Computer Help Asap

[supersoldier]

My computer keeps freezing completely. I'll be in the middle of a session, and everything just stops. I have to turn the power off by holding down the button and then restarting. Then it'll work for about 20-30 minutes before doing the same thing.

It is new as of Christmas, Centrino Duo, 1GB RAM, etc. 57GB of free hard drive space as of now.

None of my system restore points are working for me. When I try it shuts down, then starts back up and tells me that that one didn't work and to try another, and none of them work.

Everything was fine until today...

HELP :box:

 

[warnerve]

i am far from a computer whiz, but my old roommate was having computer trouble and he would do the same thing (turning off manually on a frequent basis) and it eventually wouldnt load anymore. I may be wrong, but I don't think it's good to turn it off that way too often. Does it say anything before it freezes?

 

[RedwolfWV]

Try downloading and running a program called Spybot Search and Destroy, and also one called Ad-Aware. I'll bet you have a nasty spyware/malware problem.

 

[DmitryWI]

Yea, either that or your hard drive took a ****.

 

[supersoldier]

i am far from a computer whiz, but my old roommate was having computer trouble and he would do the same thing (turning off manually on a frequent basis) and it eventually wouldnt load anymore. I may be wrong, but I don't think it's good to turn it off that way too often. Does it say anything before it freezes?

Nope. I was just watching my CPU usage in the task manager while I was running a scan. It was consistent around 20%ish for a while, then was at 50%ish+ for a while, then right when it froze it was at 2-5%. I'm puzzled...

I have Xoftspy for adware/spyware. I run it all the time...

 

[Chad]

mine is messed up too. i cant see any green......

 

[supersoldier]

mine is messed up too. i cant see any green......

Don't hate.:nono:

 

[yeahright]

Something is overheating. My guess is a fan cooling your CPU (hence the time delay). The fan is probably working sub-par and after 20 minutes the CPU heats up so high it crashes. I'd have a repair shop test it because that CPU/motherboard is probabbly the most expensive part of your rig.

 

[yeahright]

How to Troubleshoot a Crashing Computer - eHow.com

 

[supersoldier]

Something is overheating. My guess is a fan cooling your CPU (hence the time delay). The fan is probably working sub-par and after 20 minutes the CPU heats up so high it crashes. I'd have a repair shop test it because that CPU/motherboard is probabbly the most expensive part of your rig.

You may be onto something. The fan on this badboy is always workin overtime.

In other news I downloaded that free Spybot Search and Destroy program, and it found 39 instances that my P.O.S. XoftspySE, which I paid for, did not find.

So far so good too. I think I've broken the 40 minute mark now!:dance:

 

[Mega NRG Man]

You may be onto something. The fan on this badboy is always workin overtime.

In other news I downloaded that free Spybot Search and Destroy program, and it found 39 instances that my P.O.S. XoftspySE, which I paid for, did not find.

So far so good too. I think I've broken the 40 minute mark now!:dance:

Nice one. Try Ad-Aware as well, and download Speedfan. It tells you the temperature inside your rig.

 

[Zombie]

i agree with the ad-aware and spybot option

you can also install Pandas SpyXposer spyxposer_principal
it only detects virus/spyware/adware but it tells you were its located and you could delete the files manualy
Also a nother great tool is HijackThis

AVG Free Advisor: Free anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware tools and get the free AVG and also you can get the spyware removal tool from those guys

 

[supersoldier]

mine is messed up too. i cant see any green......

I think I fixed it for you, just click Refresh! :hammer:

:dance:

 

[Chad]

oh now i see it!!!! so you are a rep for ky jelly now? congrats!!! sending out any free samples? wink wink

 

[Zombie]

oh now i see it!!!! so you are a rep for ky jelly now? congrats!!! sending out any free samples? wink wink

**** ky it taste like crap here get a smaple of astroglide instead Astroglide Free Sample

 

[RedwolfWV]

Hey thanks for the link!

