Ditto! Laptop is where it's at! We have two, and can't imagine ever going back to a desktop. Laptops are waaay more versatile... esp. when paired with a wifi network. Some things I routinely do with my laptop that one could never do with a desktop include: I bring it in the kitchen when I cook. I can take my laptop out to the hammock with me in the summer. When we visit my parents, we bring our laptops with us and we can answer work emails without using their computer, which would be awkward. Most laptops have DVD players... Ever wish you could entertain LF on a long car ride, or ever wish you could watch a movie somewhere other than in your living room? Laptops take up less room, and it's easier to tidy up your desk when someone is coming over... we put ours in the cabinet for parties and the desk becomes a buffet... this would be a pain in the butt to do if we had a bulky desktop. Laptop keyboards are easy to use, but if you want a big one, you can always plug a standard keyboard in through a USB port. There are some pro-desktop reasons, but I suggest they all have "yeah-buts" attached: You can get a bigger screen with a desktop (yeah, but who needs that big of a screen anyway). Many desktops have more storage capacity (yeah, but you could always use a portable hard drive if you ever managed to fill up a laptop). Many desktops can be used with more peripherals because they have more cable ports (yeah, but who buys a laptop without first ensuring it has enough ports to meet their present and probably future needs anyway). I've never had a laptop overheat, but one of my coworkers did have a desktop overheat because it was bulky and she crammed it in too narrow a space for the fan to work properly. (She's sort of an idiot, so I don't know if this counts.) I can't imagine a reason in the world that I would ever buy a desktop computer again...

If you will be accessing the internet, yes the laptop will need it's own virus scanner and firewall. Good Luck Smitty

you need to have her stop and make sure she has updated her AVAST to the latest update, refer to the above post listed by bob414. Avast was tagging many false positives yesterday but the update has corrected the problem.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! Your advice worked and my computer is almost back to normal. Goldie: that was my first thought, too (LOL)! Mary Lu, it wasn't you at all; just me trying to do too much :~) I basically just followed Camp56 and Ideefixe's instructions and it worked! I can't thank you both enough for taking the time to walk me through it!! Rose: the thumb drive idea is a good one for future problems. I never would have thought of that. Thanks! Olychick: you know, I'm embarrassed to say that I had no idea about that Restore feature. In the past, whenever I've had a problem DH has fixed it for me. I need to be more proactive. Allison: thanks for those recommendations. WIP: yes, they use a small outside IT firm; nobody in-house except DH. I was going to call them next if I couldn't find a solution here. Oakley: you're kidding?!? I made a mistake earlier saying that I deleted Norton, it was MacAffee, which I've had for quite a while. It ran every day, scanning for problems but never found a one . . . and I KNEW something was wrong before all of this. That's why I was looking for anti-virus programs. Hmmmmm. Graywings: Thanks! I'd forgotten that GW even had a computer forum and had never checked it out. But, I will definitely keep it on mind for future problems. Chickadee: Haha . . . that's for sure! DH would flip out if I screwed up his computer! Camp56: thanks for mentioning that about the two programs. That's good to know as I wasn't sure. Thanks again for all your help. It worked!!!! Lynn