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August 13

This page was last modified on 30 December 2010 at 21:56.

User:Knssilm/Humpty Dumpty (film)

I've been trying to search for the listed film above in the link, although it states at the bottom of that page: This page was last modified on 30 December 2010 at 21:56.

It also states that the film was TBD in 2011 we are now actually half way through the year 2012.

Please contact me at: ^{[details removed]} with the updated information on this film.

Thanks Cole — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.234.91.195 (talk) 20:05, 12 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

That page is in userspace, so it may not refer to a real film. The folks at the reference desk might be able to help. RudolfRed (talk) 20:10, 12 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you want them to be permanently removed from the page history, please email this address.

That page refers to an "upcoming 2011 .. film". But the page was last edited in 2010. My guess is, the film never got made. Maproom (talk) 23:08, 12 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How access "deleted" pages?

A year or so ago, I was asked by a nonprofit club I volunteered at to add a page to their website, and we promptly found that we had lost control of the site. No big deal, I'll put your info up on Wikipedia for now. It's blatant advertising so it won't _stay_ there long, but you can see it while it lasts. Actually, the page lasted longer than I had expected, but it did eventually get taken down. We now have control of our website again, but I cannot find my source text. And, I cannot even get to the deleted page thru my "contributions" link. How does one access a "deleted" page? It should still be in the records somewhere, just marked "don't show this". — Preceding unsigned comment added by SandyJax (talk • contribs) 00:01, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Only administrators can see the old content of deleted pages. I have mailed it to you. Note that Wikipedia is not a webhost. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:11, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! SandyJax (talk) 00:45, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Rename of "The Qube" back to "Chase Tower"

Problem: The title of this article and all references to the building's name should be changed back to "Chase Tower" from "The Qube". It appears that a Wikipedia contributor has changed this information on or around May 1, 2012.

Reason: It is true that the name "The Qube" is used to reference the building, however it's official name is "Chase Tower" and will remain so for the time being. "The Qube" is an internal branding name that is used by the employees of Quicken Loans, one of the "Chase Tower" tenants, to describe the building. The term comes from the shape of the building being similar to that of a Cube, combined with the propensity for Quicken Loans to use a Q whenever possible.69.14.61.121 (talk) 00:53, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Source: 1) I work for Quicken Loans. 2) Website for Bedrock Property Management, the company that owns the building. http://bedrockmgt.com/properties.html Please see building number 2.

69.14.61.121 (talk) 00:53, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This might be relevent, if the building is not normally called by its official name: WP:COMMONNAME RudolfRed (talk) 02:02, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Italicized article titles?

A couple of articles I've created, specifically Rocky Loves Emily and Aftereight have their titles shown in italics. Does anyone know why this might be, or how to undo it?--Invisiboy42293 (talk) 01:44, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

{{Infobox album}} by default changes the article title to italics unless you include the parameter "Italic title=no". I've done that for you to the two articles you listed.--Bbb23 (talk) 01:58, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks.--Invisiboy42293 (talk) 05:20, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I want someone to help me write a biography About a Notable Music Producer in my country

Dear Members,

I want to know how go about writing a bio about a notable person in my country. Im new on here and I want to contribute on here ...

Thanks Nano007 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nano007 (talk • contribs) 04:25, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This should get you on the right path: WP:YFA RudolfRed (talk) 06:07, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

What's the namespace number for articles starting with Wikipedia: (e.g. Wikipedia:No_original_research)

It's missing from the list at the only site I could find it documented on (unless that means it should be 8 on Wikipedia if it's 8 on MediaWiki)? http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Namespaces/id -- Scarpy (talk) 04:54, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The Wikipedia namespace is the project namespace (4). Zzyzx11 (talk) 05:01, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

problems posting first article

I worked on my first article in my sandbox and then "saved" which I thought meant that it was posted to the public, but i don't see the article on "Sean Burns" (writer and musician). I do see in "my contributions" that something was logged. Is there a delay period between publishing and having an article go live? Second question, I tried to insert a photo in the "infobox" by following the template instructions. But i never actually uploaded the picture that I wanted to use. Does one have to wait to be "autoconfirmed" to upload an image for an infobox?

thank you Tcranesmith (talk) 05:04, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there! Your page is currently at User:Tcranesmith/sandbox, and you do need to be autocomfirmed, which means you have made 10 edits and your account is 4 days old. Mdann52 (talk) 05:19, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Or you can upload immediately (if the images are freely licensed) at:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