 

[getjacked63]

hows that working for you now? if you still have problems, or even if you dont i used to be a computer nerd ha. download ewido. its the best program there is! install that bad boy, restart your computer in safe mode, run ewido (make sure you download the updates in the ewido program first) and it will surely find many more problems that the other programs couldnt find. only downside is ewido takes a good hour to finish scanning, so if you do have a fan problem and your computer is overheating, it will likely crash before ewido is finished. if this doesnt fix it, and its not a hardware issue, download and run "hijackthis" and send me the log at [email protected] and I will get back to you with some further instructions.

 

[Chad]

**** ky it taste like crap here get a smaple of astroglide instead Astroglide Free Sample

just ordered my sample!!!

 

[T-Bone]

This definitely sounds like a virus/spyware problem. 90% of the time problems such as this are not related to hardware malfunction. Spybot Search and Destroy is a good start. I heard it was an excellent program. Ad-Aware is also good. You should get a paid version of anti-spyware. I would suggest Webroot SpySweeper. I previously had Spyware Doctor which was excellent up till the recent version 5.0.

 

[dlew308]

fans do go bad and can cause overheating issues, o wait, where's my sample of astroglide

 

[supersoldier]

After I ran search and destroy, it ran well for a solid day+, now it's fvcking up again. I dl'd AVG (ewido), and it gets about halfway through a scan and crashes.:frustrate

 

[dlew308]

If you boot into safe mode and do nothing, do you hear the fan going crazy still? Does it crash after 20mins? Do you have a cpu temp/fan monitor?

 

[supersoldier]

If you boot into safe mode and do nothing, do you hear the fan going crazy still? Does it crash after 20mins? Do you have a cpu temp/fan monitor?

Safe mode?:think:

 

[dlew308]

which OS is this? if it's XP, before windows boots up, hit F8, pick safe mode

 

[supersoldier]

which OS is this? if it's XP, before windows boots up, hit F8, pick safe mode

Yup, XP it is. This whole ordeal is really getting me frustrated. Thanks for your help though.

I dl'd the SpeedFan. What am I looking for here? Everything looked okay I think.:think:

 

[T-Bone]

I doubt its hardware related at all. It could be a software conflict or there might still be some malware. Have you had an antivirus application since you purchased?. At this point if you don't know a local computer nerd, I would back up all your important files and reinstall windows. If this is a pc from a major manufacturer and not a white box than it probally has a hidden restore partition. You should ask the manufacturer how to access the restore partion or look it up on the website. What brand of pc is this if its not a whitebox?. I can gurantee you it is not a hardware problem.

 

[supersoldier]

I doubt its hardware related at all. It could be a software conflict or there might still be some malware. Have you had an antivirus application since you purchased?. At this point if you don't know a local computer nerd, I would back up all your important files and reinstall windows. If this is a pc from a major manufacturer and not a white box than it probally has a hidden restore partition. You should ask the manufacturer how to access the restore partion or look it up on the website. What brand of pc is this if its not a whitebox?. I can gurantee you it is not a hardware problem.

It's a Gateway, I've been running McAfee from the getgo. I tried to use several restore points and none of them worked.

 

[BryanM]

Some tips for you man search on the internet for memtest its a free downloadable program that works outside of windows and it will scan your memory for a bad chip for you. Usually takes around 30-60 mins.

turn the laptop on its side while running the tests as itll keep your comp cooler and hopefully youll be able to keep your computer on long enough

Also download a program called DFT hitachi made this one to test your hard drive for errors as well.

It also works outside of windows. download them both and burn them to a disc. then boot your comp up with the cd in it and hit esc and F12 usually one or the other and youll have your boot options select boot from cd to run the tests.


These are sure fire ways to see if its your memory or harddrive.



Your computer is still under manufacture warranty as well so if need be take it into a bestbuy and have geeksquad send it to the manufacture for you for free and gateway will cover any repairs.

 

[supersoldier]

Just reinstalled the OS.:type: :whiner:

 

[getjacked63]

Just reinstalled the OS.:type: :whiner:

ouch!! that sucks man....if you would have shot me over an email I am sure I could have helped you out so it wouldnt have had to come to this! either way, i am sure its working all silky smooth now...make sure you get some virus protection, ad-aware, and ewido. run ad-aware and ewido atleast once a month to prevent this type of thing from happening again!

