[eager2learn]

I have a Fujitsu C Series laptop purchased in 2002, it had been running slow and I took it to a local computer shop for , they convinced me they had better software than what was originally on it new. They said it would take 3 days to clean it of whatever virus/spyware etc. but it would only take a day to wipe it clean and reinstall the software. I offered to leave the original discs for them to copy but they said they could get what they needed off the internet. They supposedly wiped everything off the harddrive and then replaced the operating system and put on some of their programs. They replaced the Norton antivirus with something called AVG, my internet explorer was replaced with Foxfire. Now it is almost useless, I can't copy my original work and programs onto it, I don't dare take it back for fear of what else they might do. I really need some honest help.

I have the original discs and I made copies of everything I had on the computer before I took it to them.

When I purchased this computer the guy who services the computers at my office told me I had the best laptop he had seen. This guy isn't easily impressed, so I took him at his word. Now I just want that best computer back so I can work without fear of something being put on my computer that was not meant to be there or quite possibly removed something that I needed.

Can someone tell me how I can get it back to this place and then give me tips on how to upgrade the memory and/or enhance it in any way possible that I have a healthy, fast and functional laptop.

I am in the real estate business, I use my laptop for presentations, searching the internet for properties, keeping in touch with customers and clients via e-mail, printing labels and other miscellaneous tasks

Thanking you in advance for any help or assistance you may be able to offer eager2learn

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The shop actually did you a favour on both counts -- AVG uses much less memory than Norton which is notorious for slowing your computer down and AVG is used by thousands of people as an alternative because of this (plus it's free). Firefox (not foxfire) is an extremely popular alternative to IE because it is more secure and less likely to be attacked or hijacked (I use it myself).

There is nothing to stop you re-installing the other programs you need for doing your work and opening your existing files if you have the program discs.

And if you don't like Firefox and prefer to go back to IE, it's probably still there on your laptop since it's built in to Windows and cannot easily be removed. The shop has most likely just hidden it's icon from the desktop. For Windows XP, right-click the desktop and choose 'Properties'. Click desktop tab. Click 'customise desktop'. At the top put a tick against 'Internet Explorer' and click OK to close the boxes. IE should now be on the desktop.

As for upgrading your laptop, your options are limited to the memory (RAM) which will increase the speed at which Windows runs applications, and a larger hard disk to store more of those programs. So RAM is the obvious area to spend money on to get a performance boost.

[pip22]

The shop actually did you a favour on both counts -- AVG uses much less memory than Norton which is notorious for slowing your computer down and AVG is used by thousands of people as an alternative because of this (plus it's free). Firefox (not foxfire) is an extremely popular alternative to IE because it is more secure and less likely to be attacked or hijacked (I use it myself).

There is nothing to stop you re-installing the other programs you need for doing your work and opening your existing files if you have the program discs.

And if you don't like Firefox and prefer to go back to IE, it's probably still there on your laptop since it's built in to Windows and cannot easily be removed. The shop has most likely just hidden it's icon from the desktop. For Windows XP, right-click the desktop and choose 'Properties'. Click desktop tab. Click 'customise desktop'. At the top put a tick against 'Internet Explorer' and click OK to close the boxes. IE should now be on the desktop.

As for upgrading your laptop, your options are limited to the memory (RAM) which will increase the speed at which Windows runs applications, and a larger hard disk to store more of those programs. So RAM is the obvious area to spend money on to get a performance boost.