A Question For Anyone Vaguely Computer Literate

[HistoricCoinage 115]

The second, I have removed all search programs except google, rebooted the system, but it still ends at the AVG page.

Right, so it's a page not a box?

There should be the word Firefox in a gold box at the top left. Click on this, select options and then enter whichever webpage you want your Home Page to be in the box provided.

[Rob 3,002]

The second, I have removed all search programs except google, rebooted the system, but it still ends at the AVG page.

Right, so it's a page not a box?

There should be the word Firefox in a gold box at the top left. Click on this, select options and then enter whichever webpage you want your Home Page to be in the box provided.

They are all boxes surely?. Just that some occupy the full screen.

The word Firefox in a little box at the top left was only there when I didn't have the file/edit/view etc bar present. By ticking the menu bar, this one is permanently in view. That's as was and is now ok.

[HistoricCoinage 115]

They are all boxes surely?. Just that some occupy the full screen.

I was under the impression you were talking about the search box (delineated in red, below) on your Firefox browser rather than the webpage.

[Rob 3,002]

There doesn't seem to be an option for chosing the home page other than via the control panel which is set to google, but has no effect.

[HistoricCoinage 115]

There doesn't seem to be an option for chosing the home page other than via the control panel which is set to google, but has no effect.

In which case I'm wholly confused as to what the problem is.

Are you able to post a screenshot otherwise I'm not sure we can help from your descriptions alone.

[Rob 3,002]

They are all boxes surely?. Just that some occupy the full screen.

I was under the impression you were talking about the search box (delineated in red, below) on your Firefox browser rather than the webpage.

This is what I had originally. Now the Firefox bit has been replaced with AVG secure search even though Google is the only option in the top right box.

I had a look for anything that was AVG related in the task manager. Processes were avgui.exe. This is presumably the offending item as it is the only one. Three services were present, AVO securities, AVGIDSAgent and AVGWD. Also, I noticed thatr Mozillamaint was stopped - maybe that is important too as it is being over-ridden by AVG?

[HistoricCoinage 115]

This is what I had originally. Now the Firefox bit has been replaced with AVG secure search even though Google is the only option in the top right box.

I had a look for anything that was AVG related in the task manager. Processes were avgui.exe. This is presumably the offending item as it is the only one. Three services were present, AVO securities, AVGIDSAgent and AVGWD. Also, I noticed thatr Mozillamaint was stopped - maybe that is important too as it is being over-ridden by AVG?

"AVG search on newly opened Firefox tabs

A few users mentioned on forums they would like to disable the AVG default new tab page (which includes AVG secure search). This feature could be disabled by clicking the Settings link in lower-right corner of the newly opened tab (note the Settings link is not available on home page, it is present only on newly opened tabs) as seen on this screenshot.

- Modify the Show AVG Secure Search Box on new tabs in the browser as you wish.

- Click OK to save your configuration."

[Rob 3,002]

I don't have anything that says it is searching using Mozilla other than in the top line, so none of the symbols seen at the bottom of your page appear. I just have a Google box to type in (once I have changed from AVG to Google). There doesn't appear to be a settings link on the AVG page

How do I copy a full screen page? I tried to select all and paste it into a word document, but it only highlighted 4 things at the bottom left, not the AVG logo, search box etc, nor the bars at the top.

I also checked for Yahoo things, as it said AVG secure search was provided by Yahoo, but couldn't find anything

Edited April 19, 2014 by Rob

[HistoricCoinage 115]

How do I copy a full screen page? I tried to select all and paste it into a word document, but it only highlighted 4 things at the bottom left, not the AVG logo, search box etc, nor the bars at the top.

Press the Print Screen/PrtScn button on your keyboard. Open up a program such as Paint, paste and then Save As.

[DaveG38 385]

Why not just do a system restore to the previous set point? That should put your PC (without affecting personal data) back as it was before this change.

[Rob 3,002]

Why not just do a system restore to the previous set point? That should put your PC (without affecting personal data) back as it was before this change.

Because I wouldn't know where to start. All of these problems are fine when you understand what you do to rectify them. I don't have a clue when it comes to computers, because the terminology is meaningless. It might as well be in Swahili.

[Rob 3,002]

How do I copy a full screen page? I tried to select all and paste it into a word document, but it only highlighted 4 things at the bottom left, not the AVG logo, search box etc, nor the bars at the top.

Press the Print Screen/PrtScn button on your keyboard. Open up a program such as Paint, paste and then Save As.

This is the best I can do. It wouldn't paste into my Pictures until l had opened up an existing image and overwritten it.

[HistoricCoinage 115]

This is the best I can do. It wouldn't paste into my Pictures until l had opened up an existing image and overwritten it.

Right, I didn't realise you were on a much earlier OS.

It still makes me think you've got this set as your homepage. If you click on Tools at the top there should be an option (somewhere) to change your homepage.

[Rob 3,002]

Now I'm very confused. Using tools and the drop down menu.

Downloads I understand as they all go to the downloads file and I can see the individual files.

Add-ons. I have no idea.

Set up sync. No idea.

Web developer. No idea if relevant

Page info. Talks about this forum topic page

Options. Initially gave me a few choices in this category.

System defaults. Always check Firefox is default at startup. A couple scrolling boxes were ticked as was use hardware acceleration where possible.

Another was enable Firefox health report - ticked. No telemetry or enable crash report ticked.

Configure how Firefox connects to the internet - automatic proxy configuration ticked, whatever that means.

