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I actually like the facility and find that liking photos brings up similar views. It makes logging onto my laptop just that little more enjoyable! That said, you need to disable Bing from starting up each time you switch on. Try this approach that I've copied form an IT forum:

To disable Bing from launching upon Windows startup, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard and select "task manager" from the list that appears.

In the window that pops up, click "more details" in the bottom left corner of the window to expand the view and then click on the "startup" tab at the top. This lists the programs set to launch upon Windows startup on your machine.

Locate the "Bing" program in that list — highlight it and click on "disable." This will remove it from your startup list and it won't launch upon Windows boot anymore.

Next, right-click over the start button and select "settings." In the window that appears, click on "personalization," and then on "lock screen" in the left column. Under the "background" field, select the "picture" option instead of "slideshow" from the drop-down list. 

Then choose your preferred picture by clicking browse. This will replace the Bing background slideshow on your desktop with a static picture of your choosing from your files

I haven't tested as I like the facility, but it seems to make sense.

Thanks for your tips; I'm giving Roots Magic a free trial at the moment to see how that works out. On a separate issue I note you are researching the Jones name in Wiltshire, am am I. I doubt we are looking at the same family but you never know!

The more I read on family history research the more I read about the importance of citing sources. The vast majority of my sources are BMD certificates, census returns and notes from family meetings. How do people go about citing their sources? Academics use a number of formal methods but presumably anything that enables you to refer back to the original source is sufficient?

Don't look too much into my "shady" comment; it's just speculation on my part! Dora rarely spoke of her past to either me or my mum. I knew she lived at the Wheatsheaf in Rushden with Violet when they were kids and she was not happy when I used to visit that pub as a lad. I remember her telling me that nothing any good ever went in there! She did tell me that she was living there when the war memorial was being built and that both she and her sister put their names in a glass bottle that was "hidden" by the builders inside the memorial. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea! As for the graves of Herbert and Bertha, I've never got round to looking for those. The cemetery is only 15 minutes walk away so I really should do that.

I'll try and get round to scanning some of the old photos in the next few days. If you PM me your email address, I'll get some sent over to you.

Sorry if I am resurrecting an old thread but I have just found this forum after deciding to revisit my old family research. Herbert Hirons was my great grandfather, father of my grandmother Dora Hirons who married name was Ballard. Sally - I think I may have spoken to you via Ancestry.co.uk a while back and I will consider rejoining that site.