:017:
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2011-04/msg00003.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/44190/

Reply 11 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : System access
Where : From local network
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10

Description:
SUSE has issued an update for dhcp6. This fixes a vulnerability, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a vulnerable system.

Solution:
Apply updated packages via the zypper package manager.

Original Advisory:
SUSE-SU-2011:0305-5:
https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/8086792

http://secunia.com/advisories/44179/

Reply 12 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Less critical
Impact : DoS
Where : From local network
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: openSUSE 11.2
openSUSE 11.3
openSUSE 11.4

Description:
SUSE has issued an update for krb5. This fixes a vulnerability, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service).

Solution:
Apply updated packages via the zypper package manager.

Original Advisory:
openSUSE-SU-2011:0348-1:
https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/8086843

http://secunia.com/advisories/44181/

Reply 13 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Not critical
Impact : Exposure of sensitive information
Where : Local system
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Operating System: openSUSE 11.2
openSUSE 11.3
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11

Description:
SUSE has issued an update for sysconfig. This fixes a weakness, which can be exploited by malicious, local users to disclose potentially sensitive information.

The weakness is caused due to the ifcfg files (e.g. /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0) being changed to world-readable during a fillup run, which can be exploited to e.g. disclose the password.

Solution:
Apply updated packages via the zypper package manager.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Reported by the vendor.

Original Advisory:
SUSE-SU-2011:0344-1:
https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/8086857

openSUSE-SU-2011:0353-1:
https://hermes.opensuse.org/messages/8086916

http://secunia.com/advisories/44241/

Reply 14 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Joomla Facebook Graph Connect Component Information Disclosure Vulnerability

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Less critical
Impact : Exposure of sensitive information
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: Facebook Graph Connect 1.x (component for Joomla)

Description:
A vulnerability has been reported in the Facebook Graph Connect component for Joomla, which can be exploited by malicious people to disclose potentially sensitive information.

The vulnerability is caused due to an error within an installation script and can be exploited to disclose certain information about the installed component.

The vulnerability is reported in version 1.3 to 1.5(L & U).

Solution:
Update to version 1.6.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Reported by the vendor.

Original Advisory:
http://www.sikkimonline.info/fbgconnect-download/category/1-sikkimonline-downloads

http://secunia.com/advisories/44174/

Reply 15 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

MyBB Information Disclosure and SQL Injection Vulnerabilities

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Manipulation of data
Exposure of sensitive information
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: MyBB (formerly MyBulletinBoard) 1.x

Description:
A security issue and a vulnerability have been discovered in MyBB, which can be exploited by malicious people to disclose certain sensitive information and conduct SQL injection attacks.

1) The application incorrectly handles malformed SQL queries. This can be exploited to disclose certain sensitive information via SQL error messages by performing a "standard" search.

2) Input passed via the "mybb[forumread]" cookie parameter to showthread.php (when the "action" parameter is set to "newpost") is not properly sanitised before being used in SQL queries. This can be exploited to manipulate SQL queries by injecting arbitrary SQL code.

The vulnerabilities are confirmed in version 1.6.2 and reported in version 1.4.15. Prior versions may also be affected.

Solution:
Update to version 1.6.3 or 1.4.16.

Provided and/or discovered by:
1) Reported by the vendor.
2) The vendor credits thebod.

Original Advisory:
MyBB:
http://blog.mybb.com/2011/04/17/mybb-1-6-3-and-1-4-16-security-update/

http://secunia.com/advisories/44219/

Reply 16 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - April 18, 2011

Release Date : 2011-04-18

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : System access
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Workaround

Software: KDE 4.x

Description:
A vulnerability has been reported in KDE, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system.

KGet does not properly sanitise the "name" attribute of the "file" element of metalink files before using it to download files. If a user is tricked into downloading from a specially crafted metalink file, this can be exploited to download files to directories outside of the intended download directory via directory traversal attacks.

Note: This is caused due to an incomplete fix for SA39528.

The vulnerability is reported in version 4.6.2. Other versions may also be affected.

Solution:
Fixed in the SVN repository.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Disclosed in SVN commits.

Original Advisory:
KDE:
http://websvn.kde.org/branches/KDE/4.4/kdenetwork/kget/ui/metalinkcreator/metalinker.cpp?r1=1227468&r2=1227467&pathrev=1227468
http://websvn.kde.org/branches/KDE/4.5/kdenetwork/kget/ui/metalinkcreator/metalinker.cpp?r1=1227469&r2=1227468&pathrev=1227469
http://websvn.kde.org/branches/KDE/4.6/kdenetwork/kget/ui/metalinkcreator/metalinker.cpp?r1=1227471&r2=1227470&pathrev=1227471

Launchpad Bug#757526:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kdenetwork/+bug/757526

http://secunia.com/advisories/44124/

Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

Hello guys,



I have a small problem that bothers me every now and then. My windows is originally german, but I have patched it with an english language pack.