 

[supersoldier]

ouch!! that sucks man....if you would have shot me over an email I am sure I could have helped you out so it wouldnt have had to come to this! either way, i am sure its working all silky smooth now...make sure you get some virus protection, ad-aware, and ewido. run ad-aware and ewido atleast once a month to prevent this type of thing from happening again!

It's all good though. It looks like I still have everything from my hard drive, just in a backup folder. I just gotta go huntin for stuff when I need it. I bought that XoftSpyXE bullsh1t and ran it all the time, I guess it just wasn't good enough.

Anyway thanks for all your help.

 

[dlew308]

trade it in for a mac
someone had to say it ^_^

 

[T-Bone]

It's all good though. It looks like I still have everything from my hard drive, just in a backup folder. I just gotta go huntin for stuff when I need it. I bought that XoftSpyXE bullsh1t and ran it all the time, I guess it just wasn't good enough.

Anyway thanks for all your help.

Told you it wasn't a hardware problem. So you had macafee from the get go?. Do you have the latest version?. With anti-virus you have to have the latest version of the product. Let me explain, the anti-virus engine, the part that basically "runs" everything must be the latest. You see you could have an older anti-virus engine and although you will still be able to download the most recent definitions updates and the application won't show any problems, those definitions will not protect you from the newest viruses becasue they won't work with your engine...Also you may want to purchase some anti-spyware product. Webroots Spysweeper is a good product. You might also want to get a backup program. I like acronis true image. You best off getting a oem hard drive and external enclosure. Then just make images of your hard drive at least weekly. You can make full back ups, differential, or incremental. I would suggest one full and one differential weekly. I just do full back ups becasue I purchased a huge hard drive, and I don't have to worry. On the other hand if you don't want to go through all that trouble and you don't really save a lot of important things on your pc you can just drag and drop your files to USB Jump/Flash drive. They are pretty cheap nowadays. One other thing you can do is use the files and settings transfer wizard that is built into windows. Ok I am done now....

 

[getjacked63]

trade it in for a mac
someone had to say it ^_^

word

 

[T-Bone]

Macs are for rich people. I was looking at one a few days ago. Much, much different than pcs. Too expensive in my opinion though. I wouldn't mind having one, just so I could learn the os and how macs work...

 

[dlew308]

Not sure I'd say it's for rich people. If their were apple clones, they'd be cheaper like the PC market. The mac mini is a cheap way to learn/play with mac os X. I think the mac mini is $400-500.I use linux myself but also have an ibook and G3 to play with.

Macs are for rich people. I was looking at one a few days ago. Much, much different than pcs. Too expensive in my opinion though. I wouldn't mind having one, just so I could learn the os and how macs work...

 

[V00D00]

Something is overheating. My guess is a fan cooling your CPU (hence the time delay). The fan is probably working sub-par and after 20 minutes the CPU heats up so high it crashes. I'd have a repair shop test it because that CPU/motherboard is probabbly the most expensive part of your rig.

good guess, its where i was going. probably the fan on the cpu doesnt work anymore.

 

[T-Bone]

good guess, its where i was going. probably the fan on the cpu doesnt work anymore.

:fool2: What??

 

[anabolicrhino]

Not sure I'd say it's for rich people. If their were apple clones, they'd be cheaper like the PC market. The mac mini is a cheap way to learn/play with mac os X. I think the mac mini is $400-500.I use linux myself but also have an ibook and G3 to play with.

The introduction of the "affordables" like Imac allowed Apple to steal away some of the market share from the pc

I believe PC now only controls 93% of the computer market!

 

[T-Bone]

The introduction of the "affordables" like Imac allowed Apple to steal away some of the market share from the pc

I believe PC now only controls 93% of the computer market!

Haha :goodpost: ...I really don't think I'll ever actually "switch" but it is nice to know how to use a mac...I guess.