Can you plug it into a monitor to make sure it's not the screen?
Nerd/Boffin Technical corner. Page 73
Quote: Nil Putters @ February 16 2013, 5:05 PM GMTCan you plug it into a monitor to make sure it's not the screen?
Good idea...so to take it to the monitor, I unplugged it, turned it on, and for some reason it's not got the black screen any more. So even though I had been turning it off and on again, all I've dine is basically unplug it and plug it in again. Duh!
Currently starting up in safe mode...fingers crossed. Thanks for that Nil, your suggestion make have indirectly saved the day (and stopped my girlfriend having a go at me, because for some reason it's all my fault).
EDIT: All good, got rid of update with system restore, never gonna update it ever again!
Quote: Nogget @ February 16 2013, 4:02 PM GMTOur windows Vista laptop downloaded updates, and now starts up to a black screen. I can't get it into safe mode by pressing f8, either, it's just resolutely black. What can I do?
It might simply be that it is set to put its video ONLY on the output VGA socket instead of the internal screen. A common cause of howls of anxiety from laptop users.
Usually a Fn key in conjunction with one of the F keys that has a TVscreen symbol on it.
Does it go into the BIOS OK? (Del or F2 usually) immediately after power on.
Quote: Nogget @ February 16 2013, 5:31 PM GMTGood idea...so to take it to the monitor, I unplugged it, turned it on, and for some reason it's not got the black screen any more. So even though I had been turning it off and on again, all I've dine is basically unplug it and plug it in again. Duh!
Currently starting up in safe mode...fingers crossed. Thanks for that Nil, your suggestion make have indirectly saved the day (and stopped my girlfriend having a go at me, because for some reason it's all my fault).
EDIT: All good, got rid of update with system restore, never gonna update it ever again!
Hmm, I think my diagnosis above was correct, I don't think you need fear that update really.
Quote: Nogget @ February 16 2013, 5:31 PM GMTThanks for that Nil, your suggestion make have indirectly saved the day
Oh good.
Does anyone know of a browser that is an alternative for Internet Explorer? Because some websites/applications require it and as well all know, the original is shit. Maybe what I'm asking doesn't exist but am I right in thinking that all the different browsers run off their own "engine" so one that runs of the I.E one or is based on it, would do what I am hoping for. Yeah? 
?
Firefox
Safari
Opera
Most of them can fake being Internet Explorer to cause websites to respond as if I.E.
Anything using the IE rendering engine would be as bad as IE.
How? There are some websites that ask you to use I.E to access them for some reason?
Chrome is an obvious choice too. I've not use IE in a long, long time and I can't remember the last time something needed it. Browser compatibility has come on a long way in the last decade, asking people to use IE to access your site would be very odd now. But if you need to pretend to a website you're using IE, it's easily done in Chrome and Opera and I'm sure Firefox can do it too.
Been using chrome for 6 months now and it seems very good.
Only thing bad - no auto 'history delete' on exit. If you have been where you wouldn't like anyone else to know, you have to do it by hand (oh err missus)
Quote: Lee @ February 26 2013, 8:52 PM GMThttps://britishgastopup.paypoint.com/BrowserError.aspx
That is wank.
A big bag of it!
I'd change provider. 
It's not my problem.
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ February 26 2013, 8:38 PM GMTBeen using chrome for 6 months now and it seems very good.
Only thing bad - no auto 'history delete' on exit. If you have been where you wouldn't like anyone else to know, you have to do it by hand (oh err missus)
Try Incognito mode (menu > New Incognito menu). Everything you do in the incognito window isn't tracked.