I wanted to take a moment to clarify a few things, mainly in the "Advice" dept.
Alot of people come looking for answers to their computing frustrations on these boards.
There are many, many people willing to help or at least offer some constructive suggestion to help solve whatever issue the person is having, these are good and most of the time very smart people, some of them even work in the computing field.
I suppose my first point would be to say, the advice your getting is not from your PC manufacturer,(although alot of these are *Very lacking in customer support) It is not from Microsoft(this can be almost as frustrating as the issue you are having with the PC) and it isnt from any of the manufacturers of any of your hardware. It is advice from people that have either dealt with the same or similar issue,from years of experience OR have been formally trained and can pretty easily walk through any PC issue...
I personally offer advice based on experience, hours upon hours of struggling,arguing and fighting with my PC until I finally figure out an answer/work around/ something that just works.Of course I have been accused of being a very stubborn invidual(isnt true!)If I offer advice thats where it roots from, hands on experience. Sometimes, if i see that someone has been left "Unanswered" I will make a suggestion as to what I would do to begin looking for the solution, just to ease the persons frustration level a notch or two and give them something to work with that may or may not solve their issue. In comparison with some of the more knowlageable people here, my suggestions are definitely beginning at square 1..
As for the others, there are very many "Guru's" here, PC wizards, people that know their stuff! I can spot them just by reading the threads on this board, I learn from these people by reading their replies to the various issues they have replied to. These are the people you hope to catch in a good mood and willing to help, because you wont go wrong!
Before accepting advice at least read through the boards and see if the person giving the advice has given advice upon other issues, you may even do this before you post a cry for help because many of the PC issues are more common than you think and others have sought help on the same issue and gotten it here on these boards, you may find your answers without anyone even knowing you had a problem!..(how slick is that?)
Sooo, in reflection,
1. Read through the threads to see if perhaps a solution to your same issue is already posted.
2. Be selective about the advice you do accept, read through the MB and see if your advice is coming from a knowlageable person.
3. Keep in mind that all of this is advice that is freely given, out of the good hearts of people that care, if a solution works for you, post a reply thanking the person, sometimes that is as satisfying to them as it is for you to be finally rid of the issue!
And last, do take it for what it is worth, not all advice is good advice, some unfortunately is posted by people that have strong beliefs in the way people should compute..but thats a rant all in itself.
Well, Thats my advice of accepting advice,
Take it for what it's worth!
Oh, and Take care!
Zero.