Do I have a virus?

[bgranat]

It is a connection problem as your system is clean, as you have a new router and the Ethernet cables work, the next option would be that the card is damaged.  However this would cost to replace as it is on the motherboard.  The only alternative would be to try a wireless USB and see if that works better

What card do you mean?

What do you mean by a wireless USB? My computer has no capability for wireless.

I have been meaning for my IT technician to come and clean the fans in the computer, as the computer hums intermittently to a point that I can hear it and am annoyed by it.

But maybe I should just live with this connectivity issue and buy a new computer sooner rather than later.

I will say, however, and you should be pleased, essexboy, that the problem is much reduced. I think we've scared away the dinosaur about 80%. This being Friday, I think that is cause for celebration. Although I, as an independent editor, keep my own hours, I can still remember the joy of Fridays!!

[essexboy]

What do you mean by a wireless USB?

There is a USB on the market which is a small wireless transceiver  so that you can change a desktop into a wireless capable one

http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-add-wi-fi-to-a-desktop-pc-1569231692

[bgranat]

What do you mean by a wireless USB?

There is a USB on the market which is a small wireless transceiver  so that you can change a desktop into a wireless capable one

http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-add-wi-fi-to-a-desktop-pc-1569231692

Interesting. Thanks for the info. One of these USB adapters seems the way to go if I need to solve the problem before buying a new computer.  Btw, I edited the message above with a few comments....  THANK YOU for all your help!

[essexboy]

Aye they are only £10 or so .. I always keep a spare one just in case

[essexboy]

As it is better on a Friday then it must mean the gremlins have gone away for a weekend on the town

[bgranat]

As it is better on a Friday then it must mean the gremlins have gone away for a weekend on the town

I got the "Aww, snap!" version of the message this morning. I forgot about that variation. I wish Chrome had more grown-up messages. These silly ones make a person like me think they're looking at viruses, not formal messages from the browser.


Meanwhile, now I am thinking about whether I want to buy another desktop PC or if I want to buy a notebook. My main problem is that I don't like the keyboards on notebooks and don't have the space to come up with an alternate setup with a desktop keyboard. It would be wonderful to have all my work on something I can pick up and leave the house with. I know, I don't ask for much.

[essexboy]

What about a standard laptop as they are quite compact now, with a wireless mouse (I find the touchpads awkward)

[bgranat]

What about a standard laptop as they are quite compact now, with a wireless mouse (I find the touchpads awkward)

I use a wireless mouse now, and they're great, but the laptop keyboards I've seen I don't like. I don't like my netbook, for example. I like a regular PC keyboard. But maybe I'll look around and see if things have changed.

I don't know why they don't build laptops with regular keyboards, do you? I don't need the number pad, really.

I should look around more, I guess.  My IT tech suggests I buy http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-3647-small-desktop/pd?oc=fddnst315bw10&model_id=inspiron-3647-small-desktop. He says it's got a better processor than the HP model with the same features.

[essexboy]

Hmm not bad but the monitor is extra

[bgranat]

Hmm not bad but the monitor is extra

Yes, monitor is extra. It's not too steep, though. http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&sku=320-9775

[essexboy]

It also has integral wireless which is good

[bgranat]

I'm an HP girl since 1995, and I am resistant to switching to Dell, but Hakim (my IT tech) says Dell's is a better machine than this: http://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&catEntryId=1004653&quantity=1\. I guess the AMD processor isn't as good. HP products don't seem to offer the same quality as they used to, and they've gone overboard with their web design. So now I'm leaning toward Dell. And HP has a line called ENVY. Honestly! I would not own something called ENVY, though I did buy a pair of shoes called Mephistopheles once. They were wonderful shoes.

[bgranat]

It also has integral wireless which is good

Anyway, I shouldn't be chatting about buying decisions now that we've reached a conclusion of our business.

I want to thank you for your efforts -- in fact, the gremlin seems to be keeping its distance this morning.

I have to go out soon, but I will assess the situation later and report back on the status. Maybe the little darlin' will go back into his cave like Puff the Magic Dragon!

Thank you, essexboy!

[bgranat]

I've reset the router to the original DNS servers, and things appear to be okay now. I'll close out this thread tomorrow if it continues to be good. So I'm not using the Google Public DNS servers but the Verizon ones.

[bgranat]

The problem has been solved by changing the DNS back to Verizon's DNS. That was one of the first things I thought of, but everybody said it had nothing to do with the problem. It seemed logical to me that it did, though, and it turns out I was right, or that's how it seems to me. Why people thought it wasn't the issue, I don't know. After all, the error message itself mentioned DNS server not responding.

Thank you again for all the time and energy you put into helping me! If I can return the favor (by giving you a little editing), just let me know.