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guys i've just got my self a new laptop, theres a couple of things i need a wee bit of advice on....this is the first out the box computer i've had, and its using vista which i haven't used before.

my pc was built for me,i've done a few things with it but it was basically set up, so please bare with me if the questions sound daft, i dont want to break the thing .lol

1 it has norton built in,i've chosen not to activate it at the moment, do i use it? i've been told it slows the thing down a lot....or will i be better downloading avast like i have on my pc?

2. it has vista basic on it, when i got to programs , extras, it has word excel etc in it, when i goto use it it asks for the product code which i dont have, is this normal to have it preinstaled then i take it you have to buy the code from microsoft ?

any help is much appreciated

i had the same problem with microsoft word. i think they only give you a trial and then you have to register the product with microsoft.

Norton is shit mate, good call not activating it, delete it once your up and running...that's what I did, go with an AV you trust, I like McAfee as I've used it for a few years and it doesn't noticeably slow my computers.
You'll enjoy vista, I've had no problems using mine, so far.
The problem with new computers is the free trials, again, I leave them alone and delete them after a month, it's normal to have several on a brand new computer, most are rubbish, but you might find one or two that you'll want to get codes for...although in most cases you can 'get' the same product for free.

The new Norton 2009 is apparently much better. Not as power hungry. If you have a subscription to Norton then you should use it. Not sure how it will behave on a laptop. Tried the gaming edition on the laptop and it was very lightweight, efficient and didnt slow down the laptop like previous versions have. I still use windows one care that came with my new pc. Hardly know its there. AVG is a good free anti virus program.

AVG

Office programs dont tend to come with prebuilt PC's or laptops. So you may need a serial if you havent already brought it when doing the spec for ur laptop. If you want Office without the serial numbers, I can provide a link. Shows up as genuine when doing updates too.

thanks for the help guys, tyhanks for the avg link josh, that'll save me looking for it lol.

right another thing, where do i get more gadgets for the desktop...are there any good ones available to download?

what other features are good on vista, tbh to me it looks a lot like xp, i was expecting it to be completely different.

Are the gadgets that are for the Vista sidebar?

http://vista.gallery.microsoft.com/vista...?mkt=en-gb

http://www.thoosje.com/vista-sidebar-gad...llery.html

josh1979 Wrote:Are the gadgets that for the Vista sidebar?

http://vista.gallery.microsoft.com/vista...?mkt=en-gb

http://www.thoosje.com/vista-sidebar-gad...llery.html

thats the ones thanks

you can download the latest version of windows: windows 7 free from the microsoft website. i saw it on bbc news this morning they said its not the 100 percent finished version, but generally it runs smoothly with some new features. let me know if anyones tried it. its meant to be a lot better than vista.

it is. shandyman is the best person to ask about windows seven