While Windows is entirely in English, I have the problem that most applications install in German and I just hate it, especially when most of them do not allow to change the language through the settings afterwords!!



Is there a way to avoid that? I assume the default language for applications is defined somewhere, but where!?



Also some already installed applications appear randomly sometimes in german and sometimes in english.... I assume it is the same problem behind this as well.



Thanks in advance!

Reply 1 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

Could you go into your Control Panel, open up Regional and Language, click on the Keyboards and Languages tab and tell us what your Display Language is? This will tell you what your OS language should be. Also go to the Administrative tab and let us know what the language is for Language for non-Unicode programs.



Also, do you use different accounts or stick to one user account?

Reply 2 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rickards12 Could you go into your Control Panel, open up Regional and Language, click on the Keyboards and Languages tab and tell us what your Display Language is? This will tell you what your OS language should be. Also go to the Administrative tab and let us know what the language is for Language for non-Unicode programs. Also, do you use different accounts or stick to one user account?

There is no "Display Language" under Keyboards and Languages.

The default input language is German as the keyboard is German, but this should have no effect over the system and programs language.



I have set the Language for non-Unicode programs to Bulgarian as I otherwise have problems with files in Cyrillic.

Reply 3 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

True, you're on Professional, so you wouldn't see it. Officially, language packs are only supported for Windows 7 Ultimate.



Could you tell me how you patched the English Language pack? With that information I can continue from there. It sounds as though your registry didn't register all the settings in the appropriate area.

Reply 4 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rickards12 True, you're on Professional, so you wouldn't see it. Officially, language packs are only supported for Windows 7 Ultimate. Could you tell me how you patched the English Language pack? With that information I can continue from there. It sounds as though your registry didn't register all the settings in the appropriate area.

Yep, officially Pro doesn't support multi-languages.



I used "dism /online /add-package /packagepath:driveletterdirlp.cab" to add the language pack and then deleted the german one from the registry.



The OS is entirely in English, only third party applications very often install in german (or start in german) as if German is somewhere selected to be the default system language...

Reply 5 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

Looks like you deleted german in a wrong way. I used to delete LP through command prompt

Reply 6 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

Quote:

Originally Posted by James D Looks like you deleted german in a wrong way. I used to delete LP through command prompt

I know only one way to delete a registry record



Deleting the actual language pack should not have any effect IMO, as it is no longer in use and as I said - it is not the OS itself but third party software that installs itself in german for some reason...

Reply 7 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

1. dism /image:D: /Get-Packages you should write on a paper name of Client LP and it is a LONG name

2. dism /image:D: /scratchDir:D:scratch /Remove-Package /PackageName:



ALSO

dism /image:D: /Set-SKUIntlDefaults:en-EN (or en-US if you installed this one)

Reply 8 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

The proper method to install and uninstall a language pack is to use lpksetup.exe, but I don't know if this command exists in the Professional edition.



I bet there are traces in your registry where it thinks your OS is still in German. If you do have lpksetup.exe, run the following command with administrative rights:



lpksetup.exe /u de-DE



This will uninstall the German language pack entirely from your system.

Reply 9 : Change system default language for new applications!? (Win 7 Pro)

I believe she should just search in registry de-DE and change it to en-EN after all steps I said above.

Why does this happen..?

I really like the iOBIT security program. But no matter what I try, Mozilla always shows on it as showing my system with privacy problems under the PC security analysis. Cookies and all other blockers are on...what gives?

Reply 1 : Why does this happen..?

"Mozilla always shows on it as showing my system with privacy problems"

Sorry, I am not sure what you are saying there. How does Firefox show this, and what does it say? EXACT words please.

About IOBit and ASC:

We continuously see problems posted in these forums from people who use IOBit software. That is why we are very cautious about them and don't recognise them at all.

I see privacy concerns when I Google IOBit, and one discussion is here;
http://www.techsupportalert.com/freeware-forum/security/2250-iobit-security-360-stealing-signatures-2.html

Your choice here, but I won't touch it.

Mark

Reply 2 : Why does this happen..?

IObit has a PC Security analysis button to scan your system for privacy problems. Every time I run that scan, it shows 17 privacy problems or more. When I check to see what they are, its always associated with Mozilla Firefox under iObits Privacy sweeper,venthough I have the cookies blocked under the Passive Defense

Reply 3 : Why does this happen..?

