DTFC

I installed McAfee a couple of weeks ago and ever since, whenever I boot up, my XP machine "completes" the installation. It always shows "New Programs Installed" and normally moves the desktop icon. It also brings up the "Vault" directory.

Clearly there is something stuck in a boot-up script somewhere. I've had McAfee remotely connect, clear out completely and re-install. I've also done this myself several times, but can't clear it.

Have tried cleaning the Registry.

Where do I try next?

My wife and I have quite a small garden, and when the house was built in 2002, a Silver Birch was planted near the bottom of the garden. However, it has grown so fast, it is now taking over, and the roots are spreading along the surface of the ground, catching on the lawn mower and threatening to come up through the bottom of the shed.

We think we'll remove it while it is still quite young, but would like an alternative to hang our bird boxes from that won't take over so much.

We're not clued up on this kind of thing really.

Any ideas?

Am looking for fresh ideas for a Friday evening social for work colleagues, not too expensive, in London, for 10-20 people. Done all the usual stuff, ice skating, bowling, Wimbledon dogs ... looking for some inspiration before just doing the same things over again.

Any help much appreciated.

Target cost - max £10 per head. Must be on a Friday evening after work.

Think it was sent out on Saturday evenings - fairly sure the title of the series was the name of the sister's business.

There are so many people saying the average male should eat around 2500 calories a day - but is it actually possible to have a varied diet that meets all the supposed limits of calories, fat, sugar, salt etc etc?

Where can I find ideas of varied diets to help me lose weight without getting bored of the meals within 2 weeks? (Yes, I admit, I am a slightly fussy eater)! :)

Is there not something in employment law (or similar) that states your company must provide you with the necessary tools to carry out your duties?

If your company wants you to travel somewhere for business reasons, do they have to provide the means (i.e. provide train tickets or the means to pay up front for them) or can they force you to get them out of your own pocket and claim on expenses? The latter is a quite unfair way of working - and means the employee must have a "pool" available to loan to the company!

If there is something in law (or otherwise) - where can I find it in writing?

I guess it's a tad complicated - but I'd be interested to know what it is. There must be one that all the computer game / mobile phone game / electronic game versions use!

I'm thinking of getting one of the two bikes above. They are slightly over-specified for what I want right now (cyclepaths and footpaths of Oxfordshire) - but I wan't to future-proof my choice a little - and make sure it stands up to holidays etc where I might push it a little harder.

I'd appreciate any guidance from those of you with a little more in-depth knowledge.

Thanks.

If you steal money off a security guard, delivering to a bank or cash machine for example, you apparently run the risk of being covered in red dye. Is this deactivated by a key or similar so that it doesn't explode on the security guards themselves?

With all this talk of charging the public for what they bin, that we'd actually do better to encourage businesses to recycle more. I am lead to believe that it actually costs many businesses to recycle - which puts them off (how many pubs throw out glass bottles?).

I need to reduce the size of my User Profile, as boot-up / shut-down takes forever. I've made it a local profile rather than roaming to help, but can only get it down from 205Mb to 135Mb (by clearing out items within "C:\Documents and Settings).

What else can I do to reduce it's size?

My bathroom and kitchen has spotlights, but these are 12V, from a transformer. I was going to replace them with LED spots to save power, but now seeing they are 12V, I assume most power is lost through the transformer anyway? Is there any point me replacing them?

If my boiler is heating the water, but the central heating is off - my bathroom radiator gets very hot. My guesses are that is it either:

1. The closest to the boiler;

2. The top of the system or;

3. It is used to "balance" in some way when the water is being heated.

One person did suggest it's because it's assumed if the water is being heated, I'm going to have a bath and would like a hot room!!!

I'm planning a surprise short break for my wife and I to celebrate our first anniversary in June. Malta and Palma are two places I'm quite drawn to. Any advice, ideas or warnings?

I am going to the Brazil v Portugal game, and have heard horror stories about getting out and onto public transport. I need to get to Paddington and only have an hour to do it! Any chance of me making it?

Any clever ideas for getting away?

I have been married to my wife Josie for just over 7 months. She suffers from Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression), though only really suffers the "manic" cycles. She is currently displaying her trigger symptoms, which are "suspicious thoughts" where she thinks she is in some kind of spy story. Although I thought I'd be able to be strong for her, I've found myself very scared and worried.

I am obviously encouraging her to keep the specialist up to date, especially while she is aware of it, in the hope that they can suggest medication etc to stop it ballooning into anything as serious as she has suffered in years gone by.

Just wondered if there was anyone out there with any words of wisdom?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Martin

I have Navigator 5, but TomTom cannot guarantee that Navigator 6 will work on it (I can get a free upgrade, but don't want to screw up the PDA). I wondered if anyone had the same PDA and had installed Navigator 6 successfully?

Was addicted to it on my old 'phone, but can't find anywhere that offers it for the Samsung!