Okay. You guys are great. Clearly the collective wisdom is not to throw money at the problem - but figure the problem out. Owbist - in my thread on not connecting my husband's vista laptop to our network, I tried quietly, methodically to troubleshoot the issues - to no avail. I found lots of similar frustrations on google - but no solutions that worked - and I think I tried them all - at least to the best of my ability. thanks for those great, easy-to-follow instructions to transfer to an external hard drive. He'll want to do that anyway - even if he keeps this computer. This computer guy is pricey - but where I am in DC they seem to fall in the $125-140/hour range - and they can usually fix a problem. Others that charge $40-75 - that the uninformed think are good - but their know-how is less than what I find here. I tried a few of those locally recommended guys - and they accomplished the simple tasks but also made mistakes I had to hire the more expensive guy to fix. My main complaint with him is that he's wedded to his biases - he hates Vista - so his recommendation is usually to avoid or ditch it. Our struggles with Vista seem to often be how often we're blocked from things or performing simple tasks have all sort of obstacles - for "safety's" sake. Thanks to everyone for pointing out that Windows 7 is just a revamped Vista. I got my first issue of Smart Computing and they were tauting it and described some features I thought I'd love. DA - if W8 is in process, is there any indication of what it will be like? Probably worth waiting for - or at least waiting to hear more about how Windows 7 is panning out. So I'll keep plugging away on my other thread to get him connected. If I don't succeed by Tuesday, the computer guy will come and fix it. I guess we'll stop there. Thanks. Lynn.

Hello Jean, Have you checked compatibility? Just an FYI for you. It is always best to check with the software manufacturer FIRST. They will tell you if they have tested the product and the version, as well as whether or not it will work with Windows 7. Check out the Windows 7 Compatibility site: (There you will find out about hardware and software compatibility.) http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/en-us/default.aspx There is a pulldown from which you can choose 'hardware' and 'software'. There are also some great articles, instructional videos and such to help with your Windows 7 at our Springboard site: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/default.aspx In any event a lot of the times, Vista drivers will work in lieu of Windows 7 drivers, however, it's not 100%! As stated previously, it's best to have the Windows 7 certified drivers installed. Microsoft does have an official Windows 7 Support Forum located here http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/w7itpro/ . It is supported by product specialists as well as engineers and support teams. You may want to check the threads available there for additional assistance and support. Thanks again, John M. Microsoft Windows Client Support

Well if you had success with Malwarebytes perhaps it is not necessary to run Superantispyware. If you would care to try then as you start the computer keep tapping the F8 button and a screen will appear with start up options. Select safe mode, everything will look totally different to the normal startup because only essential drivers have been allowed to start. My concern was the fact you mentioned AVG was not running properly. That is a good indicator of trouble. On reading the initial post a second time it appears you overcame that issue

Owbist: I asked because I think I should know how to create a zip file. When I was troubleshooting issues on the my laptop and my daughters, it seems that folks helping me asked for zip files of various logs. So this xmarks situation isn't the first time I've been asked for a zip file. Best to know how to do it. Zep - you jogged my memory to remember that previously I was able to right click and send to zip file because in both cases I was on a Windows 7 computer. Now I know how to do it for XP. Doable, but certainly not as simple and elegant as Windows 7. Thanks everyone. Lynn.