- What are the details of that 17 or more privacy problems?
- Does anything change if you delete all your cookies in Firefox?

Kees

hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Does anyone know how well the new elitebooks will work with linux? here are the specs in case you haven't seen it:

HP EliteBook 8460p Notebook PC overview - HP Small & Medium Business products

any help would be appreciated

Reply 1 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Well, its advertised to be sold with SLED 11 which should mean that it's fully compatible. At least it has no NVIDIA Optimus graphics card which is a plus.

However, my Dell M6500 was advertised to be sold with RHEL 5.3, but neither was it available this way nor was it fully compatible. No idea if HP is more honest than Dell.



If I were you I'd try to order this Elitebook with SLED, test if everything works with the installed system and return it if that isn't the case.

Reply 2 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Quote:

Originally Posted by derocs Does anyone know how well the new elitebooks will work with linux? here are the specs in case you haven't seen it: HP EliteBook 8460p Notebook PC overview - HP Small & Medium Business products any help would be appreciated

I have a 8440 15inch, and it's unusable under linux. There's an unkillable kernell process that takes 100% of a CPU. I've seen this reported as a bug on the kernel bugtracker, but no solution available yet. Stay away from HP if you want a working linux box.

Reply 3 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Could you please provide a link to this kernel bug? It might make it easier to judge if the 8460p will be affected too.

Reply 4 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

thanks for the reply. I am hoping it will be compatible. It seems like such a nice laptop other than that. I am just getting into linux so i def want my college laptop to be compatible, aslo is SLED a distro? I have heard of Red Hat but not SLED

Reply 5 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Quote:

Originally Posted by derocs I am just getting into linux so i def want my college laptop to be compatible, aslo is SLED a distro? I have heard of Red Hat but not SLED

SLED is the abbreviation for Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop, which is the desktop edition (as opposed to SLES which is for servers) of Novells professional Linux (Novell is Red Hats biggest competitor on the professional Linux market). You might know openSuse, which is the community version of Suse and a test bed for the enterprise versions. Therefore openSuse is always ahead in technology but due to its testing status tends to be unstable from time to time. Since the laptop you intend to buy is cutting edge technology SLED might not be fully compatible with it. This is why I would test it first.



The relation between SLES/D and openSuse is much like the one between RHEL and Fedora.

Reply 6 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

A sales rep confirmed that the 8460p is compatible to Linux

Reply 7 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Quote:

Originally Posted by debguy Well, its advertised to be sold with SLED 11 which should mean that it's fully compatible. At least it has no NVIDIA Optimus graphics card which is a plus. However, my Dell M6500 was advertised to be sold with RHEL 5.3, but neither was it available this way nor was it fully compatible. No idea if HP is more honest than Dell. If I were you I'd try to order this Elitebook with SLED, test if everything works with the installed system and return it if that isn't the case.

That's a real good idea.



@debguy: I use SL6 (RHEL6) on my m6500 and it ALL works save the fingerprint reader....what were you referring to? Curious. Thanks.

Reply 8 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Yes the M6500 works fine if you have kernel 2.6.30 or newer. But if you try earlier kernels (e.g. 2.6.18 like in RHEL/CentOS/Scientific 5.x) you'll notice that there is no sound via the built-in speakers (audio jack works). I checked that with CentOS 5.3 and 5.4 back then.



The reason is an error in the Ibex Peak soundchip [1] which was well known when the M6500 was released, but still Dell didn't state this problem when advertising the M6500 with RHEL.

This leads me to the conclusion that Dell either 1. didn't actually test the M6500 with Linux (one simply can't miss such a problem) which in turn leads me to the question how well Dell tests their products at all, or 2. they were intentionally trying to hide this problem hoping that nobody would actually check it, which I think is even worse than poor testing.



[1] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=509526

Reply 9 : hp elitebook 8460p linux compatibility

Quote:

Originally Posted by debguy Yes the M6500 works fine if you have kernel 2.6.30 or newer. But if you try earlier kernels (e.g. 2.6.18 like in RHEL/CentOS/Scientific 5.x) you'll notice that there is no sound via the built-in speakers (audio jack works). I checked that with CentOS 5.3 and 5.4 back then. The reason is an error in the Ibex Peak soundchip [1] which was well known when the M6500 was released, but still Dell didn't state this problem when advertising the M6500 with RHEL. This leads me to the conclusion that Dell either 1. didn't actually test the M6500 with Linux (one simply can't miss such a problem) which in turn leads me to the question how well Dell tests their products at all, or 2. they were intentionally trying to hide this problem hoping that nobody would actually check it, which I think is even worse than poor testing. [1] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=509526

Absolutely....I waited a long time for SL6 because of that.

dell studio 1558 heats up &amp; after 30 mins shuts down

Here are the symptoms of my studio 1558:

1)It used to heat up to high temperature from starting. but then it was winter(India)

2)Now in summer it gets hot and during persistent heavy work it shuts down abruptly and suddenly after some time



* Is this heating leading to shutdown ?

