I second John's advice on this, Louise. I could do it no problem, but I think (by the sounds of it) it mat be a wee bit too "techy" for you. If you don't have a good computer shop near to you, maybe one of your neighbours/friends are a bit more "tech-savvy", and wouldn't mind doing this for you?

Do you have an external hard-drive, Louise? This is best for backing up to.

Best thing to do is:

(1) click your START button;
(2) click on MY COMPUTER;
(3) either hover over your "C" drive (your main drive),
or right-click then select PROPERTIES.
(4) note the size of your hard-drive (perhaps 500GB, or
similar), then the amount of space USED on your drive.
(maybe 80Gb, or something like this).

The amount of USED space on your hard-drive determines what size of external drive you will need. In the scenario at (4), you'd be looking at backing up to at least a 100Gb drive (the extra 20Gb allows the files to "swap" freely, without system lag).

If you take the time to have a look on you pc as it stands at the moment, click on START / ALL PROGRAMS / ACCESSORIES / SYSTEM TOOLS / FILES & SETTINGS TRANSFER WIZARD, and try to familiarise yourself with the basics of it. When you are ready to do the backup of your XP system, click the buttons, and follow the walk-through. Remember that your XP setup is your OLD COMPUTER for the purposes of beginning the backup. Follow the screens until it starts to transfer everything to your backup drive, and leave it until it has completed (it's a good idea to go make yourself a wee cup of tea and a sarnie while it's doing it). At the end of the process, you will get a message telling you that TRANSFER IS COMPLETE (or something similar). Uncouple the back up drive from your computer, then begin upgrading to your new operating system. When your shiny new OS is installed, simply reverse the process of EASY TRANSFER, this time telling the computer that THIS IS THE NEW COMPUTER. It will then start to pull all your files and settings off the external drive for you. Again, it's tea and sarnie-time!! It sounds complex, but in reality, you will wonder what the fuss was all about, it's so easy!

As for Skype's new integration, all it does really is add your Hotmail Contacts to your skype contacts. From there, you'd never really notice the difference.

If it's possible to use a usb stick, you're gonna need a verrrrrry big one, as WET transfers all your files and settings, including your photos, videos, documents, and music!!

If you are doing an UPGRADE (as opposed to a complete, clean install) then your programs will still be there, but you might need to revisit the respective websites to updates them.

Skype will soon be changing from being an independent program, to being incorporated into Windows Live Messenger.

I think you're "bang on the money" with your choices, Pa! Mind you, you'd have your work cut out if Bowie chose to revisit the Ziggy, or the Aladdin Sane periods!!

Dave - if you want, you can send me the card, and I'll have a go at it for you. It might be something very simple that's needed. If I get it fixed, I can send it back, explaining the process(es) I used to get it up and running again - a sort of learning experience.

I've only ever made 2 purchases through the Classifieds here - both positive experiences. If I were to sell any items (I do have some Hoya 49mm filters that are of no use to me), I'd simply courier them to the buyer overnight, since that's my line of work. One member here received a cd from me, containing Adobe Photoshop, and he was delighted with it. Some 35mm film was sent up to the Liverpool area, and I never even got the courtesy of a thanks, but that's human nature for you, I suppose.

Win 8 is really Win7 with bells and whistles attached. Very soon, Microsoft will slowly wind down support for XP-based systems, so at the very least, you should be looking to upgrade to Vista. Like every reinvention of the Windows platform, it takes a bit of time to get used to, but I must admit that I mastered the basics of Win8 a lot quicker than I thought, although there's still things I'm trying to come to terms with the newer Windows shortcuts.

Remember, if you plan upgrading your current system, back up all your files and programs beforehand, using WINDOWS EASY TRANSFER on your current pc. Simply attach an external drive (one that will safely handle the current capacity of your pc)., If, for example, your internal hard drive has 230Gb on it, then you should be backing up onto at least a 500Gb external drive. Once you have upgraded your computer with the new operating system (OS), reconnect the external drive containing your backup files, and repeat the Easy Transfer - only this time, you are telling the machine to "pull" the data off the external, and place it on to the internal drive.

Dave - I'm going to stick my neck out a wee bit here... I reckon that, like most folks, when your files have been copied across from the card to the pc, you simply unplug the card - am I right?...

The CORRECT procedure should ALWAYS be that you click on the little icon in your system tray (next to your clock, lower- RHS) that, when you hover over it, says "safely remove hardware", then presents you with a list of hardware that can be removed. By clicking on this, it cuts the flow of power from the pc through the card, rather like flicking the off switch on a set of lights. By not using thie described method, there is a danger of you creating a small "spark-gap" that can blow the card!

If you would like me to have a go at recovering this card for you, PM me. It'll be my pleasure to help out if I can, Dave!

Main reason why he'd use that shutter speed is because of light diffraction when submersed, I guess. I never really paid too much attention to the metadata on my photos when I used my Optio when I was snorkelling in Thailand, but I'm guessing that above the surface (with very strong sunlight) the shutter speed would have been at least 1/500, if not 1/1000, but underwater, I'd expect it to drop to about 1/125, or 1/80 caused by that diffusion. 1/80 would be a "fast" shutter speed underwater, I think.

Dave - what error messages are you getting from your computer when you insert it into the card slot? If you get the "this card is not formatted" message, then there are a couple of things to try...

(1) format the card at the above point, but DO NOT attempt to use it until you have recovered any images you might have left on there.

(2) whether successful or unsuccessful at step (1) above, run ZERO ASSUMPTION FILE RECOVERY (link). ZAR9.2 should be the program you attempt to recover with. If you were successful at formatting the card, this program should do a good job of recovering most (if not all) of the images that were on the card. If Unsuccessful, ZAR treats the sd card as "raw" (as in EMPTY, UNFORMATTED) files. You may still have a degree of success at recovering the "lost" files, but maybe not as good as if you are able to format the card. However, you never know your luck!