Dear LJ Genie...

[snugglekitty]

So, my desktop is still having big issues. Despite every virus scan I have done, it's still doing weird popups that purport to be from Explorer (I run Firefox, not Explorer) and restarts for no apparent reason.

I am okay with troubleshooting my computer to the point where it needs to be restarted or maybe a cable needs to be taken out and put back. I also know how to open the mouse, take out the little ball, and dust it. I'm feeling a little out of my depth. Any help would be awesome.

Second and far less importantly, how do I alter settings on my laptop? It's a Dell running Windows XP Service Pack 1. What I want to do is set it to automatically turn itself off if there's no activity for an hour. I looked under Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Power Options but didn't find anything. (And, if it can't be done, that's okay.)

I am used to having a desktop so I haven't quite adjusted yet. I don't think to turn it off when I leave the house, so I would like to have it turn itself off.

(Edited to put the first priority first.)

Comments

Re: Now we're getting somewhere!

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Okay, the project is at a brief standstill. I have a CD burner on my laptop, but apparently no software, and the software page for Nero (that lets you burn bootable CDs) is having this weird issue. "Click here for trial version" leads to a page saying "This isn't a demo version, don't you dare download it unless you have a serial number." And I can't find the floppy drive, so mrpet is bringing one home from work.
Maybe this is a sign from the heavens that I should eat lunch.

(This is starting to remind me of Stargate SG1. "If you want the cure, you need to give me my necklace back." "If you want the necklace back, you have to give me my generator back." "If you want the generator back, you have to get me back my starship." And suddenly there you are facing down a whole starfleet for a cure that might not even work... *le sigh*)