* If yes, then what should i do for heating. If no, what to do for both ?





It's only 4-5 months since my delivery date.

It's in warranty.

Fan's working perfectly fine. no problem with it.

Reply 1 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

Sounds like you're heat sink/fan assembly is clogged-up with a lot of dust and fluff.



You have two options to clean this out:



a) Get a can of compressed air and spray it in the cooling vents.



b) Completely disassemble your laptop and get some cotton swabs inside that fan assembly for that extra-clean feeling.



For disassembly instructions please consult your 1558 manual:



http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/sm/index.htm



more specifically for your case:



http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1179839



Good luck! If you go for option b) you will be amazed at the difference it makes.

Reply 2 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

Have you tried blowing out the heatfins and heatsink with canned air?



What are your temperatures like? Ambient room temperature?

Reply 3 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

As i said my lappy is almost new. and don't think there's dust collected there. Thought will open t up and check it out.

Reply 4 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

haven't checked it on temperature monitor software but it gets really hot. like as in u touch it's back side and u feel d sting

Reply 5 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

Quote:

Originally Posted by aditya_2kx As i said my lappy is almost new. and don't think there's dust collected there. Thought will open t up and check it out.

I find that even after just 4 months of use I have loads of fluff stuck in my heat-sink.



A quick way to find out is to put your hand a few inches away from the heat-fins when your fan is working hard and you should be able to feel a considerable amount of air hitting your palm if there are no obstructions.



If you don't feel much air, chances are you've got a lot of dust in there.

Reply 6 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

Check if thermal paste was mounded on. You might need to repaste it.

Reply 7 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsunade_Hime Check if thermal paste was mounded on. You might need to repaste it.

good point, the paste that dell usually applies is pretty poor.

Reply 8 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

The best thing for you to do is actually to contact Dell and report random shutdown problem with your Studio 1558. It is a common problem with the Studio 15 range as the design of the fan/heatsink is poor, coupled with the inefficiency of proper ventilation.



I would suggest that you ask Dell to come in to change the motherboard, the fan and heatsink. On top of that, please get a 9 cell battery. I can assure you that you will not have any problems with random shutdown anymore.



Besides that, as what other contributors have mentioned, take it apart after six months or a year and clean the fan + heatsink with a spray can.



I could remember that Dell technician came in to replace those parts which I have mentioned three times...



Oh yes, one more thing though. If you want to flash your BIOS with 8GB of system memory, you would have to downgrade it to 4GB before you can flash into the new BIOS. It goes the same to installing Dell's QuickSet 64 too.



Good luck!

Reply 9 : dell studio 1558 heats up & after 30 mins shuts down

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavericke Besides that, as what other contributors have mentioned, take it apart after six months or a year and clean the fan + heatsink with a spray can.

There are two important things to remember when using spay cans:



1) Make sure the system has been shut down and completely cooled down before spraying. The gas that comes out of the can is very cold, and the thermal shock of a blast of freezing air hitting hot components can damage them.



2) If at all possible, hold the rotor (fan blades) to prevent them from moving when you spray gas on the fan. Otherwise you can easily spin the fan blades much faster than they were designed to turn. This can damage the fan.

Quote:

Oh yes, one more thing though. If you want to flash your BIOS with 8GB of system memory, you would have to downgrade it to 4GB before you can flash into the new BIOS. It goes the same to installing Dell's QuickSet 64 too.

I have 2 1558's with 8GB of RAM and have upgraded the BIOS on them multiple times, as well as installing QuickSet 64. What sort of issues did you experience?

iTunes error code -50 when trying to open iTunes

Following a recent tweak by my employer on my laptop i can now no longer open iTunes and get the following message "The iTunes application could not be opened. An unknown error occured (-50)"
iTunes support have suggested it's a firewall, virus software issue but as far as i can see the firewall is set to allow everything through....

This is now driving me up the wall - does anyone have any suggestions please???

Reply 1 : iTunes error code -50 when trying to open iTunes

What version of iTunes are you using?
What Operating System are you using?
What AV software, if any, are you using?
Is there a Company Firewall?