See the upload link on the left.--SPhilbrick (Talk) 19:51, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Stivemeister (talk) 22:39, 13 August 2012 (UTC)August 13, 2012[reply]

Article declined, reviewer doesn't answer/talk

I've been waiting since August 8th for someone to follow up on this post under ARTICLE DECLINED, REVIEWER DOESN'T ANSWER/TALK. I received a reply from a Vchimpanzee which didn't address the issue at hand, at all and here is my reply to Vchimpanzee which has yet to be answered: Dear Vchimpanzee -- I realize that allure is not the goal of Wikipedia, It was a compliment extended to an organization of growing prestige. The point of my earlier writing is the non-response from Excirial about the last revision of Mr. Morehouse's biographical article. It was revised after reliable sources were implemented based upon the approving nod of the earlier editor, Matthewrbowker, once I asked if such a source method would be considered valid. I would simply like to know what is considered objectionable about this article now, so that it can be corrected in a timely fashion and (again) re-submitted. If Excirial is simply too busy, both within and without Wikipedia, it would be appreciated if someone else could assess the article and detail to me specifically what is wrong and how it can be corrected. I would apprecaite somone's assistance in doing whatever seems in need of correction so that the article can be posted Thank you so much Stivemeister (talk)Stivemeister

In its present state, the article has several problems.

It has a syntax error, causing a conspicuous error message, and preventing the references from appearing.
It does not establish that its subject is notable (maybe this will be resolved if the references can be made to appear)
It was written by someone with the same name as its subject, and who therefore presumably has a conflict of interest. Maproom (talk) 14:40, 15 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry I didn't respond to your post here. If you need me to respond to something post a message on my talk page (link is in orange to the right of this message). My first post wasn't intended to fully resolve your problem, but no one else had addressed the specific problem that your goals seemed to be in conflict with those of Wikipedia. You seem to have attempted to address whatever problems there were, but not to the satisfaction of User:Maproom.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:33, 15 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hello

Hi. I am currently wondering how/if you can merge edits from your IP account to your actual user edits, as I'd like to? Thank you. TBran dl ey 05:47, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The simple answer is that you are unable to. Mdann52 (talk) 05:52, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

That used to be an option, but no longer available. You are free to add a note to your account to indicate the edits you have made as an IP.--SPhilbrick (Talk) 18:55, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Okay; thanks for your help. TBran dl ey 01:08, 14 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Natalia Kuchinskaya

Resolved

The first navigation template at the bottom of Natalia Kuchinskaya are getting misformated due to some other tables.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 06:13, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed by closing a table.[1] PrimeHunter (talk) 10:49, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 10:06, 14 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Archive usage when first citing source?

Let's say a reliable web source (only available online) dies, and I know that there is something I want to cite in it, but it hasn't yet been cited in the article I want to use it in. If there's an archive (say, on the Wayback Machine/Internet Archive) of the page, can I cite it (assuming a reliable live source cannot be found)?

For reference, here's my dilemma: at the article Dylan and Cole Sprouse, there is a hopelessly dead source (the source disallowed bots to archive it) that I want to replace. The information is fairly simple factual stuff (not any sort of thing that a POV could be applied to) that I know is on their official site. Their site has been unavailable for at least two weeks. I conducted a thorough search and could not find a live reliable source for the information cited. Is it okay to use the archived version of their site as a source? - Purplewowies (talk) 06:20, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Citing wayback is general the same as citing the website. I make no statement on whether the site was or was not a reliable source. RJFJR (talk) 18:20, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I'm reasonably sure it's reliable. I just wasn't sure it was okay to cite Wayback from the start. I've only ever used it to replace dead sources already in use. - Purplewowies (talk) 20:06, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Same person keeps posting libelous material on my site

I'm a writer. Not a famous one. I don't even care if I have a wiki page, but I do. The same person is constantly going onto my page and siting extremely negative and libelous (it is sourced, but from years ago and is also biased) and every single day I have to go and delete the information.

I know it's the same person because this person contacted me and told me he was going to do this. I really don't understand the rules of arbitration or know how to contact anyone about this matter. I have said many wonderful things in my life, and I have also said many stupid things. Neither of which should be celebrated! I am merely a writer among writers trying to make a living.

