Hi, I'll be happy to help you with some advice

and also happy to look at what the sound issue could be on the HP machine as well

thank you for the detailed description - in terms of your requirements it sounds like the audio is the most important part of the system to get right - are you looking for pure audio quality rather than surround sound systems for example?

to answer the question on subscription anti-virus applications I think that they are not really worth paying for in addition to the load or bloat they can add to a system

using Windows Essentials and combining this with regular Malware scans (using Malware Bytes Free edition for example) is a good way of keeping things secure and also minimal

You're welcome - so we want great audio quality from desktop speakers. What is the current sound issue you have?

Interesting....

let me check

it looks like this is the issue and the experts communication?

http://www.justanswer.com/computer-hardware/65mvu-having-few-probs-pc-hp-a6530f-vista-sp-2.html

If so, I will go through all that and work out what the issue may be

is it ok to come back to you later today?

I can also provide some details on a good, value for money replacement specification

Thanks Eddie, will send an update through later

Hi Eddie - just wanted to check a couple of things quickly that I couldn't see in the previous thread

how close are the speakers to any potential interference source

such as a wireless router etc?

also - can the PC Speaker Beep be muted to rule that out as a potential cause

if you right-click the Volume icon and choose Playback Devices

Select Speakers-->Properties-->Levels

and drag PC Beep to 0

Still looking into the issue more but just a quick couple of thoughts

ok - let me know

still got plenty of info to research so will come back to you later

no problem - thanks for the update, is a bizarre and curious issue!

will keep trying

just a quick audio question - was Vista always on this PC or has it run any other operating systems? Just wondering if the issue was present on a different operating system at all.

The audio chipset that the HP machine uses does seem to have caused similar issues with a lot of machines ever since the Windows Audio engine got recoded with Vista/7

also - did you have any type of budget in mind for a new machine

thanks - I don't want to recommend anything excessive but good to know

would you need new screen etc or just the tower unit replacing in that event?

ok that's good

pretty sure under $500 would be ok

yes I know what you mean

on your current machine, can you go to Device Manager?

Start, right-click Computer and choose Manage

when that loads up choose Device Manager and expand Sound, Video & Game Controllers

right-click on the Realtek Audio, choose Properties and then select the Driver tab and let me know the version number

couldn't find it in the previous chat unfortunately

thanks

are the creative speakers you are using at the moment just Left - Right speakers or are they a surround sound model?

ok thanks - have a few possible resolutions based on that chipset and some issues

going to put them all together as I go through them over next hour or so

np

ok - been looking at a lot of chipset information and trying out a few things

when convenient can you see if these options make a difference at all?

Open Mail and choose Show Message Sizes from the View menu

sorry - ignore that

Under Control Panel > Sound > Playback Devices > Properties on Speakers > Enhancements
Turn on 'Immediate Mode'
Control Panel > Sound > Playback Devices > Advanced
Set quality from 16/bits 44khz to 24 bits 48 khz
Change Power options on the PC to High Performance

that's the right one

also, do you have Realtek Audio Manager listed as a program on your system?

if so, that should allow us to reprogramme the outputs

so for example we could change the audio input (blue connection) to be audio output and then connect the speakers to that connection

and see if the sound is still present or not

let me know if that made sense

Also have been researching a potential replacement PC

I agree that perusing Best Buy would be a very good option and they have some very good machines available

something like this would be a very nice machine and suit the requirements

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+-+Desktop+-+6GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive/4789749.p?id=1218527813607&skuId=4789749

or a similar HP

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/4672416.p?id=1218525518716&skuId=4672416

will be offline for a few hours

let me know your thoughts and if any progress on the existing sound issue

No problem - let me know how it goes

Thanks - will work on the audio issue some more

Lenovo is what IBM are now called

they are good, solid machines

The HP does look a good system

I don't think you would see much improvement on a newer monitor to be honest

no problem, working through some more audio options now and will come back to you

Something else to try on the audio option - Control Panel --> All Control Panel Items --> Power Options
Select "Change Plan Settings" on the power plan you are using will take you to

Control Panel --> All Control Panel Items --> Power Options --> Edit Plan Settings
Select "Change advanced power settings" which will bring up a Power Options settings box

Expand "Processor power Management"
Expand "Minimum Processor state"
Set to "100%"

forgot to ask as well whether the Realtek Audio Manager was able to change inputs and outputs so that if the speakers were connected to a different port if that made any difference as well?