P

Reply 2 : iTunes error code -50 when trying to open iTunes

I'm not sure exactly what it was - something to do with the domain? As you can see i am not very technical when it comes to this stuff. I have uninstalled iTunes and everything connected to it and reinstalled so i believe i am using version 10.
The operating system is Windows 7 and there is currently no AV software running nor is there a company firewall - i have checked that the Windows firewall is allowing iTunes through...

Reply 3 : iTunes error code -50 when trying to open iTunes

Running a Windows network, with a domain, and there is no AV software and no Firewall?

If this problem started after the "tweak", then I suspect the tweak is the problem.

I suspect that there is a firewall, or at least some restriction on what goes out and comes in.
Speak with your IT staff.

Does anyone else have this problem?

P

Flash drive help!

I have a flash drive that I inserted into a new Dell laptop that I have. The laptop prompted me to create a password to protect the flashdrive so I did. Now I cannot access the flash drive on nay other computer. When I go to properties it shows the flash drive at 0% used and 0% available.

Reply 1 : Flash drive help!

What type of flash drive, and did it come with it's own password protection feature?

What happens when you reconnect the flash drive to the Dell laptop, can you delete the password protection?

Mark

Reply 2 : Flash drive help!

The flash drive is a PNY 8 GB Attache. When I reconnect to the laptop it asks for the password and after I enter it I can access the flash drive and all of the files on it.

Reply 3 : Flash drive help!

Well it seems that the PNY 8 GB Attache flash drive does not come with password protection software of it's own, so the software that did that must be on your laptop.

I would look through that software and see if there is any help there.

Mark

Reply 4 : Flash drive help!

I've never been asked by any. What does the flash drive manual say about it?

If all else fails: go into Disk Management to remove the partition on that drive and create a new one. That won't contain the encryption software that plagues you now.

Kees

I have a Creative ZIIO why can't I use flash player.

I have a ZIIO and I can't use flash player why? I did update my firmware virsion. PLease explain to me why I can't watch videos and movies. It makes me mad.

Reply 1 : I have a Creative ZIIO why can't I use flash player.

I do see it runs some version of Android. As there are many versions, some later units play flash files some need us to re-encode the content.
Bob

DDR3 on DDR2

Hi,
I have a desktop with a motherboard that has DDR2 ram on it. I would like to know if i can mix and match DDR2 and DDR3 ram or will it work if i just switch to DDR3?
All help is GREATLY appreciated!

Reply 1 : DDR3 on DDR2

some systems or motherboards that are specifically designed to accept either DDR2 or DDR3... the Biostar TP43E.is one example.

Bottom line it depends on your specific system....but highly highly unlikely for most systems.

VAPCMD

Reply 2 : DDR3 on DDR2

I don't think so. DDR3 is so much cheaper.

Reply 3 : DDR3 on DDR2

Very few machines support both on the motherboard at the same time.

HOWEVER, a video or other card may use other types or RAM.
Bob

Samsung 56 inch with green and purple lines around everythi

its a pedastal tv. cannot access specifics at this time. Someone suggested lamp going out? It does come and go too.

Reply 1 : Samsung 56 inch with green and purple lines around everythi

kirch69,

If it's a DLP, it's probably not the lamp. Without the ability to look the unit, it is difficult to diagnose.

My recommendation would be to contact the Samsung customer service center at 800-SAMSUNG for further troubleshooting and repair assistance.

--HDTech

Need advice in choosing semi pro camcorder

I am planning to buy a semi pro camcorder with great video and sound recording features under $ 2000 for making quality documentaries on service projects located in rural areas of India.

I understand that mini DV format is best for editing. Am I right if I can completely ignore Hard Disk models.

I will be doing editing in AVID or Adobe Premiere.

Please advice about Panasonic AG-DVX102BE and Sony DSR-PD170 DVCAM that have been recomended.

How about Sony HDR HC 9E? Is it a pro camcorder?

Reply 1 : Need advice in choosing semi pro camcorder

Panasonic AG-DVX102BE and Sony DSR-PD170 DVCAM are standard definition only. This is not bad - it just is. Both are considered "pro grade" because of their large lens, large 1/3" (if I recall correctly) imaging chip array (3CCD) and XLR audio connections. And lots of easy to get to manual controls on the outside of the camcorder.

The Sony HDR series are "consumer grade". Compare the HC9's lens filter diameter (37mm, if memory serves) and single 1/3" (I *think*) CMOS imaging chip. The audio-in jack is a stereo 1/8" (3.5mm) plug. It does do HDV format so high definition (in addition to standard def 4:3 and widescreen).