Firefox updates. Auto install and use background. Last update 29/3/2014

Certificates showed a few things which didn't mean anything.

Now for the fun bit. I closed the certificates box and now I can't find the above list no matter how hard I try. Clicking on General tab in the options now gives me a set home page with the AVG address in the default position. This is clearly the place. Where it has come from - I don't know as before I always saw the list above.

[Rob 3,002]

Hooray. It now opens at Google. Many thanks Clive and everyone who helped.

One last thing (hopefully). What's wrong with the operating system? This is what came with the computer a few years ago. It is Windows 7 which from comments people have made appears to be the last Microsoft version that worked? Are Vista and Windows 8 the white elephants people claim? Should I be using a different system, because as long as it works I am unwilling to rock the boat?

[HistoricCoinage 115]

Glad it now works!

Nothing's wrong with it, but from the appearance it looked like Windows '97 or similar, so I began to think that the advice given wouldn't be relevant. I, personally, would stick with Windows 7.

[pies 33]

Rob seriously think about getting a mac. Microsoft software is so full of holes that scammers etc find ways in. Then Microsoft release a patch and so on. Every new piece of software you load slows the machine down even if you uninstall it as it usually stays in the registry.

Since I have had my apple I have virtually zero problems

[Peter 615]

My pooter died on me yesterday.

Just packed in and the screen is blank.

I haven't backed up for a while.

It maybe a cheaper option to go to Argos and get a Toshiba ItB for £280.

I've borrowed Mrs Peters laptop but she works from home and ....well I can't use it.

We have 5 pooters in the house with only 2 working OK.

When my TV messed up I wanted to search the internet for a massive screen....trouble is Mr TV repair man fixed it for £36.

I'm stuck with 37 inches.

[Paulus 1,942]

I agree with Clive, stick with Windows 7. 8.0 wasn't well enough thought through, 8.1 is good for touch screens, Vista was dreadful.

[Rob 3,002]

Thankfully, upgrading Windows is not within my capabilities, so no danger of changing that bit. The problem is those who try to force alternative bits on you as extras. I'm pretty certain this happened because AVG said I needed an upgrade. As I use it for the virus check, it was logical to accept any improvements. What was not included was the info it would default to a program you didn't want. That is where they should be clearer.

[HistoricCoinage 115]

What was not included was the info it would default to a program you didn't want. That is where they should be clearer.

I use AVG and have never had this problem, I do know of other programs that really do hide such additions in small print and obscure Ts&Cs.

Just be wary of any ticked or unticked boxes.

[Peckris 579]

Hi Rob,

I had all these problems and more, until i went with a Mac.

Nice if you are starting with a blank sheet, but I've got thousands of files which I would lose if I bought an apple. Letters, articles, databases, excel files, website, accounts. Redoing all this isn't an option.

I had exactly the same but, with a couple of exceptions (sage accounts was one), all of my thousands of files transferred over to the iMac without a problem. I just ran a cable between the two machines and followed the on-screen prompts. That was 4 years ago and I've never looked back!

I'm assuming most of your letters, articles, etc are in Microsoft Word? There is Office for Mac which includes Word and Excel, and both will open/save files created in the PC versions. Also, TextEdit (Apple's equivalent of WordPad) will not only open Word files but Save As.. Word too. Apple's iWork which includes Pages and Numbers will do the same for Word and Excel files.

Website is HTML so any halfway decent web creation app will see that and allow you to maintain it.

The biggest stumbling block would be accounts and databases. It depends what they were created using. If they are Access databases, they can be exported to Excel and imported on a Mac either using Excel or Numbers, or FileMaker Pro will also 'see' Excel tables and convert them. As for accounts, that is usually proprietary and could be your biggest stumbling block.

However, modern Macs can have Windows installed via Bootcamp so any irreplaceable apps you needed could be run in Windows after a reboot. If rebooting proved a pain, there are virtualisation apps like Parallels which let you install Windows and you can run individual Windows programs right there in Mac OS X.

[Rob 3,002]

Thanks Peck but it all looks a bit too complicated to do by choice. Do any/all of these programs work on a PC or does it need a completely new system? If you can install windows on a mac, does the converse work too for apple programs working on a PC? As the computer is only 3 or 4 years old it seems pointless to throw it out while the hardware works ok.

Business accounts use Sage, but that's on a separate computer that never sees the internet and funnily enough never causes any grief. That will see me out.

[Peckris 579]

Thanks Peck but it all looks a bit too complicated to do by choice. Do any/all of these programs work on a PC or does it need a completely new system? If you can install windows on a mac, does the converse work too for apple programs working on a PC? As the computer is only 3 or 4 years old it seems pointless to throw it out while the hardware works ok.

Business accounts use Sage, but that's on a separate computer that never sees the internet and funnily enough never causes any grief. That will see me out.

Most of the software exists for both Mac and PC, e.g. Office. Documents can be ported between the two, no problem. Sage apparently doesn't exist in Mac format, though there are online versions which do. You'd need Parallels on a Mac to run Sage.

Apple software cannot run legally on a PC, though I've heard of the 'Hacintosh', so it's been done.

[Rob 3,002]

Apple software cannot run legally on a PC, though I've heard of the 'Hacintosh', so it's been done.

Then they are suffering from an overdose of egotism. There's nothing wrong with the PC hardware, and even the apple software has bugs looking at the crap that the various ayephones occasionally dispense. Even designer shi*e has a price limit.