ok, let me see if I can find a guide on the Realtek Audio Manager

This should be the guide

p.11 mentions the option to use different jacks and change them to playback functions

http://support.ts.fujitsu.com/ukfaq/Boards/Soundcards/RealTekHDA/hd_audio_driver_usermanualver1-00_0418-05[1].pdf

Let me know if that works at all

Understood - is strange that no reviews on the Lenovo but the HP is a good spec

for speakers & audio quality I would look at a good 2.1 speaker setup

which is a Left/Right speaker set with a bass unit as well to provide better response

Something like the Corsair SP2200 gets good reviews and is very well priced

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/05/27/corsair-sp2200-review/1

there are a couple of options when it comes to exporting data

either manually copying documents etc

or we could create a virtual image of your existing machine which would also capture the audio data

and then this could be started up as and when required on your new PC

that would also be a good way of ensuring all settings are captured for easy reference on the new setup as well

VMWare offer a free converter and player for such a task (I've used it when consolidating servers several times)

http://www.howtoforge.com/vmware_converter_windows_linux

Let me know your thoughts

Cheers

Steve

it would be possible to do a repair install of Windows 7

this is the closest method possible to reinstalling Windows 7 which doesn't affect the other applications/documents etc

unless you want to do a reinstall from scratch and see if that resolves the audio issue?

yes - we can do that, would need to ensure everything is backed up in advance though

I can put some details together as to where documents/emails etc are stored so we can do this?

yes, that would be the definitive step to checking the issue

ok - what e-mail program do you use?

Ok, I'll work out the best way to do a complete backup and come back to you shortly with the details, is that ok?

thanks

yes - Carbonite is good

just want to make sure we have a local copy as well

ok - what time is it there now?

UK at present

ok, that's fine

will put someting together ready for when you get back

np

the areas to backup will largely be the following locations

Outlook Data Files

and Windows user files

Outlook Data Files should be included in the Windows User files location but is always best to double check

if you load up Outlook and go to File-->Account Settings-->Data Files

Select your mail account name and then choose 'Open File Location'

this will take you directly to the location where the files are located to allow you to take a copy of them

The other location we need to look at is on the system drive, usually called Drive C

if you go to Start-->Computer and then open up drive C

there should be a users folder

and under that should be a folder with your Username

if you copy the Username folder this should include Documents, Downloads, Favorites, Pictures & Videos which should be everything we need to backup

if you are happy that all your Documents are stored here that should then be everything we need backed up

We can do a final check of document locations etc before committing to the rebuild as well

no problem

do you have a USB drive at all?

ok, we'll need some mechanism to backup the files before we do the reinstallation

so usually, would be a USB hard drive (or memory stick)

failing that we might have to burn to CD/DVD?

they're useful things to have - may depend on how much space it would take up

if you right click your username folder and choose properties the size should be listed there

yes, flash drive

ok 4.33GB

would just fit on a blank DVD if is has a DVD burner?

no problem

rough calculation that will take 6 or 7 CDs

ok - that should be a good option

is the burner connected?

ok - so if you put the blank DVD in the burner

Windows should automatically detect it and give some options

ok, what options are available?

ah ok - sorry think that's my fault

one second

if you close Windows DVD Maker

and go to Start-->Computer

double click on the DVD burner

this should open up a blank disc

ok, what is available with format options?

ok - that is what we want

so if you open the username folder in a seperate windo

window

highlight the username and press Ctrl + C (which will copy it)

and then in the DVD window press Ctrl + V

a copy of the folder should appear on the DVD

ok, how many blank dvds do you have?

just want to be sure that if we mess one up we have another one to use

back in a couple of mins...

ok

what files are now on the disk?

hmmm ok

are you able to remove those?

ok

if you go to the Start menu and choose Computer

then open the C drive

it's the username folder on the system, apologies I think I'm explaining it badly

if you go to Start

and type c:\users in the search box

then press enter

that should display some folders?

thanks :) you're very forgiving!

ok, so in the users file

there should be a separate folder with your actual username on?

ok - that is the folder we need to copy to a DVD

just looking to see if there is a quick Microsoft video....

this has a good video showing the process actually

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BwF60m05m8

ah ok - no problem

so when you have the flash drive this should be the next step

select your username folder (the one under c:\users)

right-click it and choose Copy

open up the flash drive in Start-->Computer

then right-click and choose Paste

this should give you a copy of the username folder on the flash drive

if you open it up you can check that the folders etc have copied

(you should see Download, Documents, music etc all there)

that would just leave Windows Mail to backup....

