Daddyfix

Just also double check that the tyres have not worn "out of round". I had a strange speed related noise on my VRS and it took me ages to track it down. The cause was one rear tyre that had worn out of round. I wouldn't care but I'd had it balanced at two different places whilst trying to track down the noise and neither of them noticed it!! Just jack the car up and place something close ~ 1mm away from the tyre and slowly rotate the tyre checking the gap does not change much - I did this and the tyre knocked the block I was using over!!! Replaced the tyre and peace and quiet returned.

I threatened to withdraw the use of computer and Nintendo DS for a week the first time my son did this - never had a problem since.

I've also had similar noise/problem and like Gaz_vrs it turned out to be the rear tyres wearing out of round.

Would have to be the Honda for me - had VTEC Civic's before - they are completely addictive and give you a huge grin every time you drive 'em. They run like swiss watches- for example I never had an issue with any of them in the 200k+ miles I clocked up between the three of them the only things apart from tyres, brake pads etc. I had to put on them were headlight bulbs!!

Having owned a couple of VW's and one Skoda I would confirm that Skoda's dealers are better and the cars more reliable!!

Me too but only for a few more weeks as it's going with the car to a new owner.

I'd check the graphics requirements for the CAD software (some have a limited list of approved types) and work from there as many laptops have integrated graphics chips which may not have enough performance for CAD use. Just for info I have an ASUS that has a separate graphics chip & graphics memory that came with two years warranty rather than one and has worked without issues for over two years and 50,000 miles in the boot/back of a Fabia VRS.

If you are using a separate router you should not have ICS enabled as this is only used when the connection for other PC's is through your PC via modem. This may be the issue as it would mean your PC is trying to allocate IP numbers to the other PC's that have had them allocated via the router. To reset this you could try to go through "My Network Places" from the main menu and there should be an option to "Set up a home or small office network". If you work through the wizard there should be an option "This computer connects to the internet via a residential gateway or other computer etc." selecting this option should disable ICS.

I also have a Sony unit and the picture quality is so good you can tell which programmes have been recorded in HD, which ones are normal and which ones have had loads of compression applied to reduce the bandwidth!! Nice touches are the remote is a nice size and operates other manufacturer's TVs (our is a Samsung) and if you try to record something that overlaps with another already set it immediately pops up a list of where the programme is to be broadcast at other times even if these are on different days (making it "other half" proof).

You may need to consider that Halogen bulbs are nearly a direct short when cold and the current to get them to start is a lot higher than you might be expecting. You may find the protection circuit on the PSU operates before it lights unless you get one designed specifically for driving lamps.

I've seen similar problems where the DHCP server in the router allocates the same IP address to two different computers stopping one from working until the other logs off again. Using Firefox would show the same problem in this case as the IP is done in the operating system not the browser. This can sometimes (router dependant) be fixed by the unpluging all the computers and the router for 2/3 mins and restarting them with the router first then each PC as mentioned above, some require you to reboot the router via it's interface. On my system I have manually allocated my main PC (hard wired) with an IP number at the top of range the router allocates as it auto allocates numbers from the bottom because of a similar problem when I had a seperate access point.

Both cars met my ">6ft from rear door to back of passenger seats" requirement (fishing rods) whereas Mazda 5, Astra etc, did not - hence the comparison. I am not having a go at the Octy it's a very very good car and I think its much better than the Astra, Focus etc. and deserves to be compared with other cars on it's own merits. I was just in the fortunate position of having two very good cars to choose from!!

Had a similar "droaning" issue on my car and as mentioned before turned out to be the rear Bridgestones that even with plenty of tread left one had worn "out of round" by approx 1.5-2mm. You could see this if you jacked the car up and put an axle stand very close to the tyre and spun the wheel - you could see the gap increasing and decreasing

Try looking at the sizes of the Octy and Mazda - they are almost identical and BOTH are much bigger then the Astra, Focus,etc but doesn't this just prove my point? The (as you consider) larger/next size up Mazda 6 is cheaper than an Octavia !!!!!!!

Having had mine for 2.5 years I would put good/softer tyres on first and then sort the suspension/camber before I considered chipping it. It far too easy in standard trim to get the traction control kicking in without the first (dead easy on the Bridgestones that were fitted to mine from the factory)!!