[Wilbur]

I work fr the NHS, pretty dire nowadays but we do have a discount scheme.

I have an old Dell Inspiron 1300 which with the help of you guys has been kept running with spare parts off eBay.

I have been very happy with it but could really do with something with a better screen, my eyes are not what they were.

Is this a bargain http://www.thevault.nhsdiscounts.com...26/version.asp or would I be better off with an updated Dell/ I was thinking of the Inspiron 1545.

My requirements are fairly basic. email, forums, photos, a few videos and maybe the odd CD, usually OU assignment stuff rather than music. I do watch the occasional programme to catch up on things friends recommend as I hardly watch TV. But no need for long films or fast games capacity, the only game I play is Farmville A webcam wud be nice but not essential, I've lived without this long.

A advice gratefully received

[EvanDavis]

That is a good price. My sister has oredered the same from Acerdirect and that was £385.
And for what you want that would be more than good enough in my opinion. It does already have a built in webcam.

[bootneck02]

Not that I am an expert on laptops but it seems a great deal, I have just had a look in Argos and theis ACER laptops start at £379.99 and on Amazon at over £400 for the same make and model I would go with it. Good luck

[Wilbur]

thanks I think I will I hate having to make these decisions when you don't really know what you are buying. Still can't be expert in everything I guess.

[V_R]

Its not a bad deal to be honest...

< £360 @Ebuyer

Personally i dont like Acer as they bundle so much crapware with their laptops (then i get the joy of setting them up and fixing at a later date...!) ... But so do a lot of others...

Go for it if you want it.

[Wilbur]

Well I am now the proud owner of nice shiny new laptop, but I am still tapping away on the old one because I can't persuade it and the modem to talk to each other.

We are with Orange and have a Livebox9AF0 I've done the turning off and on again, as advised by the laptop trouble shooter but no joy.

I have also tried using my dongle, a 3 ZTE MF627 which works fine ith the Dell but all I get is a no network message, the light on the dongle is green indicating there is a network but no joy.

Is there a comparability issue with Windos 7 or is there something amiss with the Acer?

[V_R]

Can the laptop see the Orange router/network?

[Wilbur]

yes it is there OK and I can enter the WEP key, I have checked and triple checked that,

[bootneck02]

I got the same trouble with the wife's laptop it sees the modem but will not connect. Got a friend who is a IT techie and if I get a solution will let you know what it is, something simple I bet

[Wilbur]

Solved it, the laptop was looking at the modem OK but wasn't 'seeing' the laptop. We have a Livebox9A750 and it has a little button on the side which you have to press to make it look for a new item to link up to. See if you can find a set on instructions for your modem, should be online somewhere. It will run through what you need to do.

Once I knew how it only took a few minutes, most of which was spent with me getting the WEP key wrong... Duh

Must admit it is nice to be using a keyboard with all the keys fully functioning. I replaced the keyboard on the old Dell once and it was fine until Saturday when I spilt coffee on it! Hope I don't do the same for this one. Planning to sort the Dell out and let the kids have it, if I can't get the keyboard back fully I'll get a cheap plug in one. I know they want a sparkling new laptop but the way they treat stuff the old one will do them.