I suggest you get one of these before you tell her.

Max synch speed on the K20D is 1/180th, the same as your K200D, unless you use High Speed Synch (HSS). With HSS I don't think there is a limit and you can use the maximum shutter speed of 1/4000th (I think). You will need a HSS capable flash though.

If you use exposure mode Tv or M, you should be able to select a shutter speed of 1/180th or longer when the flash is attached and turned on.

Understood.

If you have any friends or family who are more confident at installing software utilities than yourself, perhaps you could ask them to install TightVNC. With that installed, I can connect to your machine and deal with the problem. Rest assured it is perfectly safe, you will be able to watch what I am doing, and it can be removed afterwards for your peace of mind.

Installing it is actually very simple. Clicking this link will download it. You simply save it somewhere then run it, or run it as soon as it has downloaded. Either way, just follow any of the instructions that appear.

If you prefer, I can install it for you, but you'll need to sign in to Windows Live Messenger and request remote assistance from me, having first added me as a contact using my email address which I'll include in the PM I'll send you.

After it is installed, you will need instructions on how to actually make it work such that I can connect, unless I set it up for you via Windows Live Messenger, in which case, I'll do everything that is needed. I'll PM you with my phone number and I'll be happy to talk you through it all.

TightVNC is remote control software that allows me (or anybody else of your choosing) to see what is on your screen, and to work on the machine as if I was sitting in front of it.

Like you, I don't like being beaten either. It's probably too late to deal with this tonight, but I'm free tomorrow. I'll leave it for you to contact me, or not, as you wish.

Vinyl backcloth, and support.

You might need a couple of rubber door stops as well to stop the backcloth from unrolling completely. The cloth is supplied on an aluminium tube. This slides on to the support crossbar, but there is nothing to stop the ali tube from turning on the support so the weight of the backdrop unrolls it all.

I don't have one myself but my son just bought this kit.

I think you'd be wise to get somebody local to sort it out for you. Yell.com should yeald a few companies.

Perhaps if you updated your profile to show your location, there might even be another forum member local to you that could help.

Good luck, it can be sorted, and I'm sure it will be.

Yes you are

The two drives do operate as separate entities.

A new 'virgin' drive contains no usable data. For it to be used by any operating system (Windows. MacOS, Linux, Unix etc.) a drive is partitioned to form a boundary for the eventual file system. A drive can have a partition that includes all available writeable space, or multiple partitions to divide the drive into a number of smaller boundaries.

Each partition can then be formatted with any file system of your choosing (NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, EXT3, etc.)

In the case where a machine has only one physical drive, it can be partitioned to have at least one partition. Typically, large modern drives are divided into several partitions. One for the operating system, usually drive C:, another for data, usually drive D: (or E: if a CD/DVD drive has already been assigned the drive letter D, and so on. These partitions are also referred to as logical drives, or volumes, so one physical drive can be divided into several logical drives/volumes.

Where a PC has two physical drives, and each is partitioned as one logical drive, they become drives C: and D: (or E: for reasons as above).

PC's and laptops usually start life with one physical drive. When the time comes to upgrade the hard disk and/or operating system, it is common practice to add a new drive and load it with the new operating system and for it to have the drive letter C:. The old drive, which was drive C: then becomes drive D: (or E: for reasons as above). This leaves all of the original operating system (which is now non-functioning) and data on the old drive.

The problem now is that the new operating system is installed with new security identifiers which don't match those used for the old drive, hence you get a user access problem.

It is normal for a machine that has undergone this type of upgrade, for the owner to copy or move any data that is still required from the old disk (now drive D to the new disk (now drive C, then at some stage, reformat it.

WARNING:- Performing the following procedure on a system that has been installed in a non-standard configuration could render you system inoperable. Only proceed if you understand what is happening and how your system has been installed.

To remove a logical drive (partition), it is normally only necessary to open Windows Explorer, right click 'My Computer' > Manage > Disk Management (you might have to expand the 'Storage' entry to see the Disk Management option), determine which logical drive you want to remove, right click it and hit 'Delete Volume'.

Once this is done on a drive that has one partition encompassing the entire drive capacity you are back to having a 'virgin' drive and you will see 'Unpartitioned' space for that physical drive in Disk Management.

You then right click that unpartitioned space and select Create Volume (from memory, terminology might be slightly different as it's a long time since I've actually done it) and define the size of that volume (partition). The default that appears is the entire drive. during this volume creation process you are also given the option to format it at the same time, give it a name, and choose which file system you want (you need NTFS). When the format is complete, it is usable by Windows.

That should certainly resolve the issue.

If not, I can only think that the user account that you have been given to use does not have administrative capabilities and you should contact the system builder to have it changed.

Do you live anywhere close to High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire? If so, my son can sort it for you.

As an alternative to installing TightVNC for remote assistance, you could use the 'Request remote assistance' option in Windows Live messenger if you have that installed.

I've given you plenty of tips that should help you with your dilemma, but I thought of one more.

Go through the process of installing Windows 7 (or any Windows OS for that matter). All you need is an original installation CD, you don't even need a Product ID.

During the install process, but before any real damage is done, you will be asked where you want to install the OS. You should be given the opportunity to install it on either of your two drives. You will also be given the opportunity to delete any pre-existing partitions.

You can use this to delete the Vista partition and all the data it contains.

Do that, then stop the install process. Then reboot the machine as normal.

Once booted into Win7, you will then use Disk Manager to create a new partition, format it, and go from there.

Don't give up, we will not be beaten.

If you are not confident doing this, but are confident enough to install TightVNC on your machine, I can probably sort it out remotely. I will not be able to perform the procedure I describe here though, it needs to be done at the machine.

PM me if you need me to help, FOC.

Your drive can be made to work, but it might need a professional to deal with it. If you want to use it, you may need to entrust it to somebody who observes the rules regarding sensitive data (Data Protection Act etc.).

PM me if you would like it sorted.

If not, before you dump it, take a 6 inch nail and drive it right through the top casing, platters, and bottom casing.

The rule is, "If you can't fix it, make sure nobody else can."

Especially one with a number plate containing "VW".

Excellent image Don. 11/10 for ingenuity.