If you consider HDV, then the Sony HDR-FX7, HDR-FX1 and HDR-FX1000 would be much more appropriate. The HVR-HD1000 shoulder mount and HVR-A1 are consumer grade lenses and single imaging chip - and the HD1000 uses the small 1/8" audio in jack - the A1U comes with an XLR adapter.

MiniDV tape based camcorders assume your computer has a firewire port for importing the video on the digital tape. USB won't work and USB-firewire cable/converter/adapter things won't work.

"Best" is a relative - and subjective - term. It is true that DV/HDV is a lot less compressed than the consumer-grade standard def MPG/MOF files or AVCHD MTS/TOD files. It is also true that the process flow using digital tape is better defined and the digital tape archive is a built-in capability not shared by consumer grade non-tape video capture systems.

Reply 2 : Need advice in choosing semi pro camcorder

Thanks for replying in detail.

I have received a under 2000 US $ offer for Panasonic and so am strongly thinking to grab it.

Reply 3 : Need advice in choosing semi pro camcorder

Where did you get the under 2000$ offer for the Panasonic?

I want to buy one too.

Thanks
Modi

Wireless N Router with eSATA NAS?

Does anyone know of a good quality wireless N router with NAS support that connects via eSATA? I am looking to upgrade from wireless g and my external HD only has eSATA port for connecting it. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Reply 1 : Wireless N Router with eSATA NAS?

It's because even at full N speed it still is slower than an USB 2.0 port. There's no reason for this interface on a router today.
Bob

Reply 2 : Wireless N Router with eSATA NAS?

I need to be able to connect it to my wireless router when home, and take it with me when I'm traveling or onsite at a client and need my VMs with me. And since I can't find an external drive that has both eSATA and Ethernet ports.... a router that has an eSATA port would take care of this. I can find drives (or cases) that are eSATA + USB, USB + Ethernet, but I can't find an external drive (or case) that has both Ethernet and eSATA. And eSATA is enough faster when directly connected to my PC, that I'd rather not be relegated to USB.

Reply 3 : Wireless N Router with eSATA NAS?

Since there is no speed gain and an increase in the cost of the router, you don't find this in common units today.

Sorry if this doesn't help you but there are reasons for this to not happen.
Bob

Reply 4 : Wireless N Router with eSATA NAS?

I simply disagree with you. That YOU don't see a "reason" for it, does not mean that no one else could have a use for it. And whoever said they were looking for a "common" unit?

Your belief that there's no reason for it does not define the reality of those of us who would have used for it.

Reply 5 : Wireless N Router with eSATA NAS?

But given we have 3 speeds of SATA which all outstrip today's wifi speed, the makers may be hung up on which to offer.

Again, USB's transfer link speed is 480 megabit and for now well beyond wifi speeds.

Have you found this device yet?

I was not going to write but one could make one. Think about it.
Bob

I'M UNABLE TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING DUE TO THE ISSUE OF %APPDAT%

I DONT KNOW WAHT THAT IS I NEED HELP ANYONE KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PLEAS HELP

Reply 1 : I'M UNABLE TO DOWNLOAD ANYTHING DUE TO THE ISSUE OF %APPDAT%

http://forums.cnet.com/7723-12546_102-329159.html

AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

I have tried to install AVG 2011 onto an ASUS running Vista that previously had AVG9,and it freezes about 70% of the way through. The computer completely freezes, the programme won't respond to cancel, and I can't turn the computer off. When I disconnect and reboot, I get an AVG prompt which goes into the same loop. When I try to uninstall AVG, the same thing happens. I am now left with no way of removing the programme, and no active anti-virus.

Any help desperately needed

Reply 1 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello NeilBlackley,

please follow the removal procedure according to this AVG Free Forum sticky post:

http://forums.avg.com/ww-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=110317

Are you using other protection application and firewall?

Thank you

Reply 2 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

yes, I have Windows defender and Windows Firewall activated. Is that a problem?

Reply 3 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

I went through this proceedure. The removal seemed to work, but when I tried to re-download and install the software, it froze at exacly the same place, even with turning the Firewall off. This time, however, it corrupted my operating system. The computer won't re-boot, quoting a missing file, windows/system32/drivers/avgrkx86.sys.

it says I have to find the original system CD to re-load.

i wish I had never come across AVG - i have wasted so much time on this.

Reply 4 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello NeilBlackley,

apologies for any inconveniences caused by this situation.

I was not able to induce similar message on Windows XP and Windows 7, when avgrkx86.sys was removed (renamed, simply missing). Both operating systems loaded properly.

