Thanks so much for all your help.  The simple restart worked and it synced in no time.

I'm up & running again!

Thank you!

Thanks very much for confirming!

I've done that - downloaded Electrum 3.03 on a different laptop and used my existing seed.  It's connected but has been synchronizing for around 12 hours now (and still not finished).  Is that amount of synchronisation time normal/expected?

I can see the blockchain_headers file being updated periodically during that time.

Thanks.

Hi - thanks very much for your response.

I unchecked the auto-connect server and tried multiple different servers, but still no joy.

I also checked my firewall and it's not running.  Likewise with anti-virus.

I have my seed written down.

Am I best to re-install the latest version of Electrum on a more up-to-date laptop and use the seed i have from my wallet?

Hi - It's been 18 months since I used my Electrum wallet.  I've just opened it so i can transact again, but Electrum is not connecting.  I've tried using different servers to connect on, but no joy.  My mac version is old 10.8.5 - as the laptop is old, I'm unable to upgrade to the latest version.

Any ideas?  I have some bitcoin left in my wallet that I don't want to lose!!