Acer technology playing up Aspire 4710z

Hi guys,
Let me first say thanks, I am pretty dumb when it comes to computers but have gained valuable knowledge from this site (re virus and malware programs) but I am having a wee problem with my laptop. It's Acer Aspire 4710z with Vista (which I hate, how much space does this need??) Anyway, whenever I put the thing into hibernation a dialogue box comes up directing me to reboot. How do I reboot a laptop, it didn't come with any discs....OK, stop laughing you lot, I said I was dumb.

 

When you "install" an operating system, you are copying files off of disc onto the computers hard drive, and in the future, the computer will use those files to boot the operating system.

In other words, you don't need discs to reboot the computer, the files are on the hard drive.

 

It happens after I resume, not right away, but randomly a dialogue box will pop up saying Acer Security is malfunctioning and I need to quit and reboot. The other chap said I don't need discs to reboot, so how do I reboot a laptop. Thanks.

 

OK, it's got a choice of restart, sleep, hibernate and shutdown, when I select shutdown it just shutsdown. Should I press one of the F buttons? I can remember shutting down my old pc by switching off the power if it had frozen then getting the chance on restart to select the 'black screen' with all the gobbdleygook on it............that dosn't happen with the laptop.

 

Thanks Halo, can I just say it is not hard for me to get confused with bl**dy computers, you want a 3 tier wedding cake or a to die for chocolate mousse, no problem, but computers!! Anyway, thanks for the info re restart vs reboot, the warning box dosn't actally pop up straight out of hibernation, it seems quite random, I also get the box which asks me if I really want to turn off the wireless.........since my laptop runs off a wireless conection I really don't want to turn it off and I never do anything which deliberately turns it off but I just click 'no' as often as I have to. I really hate the Acer and Vista combination on this wee laptop, apart from not having enough memory, it's quite slow, it's always causing problems. I wish I was competant enough to remove it too, but would be to scared to even go there. For now, the info you have supplied will do I'm sure, thank you very much for persevering with such a computer dummy. Cheers.

 

Dear Halo,
Thanks for the info re' SP1 upgrade, I did that today and so far so good.
You are the bomb.

 

Thanks for that Halo, you have been more than patient and I'm thrilled that I've got rid of the nasties for now. I will build up my confidence, gird my loins (so to speak) and post a new thread when I feel brave enough to challenge the Acer empire.
Thanks again. Sites like this one really help those of us mere mortals who are transfixed like bunnies in the headlights when confronted by tech speak. I quiver when one of 'those dialogue boxes telling me that I don't really want to uninstall Microsoft useless application 4,453 or my world will end and my hair burst into flames', because I'm silly enough to believe them. So thanks again for being accessible and sharing your knowlege, and if you ever want any great dessert recipes you know where to come.