Me again

[funkychick]

Not a good day today
My laptops been a bit slow and jerky lately so gave it a clean with ccleaner it found nothing then I did a virus sweep with Norton it found nothing still not flowing so I did a system restore for a few days back blimey I wish I hadn't I have now been locked out of all my apps the tiles on the desktop have x in the bottom rt corner even my mail wont open and I cant get into crome my usual way of opening the internet I rang my computer's (HP )helpline and spent nearly an hour with a chappie who took over my curser and tried everything he knew but could come up with no explanation or resolve He cant think that ccleaner or the system restore will have done anything and he ran a malware check and came up with nothing He tried a number of avenues but the little crosses stayed firmly in the corners When you go into my account for the apps it says I need to pay for a license but chappie assures me that the licence for the apps comes with the computer and somehow the computer isn't recognising it I ve tried this evening again and managed to get in through IE and onto three websites this being one but all the apps still have the xs and my Norton has been disabled
Any ideas ???

[funkychick]

dont bother I ve been fiddling and think I might have done it myself Dont ask me what I did and I m not sure its all better but at least i can get in through Crome and get on all my websites I normally use I havent looked at the app store yet that will be done now....

[boatbuilder]

This was written before you posted your update but I'll post it anyway.

As it's obviously Windows 8 of which I have no experience whatsoever, FC. I'm afraid I'm unable to offer any advice at all. If the man at HP wasn't able to offer any solution having access to your laptop, I'm not sure what else you can do short of taking it to a local computer store to see if they can resolve it for you. I certainly don't know what you mean by your account for the apps. This is obviously something specific to W8. What sort of apps are you referring to. My only experience of apps is on the iPhone and my Kindle Fire. Are these apps that you have purchased since buying the laptop or were they already on there from new?

[Suffolkboy]

Hi Funky,during our holiday my Wife's laptop had a similar problem,the screen froze and looked like apps were displayed all over the screen with red crosses on each one. The screen was frozen and if I remember correctly a message was displayed saying ring this number. Being very aware of scams and naturally suspicious we sort advice from a computer shop at Stourbridge who advised us it was definitely a scam,so when we returned from holiday we went to the Apple shop in Norwich where within 3 minutes a young man had rid the computer of the scam. When we left the Apple shop the Wife was smiling ,I think she liked the look of the young man who fixed the problem and said it was free. All part of the Apple service.
Not sure if this is helpful,just relating how the scam may work so be careful - good luck.

[funkychick]

Hi SB And BB ....first your question BBwith windows 8 your desktop is covered in tiles which are your main apps that come with the computer so they are things like mail news sport calculator etc etc at the moment mine all have xS on and are frozen when you click on one it advises you to go into your app account when you go into the app account it advises you that your licence needs renewing and offers a means of payment The HP chappie said that obviously something has made the licence not be recognised as you don't have to pay for these apps they and the licence come with the computer on purchase but he couldn't find a way of getting around it as my laptop is out of guarantee he wasn't even supposed to help but tried for an hour
SB it's always good to hear similar things happen to others I don't have any viruses or malware I checked and so did chappie mine is not Apple so can't go to Norwich for help glad your wife's got sorted

After a lot of fiddling last night I have managed to find a way to use most things but my apps are still firmly and mysteriously locked and the only way round that is to return it to factory settings but I want to back all my photos up (thousands) before I do that I have a lot backed up on an external hard drive but not all

Any other ideas very welcome

[boatbuilder]

Just a thought here, FC.

You said you did a system restore which would have taken you back to an earlier date. Did you then check for and install any Windows updates which might have been previously applied since the date you rolled back to? It is quite possible that there might be an update that 'renews' that licence automatically at a specific date and as that date might have passed you need the update to keep the licence current.

[funkychick]

no i didnt think of that BB I restored back to two weeks ago, how would I check any updates It did an automatic one when I closed last night and the crosses are still there this morning ?

[funkychick]

I think before I do anything major like factory restore I will ring microsoft support as opposed to computer support and see if they can throw any light

[boatbuilder]

If it did an automatic one then there are probably no others. However, to check you need to go into Windows Updates - there should be one in the Programs list (there is in W7) or via the Control Panel under System & Security, if it's the same as W7. There is a link 'Check for Updates'. Occasionally some updates can fail on installation so there may be some there that didn't install properly.

[frankiesays]

Having worked with computers over a number of years I think they all benefit from being flattened every so often as they tend to slow down as the registry gets full of junk and partially uninstalled programs. As long as you have copies of the software you use and you have backed your data up elsewhere it should be uneventful albeit a pain in the bum to do. Any purchased apps should be able to be downloaded again and installed for free. I always put off doing my PC though as it is a bit of a faff and I'm always concerned that some of the kids' coursework has not been backed up. The main thing is that you have a legitimate copy of Windows to reinstall because without that you're stuffed.

[morty1753]

I think they all benefit from being flattened every so often as they tend to slow down as the registry gets full of junk and partially uninstalled programs.

Unless you use a Mac because then there is no registry to get clogged up with junk.