new laptop -only connects to internet, ermmm... intermittently

I did eventually get this problem solved... I took it to a local computer repair guy!

He tells me that he un-installed Windows and then re-installed it with a version that came direct from Microsoft.  He said that the Windows that came pre-installed on the laptop from Acer, was full of bugs. 

I have no way of knowing whether this is true or not, but for £50 I got my brand-new laptop working properly, and no problems since then. 

He tells me that he un-installed Windows and then re-installed it with a version that came direct from Microsoft.  He said that the Windows that came pre-installed on the laptop from Acer, was full of bugs. 

"Full of bugs" sounds like a load of BS. He may mean that it came pre-installed with a lot of useless software, which can slow things down or cause conflicts, but that's not a "bug". Regardless, sometimes reinstalling Windows can solve a lot of weird things. Glad you got it sorted! Computer problems can be a real headache.

"Full of bugs" sounds like a load of BS. He may mean that it came pre-installed with a lot of useless software, which can slow things down or cause conflicts, but that's not a "bug". Regardless, sometimes reinstalling Windows can solve a lot of weird things. Glad you got it sorted! Computer problems can be a real headache.

He probably just said it because my eyes were glazing over when he was telling me, and he knew it would be a term I would understand/recognise!
But yeah, i'm just glad it's sorted... I was absolutely ENRAGED that a brand-new out of the box computer wouldn't work, and Acer wouldn't take any responsibility for it unless it was a hardware problem.

I'll back up what Brenzie said, Acer just put a load of junk software on your laptop. 

He probably just said it because my eyes were glazing over when he was telling me, and he knew it would be a term I would understand/recognise!
But yeah, i'm just glad it's sorted... I was absolutely ENRAGED that a brand-new out of the box computer wouldn't work, and Acer wouldn't take any responsibility for it unless it was a hardware problem.

I'm happy that you have it sorted out now but did you consider using your credit card's payment protection and let them argue it out with Acer? I think that's what I would have done for a brand new item that the manufacturer was not taking responsibility for. I always pay for big ticket items on a credit card for that reason. 

I'm happy that you have it sorted out now but did you consider using your credit card's payment protection and let them argue it out with Acer?

I bought it through a catalogue (JD Williams) using their credit plan, so it wasn't an option for me. 

I do the same as Larrabee and always try to buy anything over £100 on my credit card no matter what.  If you have trouble, the credit card company will always fight your corner and retailers are terrified of the consequences of arguing with them.