Hello everyone. I hope somebody can shed some light on a problem I am having. I wanted to rehabilitate my old laptop. So I thought I would do a fresh install and get things humming a little better, as well as partition more to my liking. In a nutshell, ever since reinstall I am having a problem with some programs (most) not installing. After I click on the install file the little swirling disk appears beside my cursor stays for a few seconds then nothing. Two programs that do this are libreoffice and VLC. I have downloaded multiple versions of both making sure that they are 32 bit and still no luck. I downloaded portable versions of both but then learned that I couldn't open paf files. I have discovered that .exe, .paf and .msi are not always working. When I decompressed the paf file on another computer, then put back on the problem computer, I was able to start up portable versions of libreoffice and VLC. Though this is welcome news I need to figure this out so I can install other important software. I was able to get Firefox installed but I couldn't use the main installer (the kind that needs an internet connection). When I downloaded the full version I was able to install it. It seems hit or miss, though I was never able to actually install libreoffice or VLC
So I am very confused. I have done some searching but can find nothing like this. I'm sure it is something I did or didn't do but I am at a loss. I used the re-installation disk that came with my computer as well as the driver cd. I also downloaded a touch pad and camera driver. The computer seems to be running normally in all other ways. It is not possible that it has a virus. I used a fix it program from Microsoft that is supposed to fix program install and uninstall problems but it didn't find any issues. I don't know, I suppose it could be some kind of hardware issue. It is a laptop with a bad battery that is no longer in it. Specs: Dell Inspiron 1520, 2gb ram, 160gb hard drive running Vista Home. Any suggestions you might be able to offer would be very appreciated. Thanks, -Jeff
So I am very confused. I have done some searching but can find nothing like this. I'm sure it is something I did or didn't do but I am at a loss. I used the re-installation disk that came with my computer as well as the driver cd. I also downloaded a touch pad and camera driver. The computer seems to be running normally in all other ways. It is not possible that it has a virus. I used a fix it program from Microsoft that is supposed to fix program install and uninstall problems but it didn't find any issues. I don't know, I suppose it could be some kind of hardware issue. It is a laptop with a bad battery that is no longer in it. Specs: Dell Inspiron 1520, 2gb ram, 160gb hard drive running Vista Home. Any suggestions you might be able to offer would be very appreciated. Thanks, -Jeff
