Computer help, please!

[medjay]

Here's my problem: I've got a PC that has developed the nasty habit of freezing up at random and seemingly unconnected moments. Mouse doesn't move, ctrl-->alt-->del doesnt' work; I have to shut the damn thing off by hand.

Also, it will sometimes refuse to shut down when I tell it to. All the books I've looked at tell me I have some errant program running but I have no idea how to track it down (and of course there's no help from the books; ctrl-->alt-->del is supposed to fix everything ).

So, how do I figure out what the bad program is and fix it?

*Sending the bat signal out to Weird Harold but anyone else can feel free to chime in!*

 

[freakygirl]

Since it's working right now..
can you do ctl alt delete and see what is running in the background?

If so, tell us what is running. Also.. what Windows version are you using?

 

[Weird Harold]

Here's my problem: I've got a PC that has developed the nasty habit of freezing up at random and seemingly unconnected moments. Mouse doesn't move, ctrl-->alt-->del doesnt' work; I have to shut the damn thing off by hand.

Like FG said, the version of Windows you're running will have a great deal to do with what's wrong and how to fix it.

Other things that will help diagnose the problem:

What program or hardware have you installed recently that might correlate to the start of the problem?

Was the onset of the problem sudden, or the result of a gradual increase in the frequency of failure?

How much memory (RAM) do you have?

 

[medjay]

Re: Re: Computer help, please!

Like FG said, the version of Windows you're running will have a great deal to do with what's wrong and how to fix it.

Other things that will help diagnose the problem:

What program or hardware have you installed recently that might correlate to the start of the problem?

Was the onset of the problem sudden, or the result of a gradual increase in the frequency of failure?

How much memory (RAM) do you have?

Windows ME

40Gb on the C drive with only 4Gb being used.

128Mb of SDRAM memory

It all seemed to start when I downloaded Kazaa but that was months ago. I got rid of it and thought I had cleaned my system of it completely. Then, a couple of months later smaller problems started creeping up.

I clear my temp files and cookies regularly and run the defrag occasionally which seems to help but only for a while.

 

[medjay]

Here's what's running right now. I guess it's a lot of stuff but I'm not sure what's essential and what's not.

Backweb Agent
Explorer
Winmgmt
Enternet
Qttask
Realplay
Ymsgr_Tray
Rulaunch
Loadqm
Rundll32
Dpps2
Savenow
Drag Diag
DirectCD
Motmon
Osd
Mm_Tray
Systray
Avconsol
Cpd
Cmgrdian
E_Sicn03
Hp_Finder


*whew!*

 

[Weird Harold]

Re: Re: Re: Computer help, please!

Windows ME

Have you dowloaded the Windows service pack that corrects the Memory management problem in ME? Your symptoms sound very much like what the memory management bug causes.

I'd suggest downloading Spybot Search & Destroy to eradicate any lingering traces of Kazaa -- there are some spyware programs that load with KAzaa, but have to be removed separately.

 

[Cibo]

Here's what's running right now. I guess it's a lot of stuff but I'm not sure what's essential and what's not.

Backweb Agent
Explorer
Winmgmt
Enternet
Qttask
Realplay
Ymsgr_Tray
Rulaunch
Loadqm
Rundll32
Dpps2
Savenow
Drag Diag
DirectCD
Motmon
Osd
Mm_Tray
Systray
Avconsol
Cpd
Cmgrdian
E_Sicn03
Hp_Finder


*whew!*

Holy shit man.

The only programs that should be running is Explorer and Systray.

 

[Weird Harold]

Here's what's running right now. I guess it's a lot of stuff but I'm not sure what's essential and what's not.

I don't see anything that stands out as a potential problem. However, Spybot S&D has a nice feature that explains why it thinks a particular program should be removed.

 

[Weird Harold]

Holy shit man.

The only programs that should be running is Explorer and Systray.

And his anti-virus program, driver for his CD-RW drive, the network driver for his broadband modem, and a few other necessary things.

 

[medjay]

Holy shit man.

The only programs that should be running is Explorer and Systray.

That's what I thought. For some reason I haven't been able to figure out how to stop some of these sumbiches from running.

I don't see anything that stands out as a potential problem. However, Spybot S&D has a nice feature that explains why it thinks a particular program should be removed.

Got any links?

 

[Cibo]

That's what I thought. For some reason I haven't been able to figure out how to stop some of these sumbiches from running.



Got any links?

Start - Run - MSconfig - hit the start up tab - deselect everything except for explorer and systray and what YOU think is NEEDED besides those - reboot.

 

[Guest]

My firewall caused all sorts of problems ....including exactly what you describe.

It claimed the problem was the firewall was trying to enter the internet but was blocking itself......Catch 22.

God knows how it got sorted but it did, .....

 

[Cibo]

My firewall caused all sorts of problems ....including exactly what you describe.

It claimed the problem was the firewall was trying to enter the internet but was blocking itself......Catch 22.

God knows how it got sorted but it did, .....

That could be a problem also. Which firewall did you have GP? And good to see you again.

 

[Weird Harold]

Got any links?

Sure, "Results 1 - 10 of about 5,680. Search took 0.29 seconds" at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q="Spybot+search+&+destroy"&btnG=Google+Search

The first on the list is: http://security.kolla.de/ Where you can download spybot S&D

 

[medjay]

My firewall caused all sorts of problems ....including exactly what you describe.

It claimed the problem was the firewall was trying to enter the internet but was blocking itself......Catch 22.

God knows how it got sorted but it did, .....

It just occured to me that I installed a firewall a few months ago. Now that I think about it, some of these hassles might have started around that time. Something else for me to look into.

Thanks!

 

[freakygirl]

This page comes in very handy when dealing with what to have running in the background and what not to.

start up content

 

[Cibo]

This page comes in very handy when dealing with what to have running in the background and what not to.

start up content

Ah thanks freaky, I have it bookmarked on my other comp but not this one.

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

That could be a problem also. Which firewall did you have GP? And good to see you again.

Norton, Cibo....and "Hi" to you too, sweetie