David, the link below will show you have to setup your PC to use an AZERTY keyboard:
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Google says itâs possible to change AZERTY to QWERTY on Apple devices, has anybody done this successfully?
Sorry, I should have said Apple mac.
Thanks Nigel, that seems pretty straightforward, Iâll give it a go tomorrow but it is important that I master restoring qwerty as well as at the moment I am not setup to have the keyboard remote from the machine.
I am thinking of using a small trolley for all my computer and related stuff in the same place and freeing up the place next to me on the settee. Not so much for others to sit there, though that is an advantage, but to stop all sorts of things disappearing down the back. 
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I would suggest Germany as a happy hunting ground for secondhand (and new) tech without much in the way of extra postage / handling /VAT charges etc Just a slightly higher charge than for German domestic charges thatâs all. Amazon and ebay, and others probably dig-out-able with a bit of googling and review cross-referencing.
Specs are often good and there is quite new stuff around. Lots of tech things go up to higher specs for German market. Check keyboards often they are English though. Consider if you want to consider stuff if it looks like itâs coming fron further East (some does).
I would say if you are patient next three months are the best months for buying secondhand tech anywhere. As people upgrade and get rid of unwanted Christmas presents.
Also if the item has any warranty left on it (some does) then if itâs a manufacturersâ warranty it may be worldwide and include transfers of ownership. Sometimea spec can be verified by checking serial numbers (not just model numbers) on manufacturer site.
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@Nigel-at-BUF-House Hit a snag, followed the instructions to the keyboard panel but when it asks for a choice to âswitch input methodsâ I clicked on âlet me use a different method for each app windowâ nothing happened and there was nothing to press to progress.
At that point, according to the instructions, I should have been offered a list of keyboard options, but there wasnât one. Any ideas?
I buy a lot of refurbished laptops through Amazon and have had good luck with them (buying 10 more this week). I try to buy all the same model (Dell Business versions) so when employees break them I can part them back together from others that have been destroyed.
I noticed nobody has mentioned Windows 11. Windows 10 is End-Of-Life October 2025. I get the impression some members here plan on keeping their laptops going forever. I certainly do. Most of the refurbs are not Win11 compatible.
I am still purchasing them because I expect the employees will have wrecked most of the ones I buy this year by 2025 but a home user will probably still have their laptop in good condition in 3 years.
Microsoft is making it hard to upgrade to Win11 if your computer/laptop doesnât meet certain criteria. It can be done by changing bios settings and regedit but that may be beyond the average user. And even then who knows how long Microsoft will allow those hacks.
Just something to think about. Like I said, I am still buying non-upgradeble laptops so its not a huge deal.
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Hi David, when I follow the instructions in the link, Iâm not getting the messages that you quoted.?!
Would it be possible for you to message me with screenshots of say the last 2 or 3 screens that you receive and Iâll have a look and try and determine what the issue is?
Iâll do my best Nigel but I have found some difficulty doing screenshots with this laptop. Donât know why, it was an easy process with the old Vista PC.
Iâll have another go at it later. 
I am totally bemused, no matter what I try, and there are many methods apparently, I canât seem to be able to do either switching to azerty or screenshots.
Firstly screenshots, because if I could do that Nigel could help me with azerty.
The simplest instruction for Windows 10 is:
To take a screenshot on Windows 10 and automatically save the file, press the Windows key + PrtScn . Your screen will go dim and a screenshot of your entire screen will save to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.Apr 6, 2021
The screen goes full and dim alright, but no way can I find a screenshot folder in Pictures, or anywhere else. Any suggestions?
Windows key+PrtScn definitely should work, then open file explorer and the Pictures quick link.
What model laptop is it?
The picture should go straight to the clipboard. Open an image viewing application - even paint - and then either select paste from the edit menu or press cntl+v
âShouldâ being the operative word here, I have tried all of the above, clipboard, snip etc and nothing works.
I am beginning to think it is this laptop which is at fault, it is a reconditionned Dell bought from Amazon UK a few years ago but I only started using it as my main computer when my old Vista PC stopped handling the internet. Screenshot was easy and immediate on that.
This laptop is a Dell Latitude E 6410.
I feel it is speeding my decision mentioned above to buy an HP PC. 
BTW @Ancient_Mariner
Open an image viewing application - even paint - and then either select paste from the edit menu or press cntl+v
that is exactly the way I used to do it with the Vista machine, doesnât work with this though.
Now that is WEIRD.
Something is circumventing the normal copy/paste function. Do you have antivirus software running - apparently that can sometimes disable copy/paste?
Iâve had a quick browse via google and, short of attempting some run box stuff it wasnât much help.
Iâl just also ask the obvious question - when was the last time you restarted the computer?
Copy/paste works fine normally and within the last few minutes while I have been doing something else.
Apart from the usual Defender, I had till this morning, CCleaner installed. I got rid of it because it was playing havoc with everything saved, passwords etc,. and kept intruding when I was doing other things. So I uninstalled it. But I think this problem pre-dated its installation not long ago.
Last logged on about an hour ago.
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Do you mean you last logged in as a user or you last went to start>power>restart? Shutting down windows effectively saves where you are and just powers down & back up. Restart clears memories and gives a fresh boot.
If copy/paste now work then thatâs great.
I normally return it to the calendrier then shut the lid, on re-opening I press the start button and wait till it goes through the motions including the sign in button and then calendrier appears. It isnât always straightforward and sometimes takes many minutes, other time it freezes completely and the only thing to do is shut the lid, disconnect the mains and the battery then go again.
It is a real pain and the reason why I have been considering something else, but a PC again, I have no need of a laptop now that I go nowhere these days.
But copy/paste has always worked.
That reads to me as you return it to the calender - perhaps a colloquial term with which I am unfamiliar. 
With a laptop I would always recommend doing a hard restart at least once per week.
Yes, calendar, my first port of call every day, where I record all my appointments etcâŚ
It doesnât go straight to that on restart though, I only do it because it is less temperamental than if it was left on Orange. That sometimes takes 2 or 3 kicks to get going.
What do you mean by a hard restart? Do you mean using the power button and shutting down and restarting in the same process? Or doing what I am forced to do now and again, disconnecting everything including the battery and then restarting? I bet that averages out at once a week, certainly if there has been an update by Windows and/or Firefox.
Try a couple of tips from :-
10 ways to take a screenshot on any Windows 10 device.
I dont use windows at home so I cant try any out. I use Arch Linux and I simply hit Print Screen and a dialog pops up asking how to style the screenshot and where I want to store it. Hope something on that web page helps you though.
In the start menu, bottom right, there is a power button that looks like an âIâ inserted in the top of an âOâ (eventually the word power may appear next to it). Click that and 3 or 4 options should appear - click on Restart to completely turn the computer off and back on, clearing out junk etc.