Please disable AVG processes as described in this thread, if not possible to uninstall AVG in Safe Mode:

http://forums.avg.com/ww-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=94159

I would like to ask you, if would be possible to provide us with AVG installation logs (as soon as your computer will be functional) as described here:

http://forums.avg.com/ww-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=85955

- to check, if the log contains crucial info, which action was recorded last time to point us to culprit of the freeze.

Thank you

Reply 5 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

I had the same problem with an ASUS laptop, Windows Vista, brand new reinstall. After 3 tries, I gave up and installed AVAST with no problem. I use AVG on all of my other computers, including Dell and HP Vista machines.

Reply 6 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

So its not just me. I had to hire a computer support expert to re-boot my daughter's computer, and afterwards even he was also unable to install AVG2011. He installed the Microsoft free anti-virus, but heavily recommends ESET.

Reply 7 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hi

Had the same problem with an ASUS notebook here in my workshop. AVG 2011 is incompatible with ASUS Data Security Management software. I unstalled the Data security management software and AVG installs perfectly.

Regards

nqtech.

Reply 8 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello nqtech,

I would like to ask you, if you want to cooperate with us on analysis of this unpleasant situation, to open my CNET profile and send me an email. I will send you next information for debug of this unpleasant situation and possible conflict.

Thank you

Reply 9 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hi

Whilst I would love to help, I have returned the system to the owner. Basically when the machine arrived in my workshop it would not boot. I booted into safe mode and used the AVG removal tool. I downloaded the offline installation file and attempted to install that and the system would get to approx 70% of the way across the installation taskbar and freeze necessitating a forced shutdown and removal in safe mode. Complicating the situation in this case was that the orginal hard drive was starting to fail so I installed a new hard drive and used a recovery DVD to install the operating system and drivers then installed Vista SP1 and SP2 before attempting to install AVG again. AVG failed again at the same place, so I looked for programs that were currently running that could possibly conflict with an antivirus program. With over 20 years experience in fixing computers, my logical choice was to look at a program that possibbly had some control of the system and therefore I chose to remove the ASUS Data Security Management software as it met the parameters that could cause a conflict. In this instance I was lucky and AVG installed successfully. I then cloned the original drive onto a new drive and removed the DSM software and I was able to load AVG onto the system again without fault. Sorry I cannot be of anymore assistance.

Reply 10 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Just wanted to put my hand up and say I had the same problem with my ASUS laptop running Windows 7 (which also has ASUS Data Security Management software). It would freeze the computer toward the end of the install (when it says "Copying files") and only boot up after a system restore in safe mode. After 3 attempts I reinstalled AVG 9.0 which doesn't give me any problems.
I hope this can be fixed for us ASUS users to enjoy AVG 2011 too.

Reply 11 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Also wanted to add to this thread as suffering from exactly the same install problems as described above by RoccaJay and others. Running Asus lappy with Vista and Asus Data Security Software installed. I have never used AsusDSM. My freeze is identical place to RoccaJay, gets to the "Copying Files" and total system freeze, can only hard reboot and try and get into safe mode and then run AVG Removal tool. Today i tried again to do a fresh install, made sure there were no traces left of AVG, ran AVG Removal Tool, ran CCleaner etc... but after reading this thread i disabled the only trace of ASUS Data Security Management i could find running which was a service. Install failed as before, with freeze at same place, very frustrating. I would be happy to provide a log of the failed install as i would really like to get this sorted. Also after the last attempt even after running the removal tool a couple of times i still found this entry in Startup - MFARestart "C:ProgramDataMFADatapackavgrunasx.exe" /usereg and what i believe are reminants of the install in these locations:

C:UsersDerby2010AppDataLocalTemp

C:UsersDerby2010AppDataLocalLowAVGTOOLBAR

C:ProgramDataMFAData

Shouldn't the removal tool be removing these? Can i manually delete these files and folders?

Also have never had any probs with previous versions of AVG Free.

Reply 12 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello Derby2010,

please be informed that ASUS software should have more records in operating system than service only - very probably also specialized driver, which is causing mentioned situation. Please find ASUS software in "Add or remove programs" and uninstall it completely.

I have already asked our QA to check this unpleasant conflict.

With the AVG remover - the removal procedure has two phases - before and after restart. And to run the after restart phase is needed mentioned startup key.

In case you are sure mentioned files and folders are related with AVG and stay after using AVG remover, you can remove them manually.

Thank you

Reply 13 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello all,

if you are using Asus notebook with (already without) Asus Data Security Management software and have (had) described installation issue, please provide us with MSinfo32 output:
- Click on the "Start" button.
- Choose the "Run" option.
- Please type the "msinfo32" (without quotes) command to the command line and confirm by clicking on the "OK" button (or press Enter).
- After the tool is launched, please choose the "File" menu and the "Save..." option.
- Choose a name

Please pack output in an archive (zip file), upload it to some favorite online storage and provide us with link to it.

