Thanks Ice...and yes, never use the old pc again

Am thinking, like you, that it seems it is a viral thing...we have bought new surge arresters, new power boards - hubby is a sparky and has checked the voltage etc., and all is okay [which narked me no end cause I was certain it was the power]

My daughter will be adding to this thread now as she is the one who has been most involved with what we have been trying to do to sort this out [and also because she is way more pc savvy than me, so will make a lot more sense than I will]

S.