If you go to File-->Export in Windows Mail

you can then choose Windows Contacts

which will let you export the Contacts

and then repeat the procedure but choose File-->Export-->Messages

Back them up in Windows Mail format

details & screenshots are here as well

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/4905/backup-windows-mail-messages-and-contacts-in-vista/

Once all that is done we should have a backup of your mails, and the User folder which has your documents etc in

If you can double check the documents on the USB drive and are happy they are saved

the next step would be to check you have all the discs for any programs you need to reinstall

if so, would be rebooting with the Windows DVD in the drive and choosing the Install Now option when it boots up

it's Windows Vista isn't it?

once you start the reinstall we'll lose the ability to chat I guess

one thing I wanted to check was whether you had the drivers disc for the HP machine?

ok, it's possible that it's trying to copy some of the hidden and system files that are in that location

the easiest solution will be to create a new user

login to the machine as that user

and then copy your user file to the usb disc

as nothing can possibly be in use then

so if you go to Start-->Control Panel-->User Accounts

you can create a new user account there

then logoff from your current user

and login to the new user account

go to c:\users in the new account

and then copy your username folder to the usb disc

if that doesn't work, I'll write a custom script to do the copying

Let me know if the user account works

will be offline for a couple of hours as have to drop by the office

Hi,

if you have the flash drive connected

go to Start-->Computer

and open up the flash drive

what folders are listed on the flash drive?

Ok, and is the user folder called Ed?

Ok - Ed and Louie sound like usernames

so those folders have been copied to the flash drive

if you open them up on the flash drive, do you see Documents folders etc?

ok, and if you double click on Ed

what does that then show you?

ok

so that sounds like it has copied things correctly

if you went into Documents does it show the document files you are used to?

ok good

were you able to backup the Windows Mail messages/contacts ok?

they would most likely be on the desktop I would imagine

if there's nothing obvious we can redo the exports

ok, let's do a new export of Windows Mail and make sure we have a copy on the flash drive

is Windows Mail loaded?

ok, thanks

what capacity is the flash drive you picked up?

ok, that doesn't sound quite right

sorry - just want to be certain we have a copy of all your data before we reinstall

just to clarify Ed & Louie both use the machine?

ah ok

right - so I'm 100% Sure

Ed is the main user

all documents etc

Louie is the test user we created to take a copy of Ed's folder?

ok - so Louie actually has 'no' data of his own

yes, that makes sense if Louie is the test user we created, as he won't have done any work

yes, crazily that is how it would work

so the main thing we need to concentrate is the Ed folder on the flash drive

that's ok - I think I'm there

Ed is the account you always login with and work from?

thank you - it's clear in my head now

so, on the flash drive, when you open up the Ed folder you have Desktop, Document, Downloads, Favourites, Links, Music, Pictures, Searches, Videos

thanks

ok, for some reason Ed hasn't copied quite right

let's try this way

if you go to the Start menu

and type transfer in the Search box

does an application called Windows Easy Transfer load up?

ok

if you are in Windows Easy Transfer this may do a backup for us

do you have 'Start a new transfer'?

can you hit next there?

ok

then it should ask where to transfer files to

ok

are you able to go past that without closing all programs?

ok, we'll need to try closing those down and stepping through Easy Transfer

just putting the instructions together

so, once all other applications have closed continue with Easy Transfer

you should get a prompt to choose 'What do you want to use to transfer items to new computer'

the last option should be 'external hard disk or usb flash drive'

select that and you should get a screen which says

'which computer are you using now'

choose 'this is my old computer'

it should then scan the user accounts

might take several minutes here

once finished

you can choose Customize on Ed

and verify what it will backup

then with the checkbox next to Ed ticked

choose Next

you can add a password XX you want to the backup

but easiest thing is to leave a blank password

and choose Save

no problem

let me know how it goes

ok - thanks

in the meantime, I'll make a custom script that we can use to copy the data as well

just want to be absolutely sure that we don't risk your data

Almost have the script ready - just wanted to check what drive letter has been assigned to the flash drive

can you let me know what is shown next to the flash drive when it is connected

does it say E: Removable Disk or F: Removable Disk for example?

thanks - will make sure my script uses J

no problem

should have the script ready in 5-10 mins

ok - the script file is here

copy.cmd

if you click that it should download to your machine

ok - if you go to wikisend.com and choose Download

it will prompt you for a File ID

use this 594236

and that should download the file

ok, can you repeat and save it to your desktop?

ok, that is strange

just checking the command

ok, can you go to Start and type CMD in the search box

this should load up the Command Prompt window

ok

does it currently show c:\users\ed?

