Can someone narrow down my laptop choices?

I'm looking at buying a laptop within the next year and a half and I have some qualifications that I'd like it to meet but I don't know how to narrow it down myself. So I'd greatly appreciate it if you could find me the right kind of laptops (I'm looking for you to narrow it down to about 4-6 laptops):
-Windows 7 (not Google Chromebook, Windows 8, or MacBook)
-Have a DVD thing so I can insert discs to watch movies and stuff
-Be less than $500 NEW
-Have a large screen (not be a miniature-sized laptop)
-Just work well and look nice overall

Gaming laptop under $1200?

I've been searching for a gaming laptop for a while now and i can't seem to find a proper one under $1200.

The games i play:
- Battlefield 4
- Skyrim
- Assassins Creed Black Flag

Laptops i already found:
Lenovo Y510p, Everything seems to be great on this laptop except for one minor complaint the red keyboard! It just bugs me when i see it, I know its a tiny little thing but i'm afraid its gonna bug my trew out my whole usage of this laptop.

Msi Ge60 (gtx 850m edition) , I like everything about it expecialy the design i just think it looks great, but the gpu doesn't seem to be "that" powerfull. So i'm wondering, will i be able to play Battlefield 4 on high settings 1080p?

Do you guys have any suggestions, if so please leave a reaction. (sorry for bad English)

Problem with Headphone Jack?

I have a lenovo X1 carbon running windows 8 and it is a 64 bit operating system. The problem I'm having is that the headphone port is not working, I tried plugging in two different headphones in and neither work. The computer is using its speakers instead of the headphone. The only listed playback device is Speakers/Hp even when the headphones are connected.

What should I do to fix this problem? Thanks in advance

Added (1). Also, the laptop was not dropped or physically harmed in any way, so I highly doubt it is a hardware problem, but what do I know.

Laptop for light gaming and photoshop?

Which one of these two would be better?
Asus
GT 720M
i3 3217U (1,8 GHz)
6 GB ram

or

Lenovo
GMA HD 4000
i3 3110M (2,4 GHz)
4 GB ram

Is 3217U good enough for occasional gaming and PS?
Any other laptop suggestions?

How to lock my touchpad/mousepad on lenovo thinkpad laptop?

I like using a mouse more than a pad
but when I'm writing something and skim over the mousepad it mixes my sentences up.
I never use the mousepad

so what can I do to lock the mousepad?
I went under devices for settings on my laptop for the mouse and there's nothing at all about disabling the mousepad

Added (1). touchpad does not open up only the physical mouse I use can be disabled

I would like to ask if which laptop is better in gaming (JUST CASUAL GAMES)?

I would like to ask if which laptop is better in gaming (JUST CASUAL GAMES). Lenovo S400 Intel i3-3217u with Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4G DDR3 vs. Lenovo G400s Intel 2020M with Nvidia Geforce 720m, 2G DDR3. Thank you.
Note: Both are Touchscreens.
Please, If Possible support your answer.

What is wrong with or how to fix my Lenovo G500?

When I startup my G500, it gets stuck on the Lenovo screen. I've looked at forums and it said to try taking out the battery and unplugging any other peripheral devices then hold the power button for 10-15 seconds. Still nothing happened. I've also tried accessing the BIOS by pressing the NOVO button, while the laptop is off btw, but the I still get stuck at the Lenovo screen. Anyone know how to fix this?

I need to recover a file?

I'm using the Lenovo thinkpad and i was logged in as a guest. I got halfway through my project when power point started acting strange so i logged out. I logged back in and all my files were gone! Is there anyway to recover that file? (I have a name account for this computer i was accidentally logged in on guest.)

Added (1). Ps. I saved the file so i know what the file name is

Added (2). None of those worked

I can't play recordable dvds on my lenovo laptop?

I have some home movies of holidays etc which I want to play on my laptop that are on disc. I want to burn them onto my computer, but when I insert the disc, nothing happens. I can watch ordinary dvds, but not the recordable discs. Do I have to download a software, or is there something very simple which I'm not doing. I have Windows 8 and apart from media player and Lenovo dvd, I can't get anywhere with this. I would have thought they would play automatically. If someone could give me some advice I would appreciate it thank you.

Mac air good for moderate video editing and light gaming?

So i'm looking to buy a laptop that can preform the above. Gaming would be nothing more than Micraft of light things like that. Also some video editing and graphic design ( GIMP, iMovie, Cineform, ect…)
I was looking at the Lenovo Y510p for a long time but a non-touch screen with windows 8 is not fun. I've had both pc and mac before I'm just wonder if this configuration of a mac air would be ok for the tasks previously stated.
-1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
-8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
-128GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
-Apple USB SuperDrive

Some school work will also be done on this. I like the battery life on the air and the ultra portablility but if you have any other suggestions, around $1500 USD, please let me know. All answers are appreciated!