Well whatever the value of the subject HP, Amazon is now sold out at the price I was considering. I've found a Gateway 17.3" for a few dollars less, and my past experience with Gateway has been good - but so what? things change. I am currently using my old Gateway in a desktop setup so the cracked screen isn't an issue... it is running great. Gateway NE71B10u 17.3-Inch Laptop AMD E-Series Dual-Core E2-1800 1.7 GHz (1 MB Cache) 6 GB DDR3 750 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive 17.3-Inch Screen, AMD Radeon? HD 7340 Graphics Windows 8, 4-hour battery life Also has a USB 3.0 and the 6 GB/750GB looks real good, should hold up memory-wise for a few years...but then don't take my advice on that one. Not trying to jerk all my friends around, please consider this just an update for those who have provided advice/views on my HP machinations. I may yet set back to a 15.6" and there is a Gateway the same as the above less the larger screen.

Zep, thank you so much for all you time and advise. I truly appreciate it. Can I ask you about the log I posted at 14:41 particularly the double entries? Acrobat.com Acrobat.com Ad-Aware Ad-Aware Adobe AIR Adobe AIR Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 CyberLink DVD Suite CyberLink DVD Suite Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer HP MediaSmart TV HP MediaSmart TV HP MediaSmart Webcam HP MediaSmart Webcam LabelPrint LabelPrint etc? Why are there doubles? I have to log off for the night, but if you have any more suggestions I will check back tomorrow. Thanks again. Carol

Ouch, I'm still running SP3 on a Gateway Notebook and a Dell desk top (2007 model) and have no problems. I'm thinking of also updating an HP Notebook, but wait as I continue to read about SP3 problems. My Gateway, most used by me, has AVG 7.5, the AVG AntiSpy, Spybot, SpywareBlaster, and SuperAntiSpy.. and I haven't detected any problems, albeit when I run the anti spyware programs they usually find some bad guys....which I delete and go on my way. I'll take a read of the link provided above when I get some time.

urlee the difference between the cd and getting it through your windows update is that with the cd you get the full install with windows update it is supposed to check your pc and give you just what you need but it seems more of the problems are happening to people who use windows update, so they are urging people to use one of the full methods. Now it could be that people using windows updates are not turning off all their antivirus and firewall and spyware protection when doing it that way which is definitely advised, when those things are not disabled first real issues can arise. However a word of caution, just because you use the cd does not mean or guarantee there will not be problems. The problem that is specific to people with AMD processors for example HAS to be addressed and the patch applied before any install of sp3 or those issues will happen. So it still means you have to do your homework and find out what has to be done to your pc prior to install if you choose to install it. Which is why we highly suggest backing up everything you do not want to lose or create an image of your system just in case the worst happens.