Running two different antivirus programs at the same time can lead to conflicts...not the one that you are having though.
You may want to try hitting the Fn and f9 keys together the next time it happens. that key combination turns the screen on and off. Try that.
If that does not do the trick, you may want to either update your display drivers (with the most recent ones from HP) or, if you did that, roll back to the previous drivers.
Also, for some reason the default power config for the touchsmart desktop is "balanced". That mode is more for a laptop than a desktop and one of its settings turns the monitor off after a period of time. Go into control panel then power settings and change it to high performance.

David

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l299/xz550rj/HPMagicGiveaway.jpg

Woohoo! I won my Touchsmart!

Hi Jazzie,

Thats a very good question and thanks for the complement. :-)

As far as leanrning, I have owned and operated a computer repair business for the last 15 or so years in my spare time. Most of what I learned, I learned by trial and error and frequenting forums like this one. I also learned quite a bit from reading computerr magazines and books. About 10 years ago I made it "official" and got a degree in computer technology and repair.

To get started, Magazines like PC World (and their website at www.pcworld.com ) and Smart Computing magazine are very helpful. I really can't tell you a specific book or place that tells you everything becuase computing is so dynamic. The best thing to do is get a good understanding of the "nuts and bolts" - or the operating system, in this case, Windows Vista. There are lots of good books that teach you how to learn your way around Windows. Owners manuals are good at helping you understand the hardware about your computer, but just the basics.

Feel free to ask more questions and I'll try to help you as best I can.

David

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l299/xz550rj/HPMagicGiveaway.jpg

Woohoo! I won my Touchsmart!

Jazzie said: Hi David, I will take your advice and go and do some self leaning,I feel like I have a natural affinity with pc's for some reason, I like to do any repairs myself, my family n friends n the people i work with think i am a bit sad lol. I have loads of questions, you will be sorry you asked. 1. What is the best anti virus software in your opinion. 2. What is the best way to keep virus out of your pc. 3. Is it easy to construct a data base and where would be the best place to learn. I will stop now, just so i dont do your head in, Many thanks Jazzie

Hi Jazzie,

Heres some quick answers for you.

1.  I like AVG antivirus.  Its free and it does not slow my systems down.  It can be downloaded from www.free.grisoft.com .  Be careful though, because they will remind you that they also have a version you can buy, you just have to click through the links to finally get the free one.

2. I keep virus's off my computer by being careful.  I keep my antivirus software up to date (it downloads updates almost daily) and I let it do its daily scans at a time when I am not using my computer...early in the morning.  I'm also careful about not opening emails that I'm not sure about the contents of, but my antivirus software also helps protect me there too.  I avoid things like emuls, bit torrent, kazaa, and many of the other "peer to peer" file sharing sites.

In addition to the antivirus software, I have several antispyware programs (all free) that I use to scan my computer periodically with.  Spyware and viruses work together to mess up your computer.  Its kind of like one opens the door for the other.

3.  This question may require a little more elaboration.  What kind of database are you trying to build?  First, there are many free and low cost database solutions and many robust and expensive ones.  Open Office is an open source "office" program that is very similar to Microsoft Office and it includes a very good database program.  Google documents "google docs" has an online database and there are a few more such as the one that comes with Microsoft Works.

More robust programs such as Microsoft Access which can be purchased alone or along with Microsoft Office Premium is a great database that can do an awful lot and the "big boys" are Microsoft SQL and Oracle but those are professional level programs.

That should get yo started and I'm sure that many more members will offer insight as to their favorite antivirus programs and database programs.

David

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l299/xz550rj/HPMagicGiveaway.jpg

Woohoo! I won my Touchsmart!

I get a screen blackout when I try to wander around in (of all things) that HP tutorial thing. I get a black screen, and cannot get back out of it. It doesn't seem to be frozen. It's just a black screen. The screen brightness/screen mute controls do not change anything. Then if I press the windows button, I can get strange fragments of the Start menu to appear, but it is still unusable. The only way out seems to be to reboot it.