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I am planning to replace a failed/failing HDD in a XPS laptop. Other than size is there much difference in noticeable performance between the prevailing specs on the market? Probably looking for 128GB or maybe a 256gb. Thanks for any help.

My dad lives in a flat in a converted Victorian property which has recently undergone redecorations. He specified that he wanted a replacement window in the kitchen – a dg unit - and left the keys with the builders as he had planned a months holiday whilst the work was ongoing. Upon his return...

A neighbour has just had a boiler replaced and some new pipework has been required. I am sure that the installer has fullfilled all of the gas regulations, but could he not have made a better job from an aesthetic viewpoint? Surely it would be reasonable to expect the pipe to be painted where...

I have got a bathroom washbowl mixer tap which is very similar to this: - though it is not from Bathstore. When turned off it was leaking from the spout. I called the plumber on the phone and said that it needs a new cartridge. Because there is no manufacturer’s name on any of the bathroom...

This is for use with water suplied from a combi-boiler. Are there any makes to specifically avoid or any that are really worht considering? Have heard that Mira are a good manufacturer. There are a few here. Is it better to go for a built in valve or not and what about a shower bar? What's the...

A friend of mine has a leak coming from the main stopcock of her groundfloor (leasehold) flat in a local authority block. A plumber she called with a view to fixing it told her to contact her property management people to get somebody to turn off the outside valve. They have responded by saying...

I am staying at my mum’s for a few days and we noticed a couple of things early this morning. Firstly, the cold supply to the bathroom basin took a while for water to run. By additionally turning on the cold supply to the bath and bidet it eventually restored itself to normal. Presumably the...

How does one go about reporting a seemingly malicious website? Something my mother tried to access a couple of days ago has resulted in a rather alarming My Computer page (this is in XP) being loaded notifying the detection of 200 or so trojans. This comes with the following message: Your...

There is a banging noise coming from our cylinder when the system is switched on to HW. Obviously the CH is not switched on this time of year. There is an immersion heater in the top of the cylinder but this is never used. The noise has become progressively louder over the last few days. Any...

I have been having a look at the waste disposal units on Screwfix. These are all manufactured by Watemaid. Are they any good? Watermaid that is, not Screwfix. :) Also, a friend who has a WDU was told by the plumber who installed it that it was necessary to have a back inlet gully in her...

At the weekend we removed a blocked radiator from the wall and flushed it out in the garden. Unfortunately we managed to spill some of its contents - horrible black liquid - onto a kitchen chair which has a white metal frame with two white plastic panels for back and seat. These are now quite...

I have a bit of a leak on the trap of a washing-machine standpipe. The nut (the one in the middle) cannot be tightened any further and the whole pipe is rather difficult to remove as it is positioned behind quite a lot of other pipework. Would it be acceptable to put some solution onto this...

Not sure if I should be asking this question in this section. I want to instal a dishwasher next to a washing mchine. The only way that this can be achieved is by moving the sink by 25cms. This would leave the bowl part of the sink very close to the (gas) hob. Would this be legal or does it...

My aunt wants to have a washbasin installed in a small WC room on the first floor of her flat and has called a plumber in to give her a price for the job. The existing pipe for the loo runs through the exterior wall and connects to (what the plumber calls) a branch soil pipe that runs...

I have just bought a new laptop (running under XP media centre) to replace my desktop that had expired. I have got so far as loading all my important files from a memory stick on to the hard drive. Trouble is it takes ages to load these files in the conventional way. What I mean here is to load...

I am giving my friend a hand installing a new bath waste, overflow banjo thingy and trap. The old waste and trap had started to leak quite badly – all of the joints had been bunged up with Plumber’s Mait which seems to be frowned upon on this site (understandably). We have got some clear...

Is it possible to get hold of the operating manual for a boiler of the early ‘80s? :( It is a fully vented Myson GA40 with pumped central heating. I have tried to use Myson as the key word on any web searches but this has so far not proved much use; perhaps because Myson have not...

I don't know whether this should be on appliances but I have got a Bosch dryer being delivered next weekend. We need to cut a hole in the wall for the waste air-outlet. Is there a standard size for Bosch machines for this type of thing? 100mm, 110mm, 117mm or 125mm? Until Thursday the other half...

Everything is working fine on my PC following the XP Service Pack 2 upgrade but just one minor hitch. Some websites use thumbnail images and for some reason my machine seems unable to view these following the SP2 mod. Anybody have any ideas as to why this might be? :?

Following the replacement of a WC siphon the flush handle is now very stiff. I think it is that the return spring in the siphon is tough. Is there anything that can be done to make the handle easier to operate? Thanks again for any advice.