have you tried going into your task manager and looked to see if there may be some other program running that is not showing up regularly? Sometimes when a program is shut down it looks like it closes and goes away but if you view task manager you find it is still running, you can end task there. I know that is a problem with firefox sometimes, it closes but is still listed in task manager and if you try to re-open what appears to be a closed firefox you get a message that it is currently running and it does show in task manager. You might have to try ending tasks in task manager one item at a time till you determine what is causing your problem.

Corrine has already set up your own post for you over at LzD so you can just jump in there and start to work she has your first set of instructions up for you. Here is the link to your thread there Topic for Brownthumbia! Just use the login info that was sent to your email and you are good to go.

Colin - your explanations of restore, system restore, back up, etc were very helpful. They were a very useful edition to what Ravencajun wrote - it didn't seem repetitive to me. I think I can really use any reiteration at this point. Now I actually understand that the system can be backed up to a hidden spot on the hard drive as well as my backing it up on dvd - to be used in the event that the hard drive back up doesn't work. By George, I think I've got it...........Well - at least that part. I'm not sure that I saw any option to create a back up start-up disk. Was that automatically included when I backed up the entire hard drive - or is there a separate step I should take? I also realize that I hadn't understood what you meant by blue button. I was looking at an actual blue button the thinkpad keyboard. Will that button do - or should I be looking for something else. I didn't not notice any blue buttons on the screen (except the Avast buttons in the task bar). Raven - I have a question about revo uninstaller. What would it uninstall? I noticed that I have Office on my computer but I don't know if it came with Office - or if this is a trial program. Is there a way I can figure that out? If it's a trial, I'd like to remove it. If it's permanent, I'll keep it. I know I did not get Microsoft Word with this and thought I had chosen no office software. I was planning on getting open office for the few times I might need to work on a word document (working on a document that is in Word on my desktop). Zep - good point about the printer software. I know when I chose the Canon mx850 and was researching printers, these were considered much better in terms of minimal bloatware (than say the HP's). I know when I installed the software on my desktop (and my daughter's) that several files were installed, but I think I want them all. The computer is networked so I can scan documents to any of our computers - print from any computer, fax from any computer, etc. I'm not sure how I would determine if any of those canon files are bloatware. More on my progress: -I did do all the lenovo updates. -ran javara and updated java and removed old programs. -installed and ran malwarebytes, spywareblaster. Any particular settings I should choose for spywareblaster,malwarebytes or Avast? I have so far just chosen the defaults - but don't know if I should "protect?" cookies - or anything else. And I just realized that I forgot to install superantispyware. For Avast, I did not set up scans on the screensaver - because at this point I will be turning the computer off if it is not being used for a while. If I just happen to walk away for 20 minutes or so, I don't want a scan automatically running that I have to wait to finish - or interrupt and cancel it - and run it manually later. Does it seem okay to just run it manually? If so, how often? Maybe I should use the screensaver option? I think "protecting (I know that's the wrong word - unselecting ?) cookies was for ccleaner - not anti-spyware programs. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. So now I'm off to get superantispyware - run secunia and get any necessary updates - and set up the printer software. This is extremely gratifying to be able to do this (with everyone's help). It really helps me to understand what's going on with my computer. Thanks. Lynn. PS - if I get open office, is there anyplace in particular I should download it from? Are there parts to download and parts to avoid - or do I just download the whole program?

Amity - I love DIP and now DIS (I am using the newest, and last, version - Digital Image Suite 2006-Anniversary Edition) I started using it way back in the "Picture It" days. I also have Photoshop Elements 5.0 - and find that DIS 2006 can do everything that PSe does - so MUCH easier though! I have one friend that is using DIS2006 Anniversary Edition with VISTA. eBay has a few copies of DIS2006 Anniversary available for a great price. If you are interested - I would get one ASAP - there used to be a ton listed and now just a few! I am attaching a link to a Microsoft patch. Some users experienced problems, and this patch (if needed) fixes that. I don't know if the "Anniversary Edition" needs it. They released DIS2006, then released DIS 2006 Anniversary Edition later - basically the same, but DIS2006 Anniversary appears to be Vista compatible. I have a few links of user forums (mostly dealing with digital scrapbooking) and tutorials for DIP/DIS. If you are interested in them, I can post the links. I went from using DIP/DIS for simple fixes, to doing some REALLY awesome photo editing. Simple to learn, simple to remember :0) Using edge finder tool to copy raspberries, then "Gaussian Blur" on image - then pasted unblurred raspberries back in, extending over the frame. Curling border, used edge finder tool to copy colored flower, made imgage b/w and pasted colored flower back in: Used "filters" to change the same picture as used above: Here is a link that might be useful: Microsoft Patch for DIS2006 - Vista