ok

now type this command

robocopy c:\users\ed j:\backup /MIR

and press enter

ok

try j:

and press enter

does the prompt change?

ok, if you leave the command prompt window open for now

and go to Start-->Computer

the flash drive is definitely being given the letter J?

ah ok, put the stick in and double check it comes up as J again

great

can you go back to the Command Prompt window now

and once there type j:

and press enter again

hopefully the prompt would change now

ok good

now type c:

and press enter

it should change back to c:

ok - that's fine

now - let's try this command

sorry, meant this command I'm just about to add

Robocopy C:\Users\Ed J:\TheBackup /MIR /XA:SH /XD AppData /XJD

ok - might take a while but this should now be backing up from the Ed folder to the J:\Backup folder

no problem

ok

now type J:

and the prompt should change

then type \Mybackup

sorry - ignore that last bit

when you have the j:> prompt

type cd \mybackup

and press enter

ah - sorry my fault

try cd \thebackup

ok - that looks good

now type dir

and it should list some folders

ok - and you should see folders like Downloads, Documents etc?

ok

just want to check a couple of things

if you type cd \documents

and when the prompt has changed type

dir

you should see a list of your documents scroll up?

ok - so the prompt currently says j:\thebackup>

is that right?

ok

so now type

cd \documents

press enter

and the prompt should then change to j:\thebackup\documents

hmmm, this is confusing

if you type exit

that should close the Command Prompt window

ok, if we go to start-->Computer

and double click the J drive

ok, is that folder thebackup listed?

ok, double click that folder

and let me know what is displayed now

ok, double click on Documents

ok good

think we are there now with the files

now we just need to backup e-mails

can you load up Windows Mail?

go to File-->Export

and choose Messages

this should prompt you for a format to export to

choose Windows Mail

then it will ask you to choose a location

select the browse button

select J:

and use mailbackup or similar as the name

yes, try j:\mailbackup

and hit next when done

that should then ask you what folders you want to backup

yes

then hit next

ok

if you don't want the Deleted Items backed up you can hold the Ctrl key and click each folder you want to backup

this is basically the procedure we are following

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/4905/backup-windows-mail-messages-and-contacts-in-vista/

ok - use this as the export directory

c:\users\ed\desktop\mail backup

ah ok

was that the only folder highlighted?

ok - if All folders was selected then that should be what was exported

can always redo the Export just to make sure

ok - does that sound about right?

c:\users\ed\desktop\mail backup2

use that as the directory this time

yes, you should be able to double click on that and open up

see what contents are listed

ok

and if you open up the mailbackup folder on the desktop, what are the contents

ok - that's good

so now we need to backup your contacts

so in Windows Mail

go to File-->Export-->Windows Contacts

select the format as CSV

and once CSV is selected

you need to select which details it will export

i'd just tick everything

call it contacts

and on j: if possible

otherwise just save it to your desktop

ok, if you go to Start and then type contacts in the search bar

hopefully it will show up there?

ok, when exporting the contacts would it let you specify were they were saveD?

just setting up Windows Mail here

ok - this process should work and allow you to choose the location of where to save the file

• Select Tools | Windows Contacts... from the menu in Windows Mail.
• Click Export in the toolbar.
• Make sure CSV (Comma Separated Values) is highlighted.
• Click Export.
• Now click Browse....
• Pick a folder to save the exported contacts.
• Type the desired name (say "Windows Mail contacts") under File name:.
• Click Save.
• Now click Next >.
• Make sure all address book fields you want included are checked.

can you try that and when you Browse, choose the Desktop folder

ok, so on the desktop you have your contacts and the mail backup folder as well?

ok - let's get them to the flash drive and I think we're backed up

firstly

right-click the contacts file and choose Copy

then go to Start-->Computer

double click J drive

sorry - right click on J drive and choose Paste

yes, if J is an option there?

ok, what about the mailbackup folder?

can you right-click that and send to J?

ok

that sounds like we have everything we need

so the next step would be to start the reinstall of Windows

so guess we will lose contact during that point...

if you print this out in the meantime

http://www.petri.co.il/install_windows_vista.htm

it goes through the Vista installation

as you want to start from scratch to make sure the issue is totally verified - there is a section where you configure the hard drive. At this point, delete the existing partition and create a new one

otherwise it might not be completely erasing the system

also, make sure the flash drive is disconnected during the reisntallation

that way nothing can happen to the backup in error

no problem

ok - will be here

Let me know how it goes