As the page stands right of this instant, it shows I wrote a book in 2007 and work on a TV show. Great, perfect, neutral. How can I keep my page just as that?

Please help me. I know this is run by everyone and there's no one owner or whatever, but I don't need to be punished any more than I already have. Is it possible for me to block a user from adding info to the page? Or at least block anyone at all, except an editor of Wikipedia?

I hope you will help me. Thank you.

-Lesley Arfin — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lesleyarfin (talk • contribs) 07:55, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I have looked at the article Lesley Arfin, and tidied it up a bit, including restoring your date and place of birth – that is material which does belong in an encyclopedia article. I have looked at the "extremely negative" material which someone has been adding, and I agree that it should have no place in the article – it is far too unimportant and insignificant. I have added the article to my "watchlist", and if they put it back, I will delete it again. Maproom (talk) 09:10, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I have spotted edit warring going on in the article and asked everyone to calm down here, where the affected parties have agreed to drop it for the time being. If you are still concerned about the content on the page, have a read of Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Help. You can then contact the Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Noticeboard and file a report. However, there is no guarantee that anything can be removed, although in this instance it looks like a case of undue weight being placed on a source that has been regarded as potentially unreliable. The important thing is to keep calm, remain civil, and ask politely. Hope that's of use. --Ritchie333 ^(talk) ^(cont) 20:54, 14 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Uploading a photo

Hi there, I would like to know how to upload some photo's I've taken of Vrededorp & Pageview in Gauteng. the intention is to enhance an already existing article. thanks Michelle 196.8.123.4 (talk) 12:18, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You need an account that is at least 4 days old with at least 10 edits. Then go to [2] and follow the instructions there. Mdann52 (talk) 15:02, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Or you can upload immediately (if the images are freely licensed) at:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

See the upload link on the left. (You will need an account in either case)--SPhilbrick (Talk) 18:52, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Bare link question

At the site of Tamar (2 Samuel) I noticed that there were a lot of bare links linking to an online bible. I've been looking in the help sections, cause I'm sure there is something about it somewhere but can't find it. My question: What is the correct way to mention the bible verse/book (I suppose without the link) and should there be a link to an online version of the bible somewhere in the article?--Dianafl (talk) 12:58, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There doesn't appear to be an issue. Mdann52 (talk) 15:10, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

"Bare link" means the url is displayed to readers by only writing the unformatted url as in http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt08b13.htm#1. I suspect you have something else in mind. Is it about external links in the article text like 2 Samuel 13 made with {{bibleverse}}? PrimeHunter (talk) 20:56, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes the bibleverse thing. I'm still learning, so I thought that a bare link a direct link in the text was. So the way it is written (with the {{bibleverse}}) is the right way? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dianafl (talk • contribs) 13:52, 15 August 2012 (UTC) --Dianafl (talk) 13:55, 15 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How can I create a new page?

How can I create a new page in Wikipedia. How ever I create a page in Wikipedia named KUET Live which is about a blogging network website but the page was deleted. How can I create this page which will not be deleted by administrators? Please help me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.97.230.15 (talk) 14:37, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The best way to do it is through Wp:AFC, however any page may be deleted by admins if it falls under criteria for speedy deletion, or if the community decide it should be deleted at a WP:AfD discussion. Mdann52 (talk) 14:54, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

external links

hello, I'm writing an entry about a poet, and I would like to add two external links I'm not sure about. One of them is a youtube video of her reading to an audience - how do I know that it is good in terms of license? The second one, is a link to a audio of the poet giving a reading of her poems. The audio goes up when I enter the site, without asking for specific media player. Can I use this link too? Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Meitalklachuk (talk • contribs) 16:15, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You shouldn't link to it if the site is violating copyright, so the question becomes do you have reason to believe it is not a copyright violation. Do the sites make any claim that they are valid within copyright? RJFJR (talk) 18:25, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Some youtube sites have an appropriate license, most do not. If you cannot tell, add the link here, and we will check for you.--SPhilbrick (Talk) 18:40, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure where or how to check if the sites are valid within copyright. May I add here the links to check it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Meitalklachuk (talk • contribs) 18:41, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

If you mean this link, the license is not compatible with Wikipedia. You might contact the creator and ask them to chnage the license. I cannot make the change because it is not my video, but on my videos, there is a link where is says "Standard YouTube License" and I can change it to "Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)".

