Laptop checked--lost a few things

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 11:24 pm

OK, I had my laptop checked out and the hardware was fine. No other problems, had the dust blown out and they gave it back to me.

Problems: I can't use the Emoticons, access Ancestry and any of the help pages I click on i.e. for my ISP come up with the header, but no text.

I have cleared the browser history, reenabled somethings which I think were disabled and still can't do any of the above.

I can reset the Internet Explorer settings to the manufacturer's defaults or I can try System Restore--or I can wait until tomorrow and call the people who worked on it or I can plant it in the garden and call it a paving stone...

Any recommendations or comments would be appreciated!

Carol

Post by **marilyn morning** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 11:47 pm

Carol, I'm no computer expert just ask my husband

but,

What about trying to google Ancestry's url to see if the site allows you to sign in? Maybe try changing your password? When I lost my password on Ancestry, a new one was sent back within minutes.

Good Luck
Marilyn

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:20 am

Hi Carol

I can't use the Emoticons, access Ancestry and any of the help pages I click on i.e. for my ISP come up with the header, but no text.

1. Emoticons - you cannot use them. Do you mean the extra emoticons which pop up in a separate window? Are pop-ups blocked?

2. You cannot access Ancestry...how are you trying to access Ancestry? What happens when you put the URL in the browser address box and attempt to visit the site? Do you see no web page at all? Can you access other web sites? Or do you mean that you can see the Ancestry home page but you cannot log in? Do you usually type in your password each time or do you rely on cookies to log you in automatically on your own PC - if so, have your cookies been cleaned out so the PC therefore cannot log you in automatically?

3. Help pages - what help pages, when using which software? Is it only the help pages for your ISP's brower?

4. Who is your ISP? (If it is AOL I'll stop asking questions as I know nothing at all about how their browser works!)

Best wishes
Lesley

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:33 am

Hi Marilyn and Lesley,

When I click on Ancestry in my favorites list or google it, I was getting to the homepage, but couldn't login. When I tried Marilyn's idea of requesting a new password I received the email with the link, but after clicking on it, the address box for the url went blank and the green arrow just kept going around in circles. I went to their FAQ and read up on their cookie stuff, then changed my security level to medium and now I can login, but can't search. The page freezes.

Lesley: My ISP is MSN. It's all of the pages on my MSN account. I can't even get any billing information--just the header that says Billing. The Emoticons are the ones that are right next to the text box where I am typing my reply. I tried allowing them for this site and that didn't work.

One of the things the technicians did when they had my computer was download a service pack from Windows which I had put off downloading because it was going to take over an hour with dial-up. I suspect that there were security changes in it that are causing these problems. Short of uninstalling the service pack I'm not sure what to do!

Carol

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:07 am

Hi Carol

Short of uninstalling the service pack I'm not sure what to do!

I suspect that would be service pack 3? I don't think it is a good idea to uninstall a service pack as they usually contain all sorts of security updates, without which you may make your PC vulnerable to various kinds of attack.

I was not aware that MSN acted as an ISP - I don't think that is even available as an option here in the UK, but perhaps it is in the USA, though I'm not seeign MSN on any listing of ISPs on the web. Here is list of the top US ISPs http://www.isp-planet.com/research/rankings/usa.html
Are you sure MSN are your ISP, and not just the home page that your browser displays on launch?

Best wishes
Lesley

Post by **marilyn morning** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:20 am

Hi Carol & Lesley,

Not sure if this is correct or not, but

With dial-up service, doesn't the ISP address change each time you connect to the internet?

Regards
Marilyn

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:23 am

Hi Marilyn
I don't think this issue has anything to do with IP addresses. I think the problem possibly lies with Carols web browser and a change in its settings which have occured as a result of the installation of updates.

Or has some new anti-virus or security software perhaps been installed and is being over enthusiastic in checking everything.....?

Best wishes
Lesley

Post by **marilyn morning** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:40 am

I don't think this issue has anything to do with IP addresses

What the heck was I thinking?

Regards
Marilyn

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:00 am

Hi all,

I have an msn.com address and I pay them every month!

I checked the updates history and there is no sign of a service pack download, just a regular update for their defender program. I did a system restore to Thursday before the update was installed with no obvious results.

Still no smileys and now Ancestry says it's temporarily unavailable--probably the Sunday evening crunch. I'm going to throw in the towel for tonight. If the good faeries don't fix this thing overnight, I'll start sending out emails and making phone calls tomorrow.

Thanks for all your interest! I'll keep you posted. Someone out there has to be able to fix this!

Carol

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:30 am

After holding my breath and hoping that no one would call and interrupt the 6 1/2 hour download, I now have AVG 8.0--and no Ancestry or smileys!

I emailed AVG this morning and their confirmation letter said my question was probably already covered in the FAQ's. Didn't see anything there that I understood, so tomorrow I'll try the FAQ's for 8.0 and see if I can find a solution before I email AVG again.

I love my computer. I love my computer....

Carol