Ok getting there, I still have the yellow ? next to Network Contollers... I think I've just about dowloaded everything recommended too. Does this Network Controllers effect my wireless connection? YES YES!!!! all sorted now, up and running.. Thanks again Now another PROBLEM, I cant dowload Skype or MSN.. says its not a valid win32 application? any ideas what I'm missing now I've sorted this now thanks to this really HELPFUL site! I read through some posts and dowloaded firefox! ahhh big sigh of relief! SusieQ23 - Sounds like you've got your laptop back up and running. GREAT JOB!

We'll be here if you need us. Best of luck!Well, that was short lived. My lap top was up and running ok then it just turned itself, and a black screen with hardrive failure appeared and said to press F1, I pressed F1 and I am back to where I started ....windows root\system32\hal.dll Susie - Sorry that the drive failed (but, see Reply #1) - a failed hard drive in a laptop is not unusual; nor are they hard to replace, generally

1) Replacement drives are here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150380%2050001306%201035907889&name=ATA-6. I picked the Western Digital drives because I've had good luck with WD, but it probably makes little difference which manufacturer you pick. I cannot tell from the online material what type of hard drive you have - SATA or PATA (IDE or ATA). I suspect that you want the latter and the Newegg link only shows ATA drives. But, verify this with Dell. You, of course, can get a hard drive from Dell or any number of places; I included the Newegg link to give you an idea as to what the capacities and prices are. One further consideration - drive speed (rpm). Your current drive, I suspect, is either a 4200 rpm drive or a 5400 rpm drive. I would recommend a 5400 rpm drive or a 7200 rpm drive. The 7200 rpm drive would make your computer faster (by 10% or so) but will: a) reduce battery time, B) generate more heat.

2) Looks like it's easy to replace your drive : http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins8500/en/8500/index.htm#online_documentation. Look at the Hard Drive section.

3) After REPLACING the hard drive-> You get to re-install the operating system AND the drivers again!

Best of luck and post back with any questions.