Please feel free to add the other link(s), and I will check if I can.--SPhilbrick (Talk) 18:47, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

here are the links: http://www.musicaddict.com/download/38796-rachel-tzvia-back--at-the-kelly-writers-house-mp3.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E9ulFuxabE http://beyondthepale.org/segment/2009/08/02/iron-pen-twenty-years-hebrew-protet-poetry thanks so much Meitalklachuk (talk) 18:55, 13 August 2012 (UTC)meitalklachukMeitalklachuk (talk) 18:55, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, all three of those are not acceptable. The first has a specific copyright notice. I already commented on the second one, which has the standard Youtube license, which is not acceptable at Wikipedia (although that one is easily fixed by the owner, if they are willing). I don't see a copyright notice on the third, but if there is no copyright notice, the assumption is (with rare exceptions not applicable here) that it is subject to copyright, all rights reserved.--SPhilbrick (Talk) 19:47, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for checking them out! Meitalklachuk (talk) 20:07, 13 August 2012 (UTC)meitalklachukMeitalklachuk (talk) 20:07, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

USAF Pararescue Beret

I am trying to add a new photo to represent the USAF Pararescue caereer field, I am a member, I want to replace exsisting Photo of Pararescue beret with my photo, how can I do this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pjrecon62 (talk • contribs) 17:05, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The article has a number of images of individuals associated with the unit. It is possible another one may be warranted. It isn't clear to me why you would want to replace the image of the beret with an image of a person, they seem to satisfy different functions.

You can upload a picture of yourself at:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

See the upload link on the left.

Then you can propose the use of the photo on the article talk page, or propose replacement of an existing picture. I urge you not to replace an existing picture without making a case on the talk page, partly because it is, in general polite to check before removing someone else's image (although some feel differently) and second because you have a conflict of interest with respect to an image of yourself, so it is best if other editors agree. --SPhilbrick (Talk) 18:38, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

pindown inquiry

where can i find a solicitor to deal with my case — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.122.132.210 (talk) 17:22, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 6 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. If you cannot find what you are looking for, we have a reference desk, divided into various subject areas, where asking knowledge questions is welcome. Best of luck. --SPhilbrick (Talk) 18:29, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Plus you need to say what country you are from.— Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:37, 15 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Translating existing articles into English

I have worked as a translator for many years, but have no experience with creating Wikipedia articles. Since all I wish to do at the moment is take certain Italian articles and translate them as directly as possible into English (where none exists), can you tell me if there is a simple way to do this? I won't be wanting to change the format or content of the articles, which in this particular case all seem to be written by experts, but rather work directly on the existing Italian page, translate and save into the English website. If this isn't possible, I will have to learn all about the nuts and bolts of Wikipedia....phew! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Oldhegelian (talk • contribs) 17:44, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You can start at WP:TRANSLATE. Only knowing the one language, I've never had need to go through the process but that page should sum things up for you. Dismas|^(talk) 18:15, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You may also want to check with Wikipedia:WikiProject_Italy, they might have people who've done similiar work from the Italian Wikipedia...Naraht (talk) 18:45, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How can I create content and upload it on wikipedia?

I can't see where I can create a new content page for wikipedia? please provide some simple steps on how to get started on creating a new page / topic to give users some information — Preceding unsigned comment added by Galooit (talk • contribs) 17:54, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See Your first article. I'll also be putting a welcome message on your talk page with more info. Dismas|^(talk) 18:13, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Bethel University (tennessee) page