Thank you for your cooperation

Reply 14 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Thanks for the feedback Ondrej_AVG. Have emailed link to logs to you. I realise that AsusDSM is still installed, but thought it may have been helpful for you to see the logs before i uninstall it.

Reply 15 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello Derby2010,

provided information has been passed to QA for testing purposes.

Was AVG installation successful without Asus DSM?

Thank you

Reply 16 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

i have to put my 2 cents in to say i had the same trouble. i have an emachine desktop t6524 windows xp sp3 amd athlon processor. been using avg for a long time. went to the new 2011 my comp froze. tried to install twice both time had to boot into safe mode to uninstall. went back to the avg 9.0 and it works great again. also my firewall was disabled each time. if anyone knows how to fix this it would be great, if not i don't believe avg 9.0 is going to work forever and i will be forced to go use a different brand.

Reply 17 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello SpudnickSr,

please gather AVG installation logs and MSinfo32 output:
- Click on the "Start" button.
- Choose the "Run" option.
- Please type the "msinfo32" (without quotes) command to the command line and confirm by clicking on the "OK" button (or press Enter).
- After the tool is launched, please choose the "File" menu and the "Save..." option.
- Choose a name

Please pack output in an archive (zip file), upload it to a favorite online storage and provide us with link to it (you can open my CNET profile and send me the link in the message).

Thank you

Reply 18 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

i sent the information you requisted. did you get it? i have not heard from you.

Reply 19 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello SpudnickSr,

I replied to your emails at 12/02/2010 and 12/07/2010.

What is the current situation?

Thank you

Reply 20 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

I, too, have had similar problems. I have a Dell Inspiron 1520, which already had AVG 9. Over the summer I had three Malware problems, which I was able to remove. Last night AVG found a trojan horse, which I put in the "vault." I then remembered that I could get the AVG 2011, which I started to download. I downloaded it via wifi, and it prompted me to restart. I did, but it did not turn off. I then manually shut it down. As I started it up, all it would do is go through the "Dell" startup, but then a blank screen--no Windows XP welcome. I have tried to go through Safe Mode, and still nothing. Only blank screen. It's obvious the computer is working, but for some reason will not turn on the OS. Any help would be appreciated.

Reply 21 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello kengorejr

Just a suggestion from a non-computer tech.

It sounds like a video problem. Do you have a graphic card or are you using onboard graphics (meaning that the monitor is plugged into the motherboard)? If you have a graphic board, try switching the monitor hookup to the motherboard to see if you can get a picture.

I know that it might not make sense from the timing of the problem, but that might be the problem.

Good Luck

Reply 22 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

uilleann4--thanks for your reply. The Dell Inspiron 1520 is a Laptop, so I'm not sure how the motherboard and the monitor would be severed. Plus, I see graphics at startup; once the computer does its normal startup, I never see anything Windows-related.

Thanks for your help nonetheless.

Reply 23 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hello,

Since you are unable to boot even to safe mode I would suggest to perform repair installation of Windows XP.
That should be possible using disk provided with your notebook.
Your data should be preserved with this reinstallation.

Thanks

Reply 24 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

Hi there. I had the same problem today. I purchased AVG Security 2011 and clicked on the link that was provided in the confirmation email. The program downloaded and my laptop froze before the program was installed. I have a Dell with windows 7. I had Trend Micro as my security software before AVG. My laptop froze and I had to cold shut down. I then searched the Internet for solutions using my smart phone. I found this site. In addition, I read the instructions from AVG in regards to downloading the program. So I started my laptop in save mode and uninstalled AVG program. I then turned on my laptop and first disabled Trend Micro. That allowed the AVG program to successfully install. I had to reboot the laptop and was not able to disable Trend Micro fast enough and for sure, my laptop froze again. I then started it in save mode again and uninstalled Trend Micro. This did not uninstall Trend Micro completely. I started my laptop in normal mode again, uninstalled Tren Micro completely and AVG program has been running smoothly ever since.

Reply 25 : AVG 2011 freezing computer in download

I had a user who bought a brand new ASUS laptop (G73S) and had AVG 2011 lockup on install once, then had it go through after uninstalling only to have it continually lock everything up after a reboot.

The solution was that Trend Micro was still installed on this laptop. After uninstalling Trend Micro in safe mode, leaving AVG 11 installed, it worked perfectly after a reboot.

Thanks to KatiBG for the solution.