It sounds to me as if you are going through the exact same thing that I went through...hours and hours on the phone to tech support...I had two in-home calls, but they seemed easier to get than what you are going through. That tech told me I shouldn't have to be going through all of what I was going through. I think "maybe" he could have fixed the problem, but all he was allowed to do was what he was told to do..ie come and replace the hard drive (I knew and he knew it wasn't a hard drive problem) I really forget what he came out the second time for and the problems were still there. They "did" give me a case number so the tech in India that I called each time could look it up and see what was done last. I finally gave up...called tech support and said I wanted to return the computer (it was on my son's Dell card). At this point, they told me I had had it too long for a full refunded return. I told them to look at when I made my first complaint and notice I hadn't had it for very long before I called tech support and that they had dinked around with it so long, that my refund time was up. They finally refunded the full amount. I was told how to ship it and I followed their instructions to the letter. They weren't going to refund eighty some dollars because they said that one object should have been packed separately...I had the documentation where they said to put "everything" in two boxes...they told me what to put in each box and to write on the box what was inside. Well, it ended up costing me forty dollars to get it packed, and I "might" have gotten that amount refunded (not sure) but, I was just glad to see the tail lights of the UPS car leaving my driveway with those boxes. Roselvr, I "probably" paid too much for the computer I ended up with...I bought locally, but I have a "smokin'" computer...it works and I have a place to go and personally ask questions if need be. I asked Dell to send me a questionaire to fill out and tell my story...yes, they need these horror stories documented along with the "happy" ones they produce. They didn't see it that way and didn't "want" my story on a questionaire. My son felt bad because he has a Dell and has been happy with it...although not happy with the Indian tech support...and he talked me into buying a Dell. I told him it was, "just one of those things" and I might have gotten a good one, it just didn't happen that way. But...as I said, I went through the same thing and finally got it out of the house. How long have you had it? "Can" you return it at this time? I would call tech support and start making arrangements to get it out of your house....but rememeber...you're not alone, I know what you are going through completely :o)

At the time of the JFK assignation, I was with a National corporation, based in Atlanta, GA. We were a distribution point for several product lines. We had IBM Tabulators which prepared customer statements "in-house" for certain products. For another product line, all data was transmitted daily via a punched tape to Detroit where all invoices, inventory records, etc. were done. And, the University I attended had computers back in the 1950s. I know for sure they were offering classes in computer programming by 1962. I see nothing out of the ordinary by the comment from that book. As a side note, I'm currently reading an interesting book about the 3 assignations of the era - JFK, Bobby, and MLK called the "Legacy of Secrecy."

Thanks for the info. I am in no way stupid, but my skills are heavily in language and anything related to math can easily sandbag me. I am afraid of making my computer problems worse if I try to fix them, because that is exactly what has happened in the past. I don't open suspicious files but I still get an occasional worm or virus. I live in the country, precisely, among many Mennonite farmers, and technology has not found its way very deeply into this area. Getting technical help out here from Syracuse is expensive. MY ISP, TDS, whom I hate because I believe they gravitate toward underserved areas and then exploit their customers, offers an expensive monthly "service" to keep my computer fast and clean, but it is expensive and I am suspicious od TDS. I am fortunate that I can get DSL because many of the people out here are still stuck with dialup service. Few dare to try satellite service and I have heard nothing good about it. As I said, I research anything and everything that crosses my mind or which I want to buy and I am certain I am encouraging problems that way. I will ask the guru who is eventually coming about imaging. I have Asperger Syndrome and don't deal well with change and that is why I cling to MS products--I got started on them with an ISP employee sitting next to me, who set them up, and instructed me in their use. I have tried different browsers and mail programs in the past but the differences in them were extremely annoying. Another thing--I don't "intuit" very easily and things that seem obvious to others never dawn on me. I can and do learn but I need to find a tutor who can figure out how to explain things so I can grasp them. Still, I have compelted two MS degrees and theses with high honors since computers took over the libraries.

I have tried all the "resets" and that doesn't help. I have taken the laptop to Radio Shack, where he bought the Linksys router and they say it should work as the laptop "sees" the wireless connection. And, yes, when I plug the laptop directly into the satellite modem, it works just fine. The laptop SEES the wireless connect, but for whatever reason, I can't get on-line. I might also mention that the satellite modem does NOT have a router--there's just the one router, the Linksys router that I got as a birthday gift. I'll probably take the laptop back to Radio Shack or some other computer guru and see if they can "fix" it. I'm so frustrated I'm about to toss the whole da** thing into the pond!!! Augh! I told the Mr. I wanted the router AND SOMEONE TO INSTALL IT for my birthday--he got the router, but not the installer!! Again, thanks everyone for trying to help me. I do appreciate ya'll. Linda E