Still wrestling with my user profile service not logging in problem: one of the suggested solutions is to restore my computer to a previous state, however, I don't have a set restoration point. Is that something I should be able to do now? In safe mode?

I am sure that one of the complications I have is that I am the owner/admin for the laptop and therefore it is the admin profile that isn't being logged in.

Thanks!

So in order to work from home, I need to use VMWare Horizon Client on my Macbook, and it's not going well. Everything is very slow, I cannot seem to get access to the parts of the network I need to use, and the MS Windows interface works poorly with my Apple keyboard. Right now I'm unable to use the cursor: it just doesn't show up.

So I'm thinking: should I buy a cheap PC to use for my work-from-home days? And if so, what should I get? It's been years since I bought a non-Mac laptop, I don't know what to look for. Basically all I would use it for is to log into the work server and run the virtual desktop software...

Any advice, oh work-from-home Buffistas?

I have an old Dell you can have, Connie. It's from circa 2010 but if all you need it for is what you're talking about here, it should be fine.

What model of MacBook do you have? You can install a full version of Windows on a Bootcamp partition and it will run as a full native Windows machine. I do this in my office for all my employees.

ND, I'd rather not, actually. It'd be a good way to keep the work life separate from the non-work life if I used a different machine...

Nanita -- that's a thought, but only if you're really not planning to use it again.

Sounds like you might have it covered. But my suggestion would be something like a refurbished ThinkPad 440 or 450.

[link]

A 4th or 5th gen i5 is still a very solid laptop CPU, barely any slower than a current gen i5 and T-Series Thinkpads are well built. My E-Series (the cheapest series) Thinkpad is 6 years old and still works fine and I've even dropped it a couple of times.

Connie it's all yours. I bought a new one earlier this year. I just need to wipe it.

Well, it's possible I won't need it, since I f got to the office this morning to discover the whole network has been down for 30 hours...

My computer keeps disconnecting from the internet. It had been happening pretty rarely, but now it's doing it every ten minutes or so. It usually resolves itself within a minute or so, and reconnects. It's just my home computer that's doing it -- when I use my work laptop at home, there's no problem -- so it's something with my computer and not with the internet connection. Resetting the router doesn't seem like it does anything to help. Any suggestions? I can't figure out what's causing this.

Wired connection or wireless?

If wired here's some things to try (and remember to change only one variable at a time):

1. Check to make sure the ethernet cable is correctly seated in the ethernet ports on the machine and the router.

2. Try a different cable.

3. Try plugging the cable into a different port on the router and the machine, if available.

I recently went through the same thing, and it was #2 that did the trick. Which is a bummer because earlier this year I'd spent time running cable through the walls and installing patch ports so that I didn't have to run a cable across a staircase anymore to connect my media center to the router. The only thing that fixed the issue was, alas, rerunning the a cable across the staircase. (Note to self — you still need to investigate what the hell is wrong with the connection. It worked for awhile.)