Hello, I would like to know how to keep wikipedians from simply going in and deleting work being done on a page. I am with the university's IT department and our Director is having us to update our page on wikipedia. I had done a lot of work and was currently working on trying to finish editing the sources and references on the page when one of your wikipedians deleted all of our work. It was not finished yet, none of us have worked with wikipedia before, and were working on editing paragraphs and things a small amount at a time. The wikipedian mentioned that our writing was too promotional in his comments-- but our university is a bit different from other Liberal Arts schools. The content was edited by our director as well as our development office. I am about to start to add the information again for it is the information we have approved and want on our site but I do not want to have a repeat of one of your wikipedians deleting our content. I will try to do a small paragraph at a time this time around and make sure all references and citations are included rather than pasting all the information in at once and then slowly editing and adding citations and references. The site that was edited and information was deleted from is the Bethel University (Tennessee) site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethel_University_(Tennessee)). The user that deleted our information is <LlamaDude78>. He does not have a page where I could email him to let him know to not delete our content. Thank you. --BIT2012 (talk) 18:45, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I appreciate that you want to improve the wikipedia page about the University that you work at, however please see WP:OWN. No ones owns a particular article, and as a Bethel University employee, you have an equal right to edit the pages on Bethel University and on Exxon Mobil. Similarly someone who works for Exxon Mobil (or elsewhere) has an equal right to edit both pages. Doing small edits is just fine, as is the idea of copying the article into your sandbox, making the changes there and then copying it back in. Also, please read the Wikipedia infomration on Conflict of Interest.Naraht (talk) 18:49, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Conflict of interest is very relevant here. It is likely (though not inevitable) that the community will not agree with you entirely about what is an improvement and what is not. It is much better for you to suggest your improvements on the article's talk page and let others make the edits. --ColinFine (talk) 20:34, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You lose a mark for giving a broken citation for the page you edited – it does not have an unpaired right parenthesis at the end. But your Director deserves a Fail, for encouraging students to edit Wikipedia, without first learning for him/herself how things work here. Maproom (talk) 21:46, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

editing my page to include updated source information

Hello. We received a notice that our page needs secondary sources. I assume that means that our references needed updating as it appeared that the link to the source was broken. I updated the info, but now it's listed twice and I cannot figure out how to delete the previous text. Please advise.

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aetcnrc (talk • contribs) 19:02, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The article has only three references, and two are broken. You attempted to fix them by typing the reference into the reference section, which seems logical, but that isn't how references are done. See Referencing for beginners for help, and ask again if that doesn't help enough.--SPhilbrick (Talk) 19:32, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Someone else fixed your error, and I improved one of the refs--SPhilbrick (Talk) 19:40, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There is no page in Wikipedia that is "your" page: please see WP:OWN. While you are about it, you should also read Wikipedia's policies on conflict of interest, and user names. --ColinFine (talk) 22:44, 14 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Content not showing up on AfD

I am asking this question on behalf of MalcomMarcomb11376, a new user that I recently welcomed. His post on Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/CyberSafe is not showing up for some reason and he asked me for help. I'm stumped, so I'm bringing the problem here. AutomaticStrikeout 19:50, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Got it. The previous post had an open HTML comment so it was treating the post as hidden by the comment. I closed the comment but then it finally processed the four-tilde signature as my signature so I change that to User:MalcomMarcomb11376 in the next edit. RJFJR (talk) 19:58, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, I was baffled. AutomaticStrikeout 20:01, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Internet Explorer wipedout

I have a laptop with windons xp and I was online and a advertisement came up saying internet explorer 8 doownload free, so I downloaded number 8 , but instead it knock my entire internet explorer out and lost the files or either corrupted them, Im not sure, I cannot get online at all. I am connected but when i click on my explorer the smibol pops for not even a second like its gonna come on but then disappears and does nothing. how do i get my internet explorer back onto my computer? please its been a week now — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.18.130.116 (talk) 22:00, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This help desk is for using Wikipedia. You should go over to Reference desk/Computing and ask there. For future reference, it's best for you to download IE8 directly from Microsoft's website. - Purplewowies (talk) 22:50, 13 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

IE8 is not available on XP so you either upgrade your Windows or switch to Google Chrome. ibicdlcod (talk) 12:42, 14 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No, it's IE9 that's not available on XP. Up until my XP partition killed itself, it was running the latest version of IE8 just fine. Also, personally, I really hate it when people suggest that I change to a different browser, especially when it's the one that I'm least likely to use (and on the OS, not everybody can upgrade, but I'm not so irked about that).

Asking my father, who works with computers for a living, he said this: you might have downloaded a virus. You should run a virus scan with an antivirus program and remove any viruses it finds. Then maybe you might be able to get a download of the IE8 installer from Microsoft's website (from another computer if you have no internet browser), save it to a removable drive (a USB flash drive or Jump drive or even a CD-R or floppy disk if you have to), then install it on your laptop. (The suggestions for what to do came from me, so they might be wrong. My dad only suggested what happened when presented with the information you gave.) - Purplewowies (talk) 22:09, 14 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry if you've lost your system, but downloading software from an unsolicited advertisement which appears on your computer is liking inviting a random person who has come to your door to come in and take your valuables away. --ColinFine (talk) 22:47, 14 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]