Computer help

[Dazz Hetfield]

Ok, I use Wanadoo broadband, since Wednesday my internet connection kept going and left me having to reconnect using the display icon. also on Wednesday and Thursday the computer would shut down, leaving me to turn off at the wall then back on again. On Friday it shut down leaving a blue screen saying the system shut itself down to prevent further damage. I called Wanadoo about this immediately and they told me they started upgrading the speed connection on Wednesday and to contact them if it happened again after a few days.

Saturday the connection was ok but 4 times it shut down to the blue screen, after the second or third time the connection started going and today has shut down and showed the blue screen once so far and disconnected from the internet several times.

To anyone that can help, what's going on with this? I'm taking it to PC World in the morning to look at but I heard it could be a CPU or hard drive problem, anyone able to confirm this using the details I mentioned? Could it be something else? I'm desperate for help here. also, if I was to use a computer my dad's giving me tomorrow and install the disc I got with all my files for this computer I'm using that breaks down, would it be ok to use it as I use this one until this is fixed?

 

[NorthwestTrail]

Dazz,

It could be a lot of things, and there appears to be two separate problems. The first, your Internet going down, could very well have to do with your ISP upgrading things on their end. When ISPs do stuff, often the DHCP server (the computer that gives your computer its name and address on the Internet) is shut down and restarted. This would cause your Internet connection to drop and force you to reconnect. If your connection problem is related to them, then it should stop once they finish doing their upgrades as they told you.

However, it could also be something wrong with your computer and not with the ISP. Because you said that you are getting Windows errors, it leads me to believe that you might have a problem on your end, which very well could cause your Internet connection to drop as well as do other weird stuff.

I am concerned about the windows messages you are getting. Normally, Windows does not give that particular message unless there is something very wrong, and what exactly is wrong can be very difficult to diagnose. It could be a hardware issue, eg. heat dissipation problem, a short in one of your boards, or other physical problem, or it could be a software issue such as a virus or malignant ware.

I would update what ever virus software you are using and run a full scan of your computer, as well as do a spyware/adware scan using Adaware and Windows Spyware beta. If that does not find any problems, then run a scandisk on your windows hard drive, then a disk cleanup on your windows hard drive deleting all temporary files, then finally defragment your hard drive. When this is all done, restart your computer and see if it continues to do anything weird.

Hopefully, this will resolve your situation, if it does not, then the problem might be your hardware. Get some canned air, and blow out all of the dust that has accumulated inside of your computer. This will help with your airflow and any possible heat issues.

If this still does not resolve itself, and your ISP says that they have finished doing their upgrades, then it may be a problem that you can not fix, such as a hard drive that is dying, or even your motherboard or CPU.

I know that this sounds bad, but nothing lasts forever and as soon as possible backup all of your important files onto a CD or DVD.

I hope that you can find the answer to what is causing your problem, but as you can see it is often hard to diagnose problems with only a few symptoms and many possible causes....

You should be able to use our Dad's computer, but be aware that if the disk you plan on putting into his computer came with your computer, it may not work in his computer since chances are they were not made by the same manufacture. If it says "Recovery Disk" or says that it will return your computer to its original factory settings, DO NOT USE IT IN ANY COMPUTER BUT THE ONE IT CAME WITH!!!! What these disks do is they format the hard drive and then reinstall, you will distroy all of your Dads files, and it may not load the software onto his computer correctly, causing both computers to be broken. Also, a Dell recover disk will not work correctly in a HP or Compaq computer, only in a Dell.

Good Luck!

 

[temp256]

Did your ISP have you install some sort of software on your computer? If so, get rid of it. TCP/IP internet connections are a global standard of which no extra software is necessary. All to often manufacturers give unneeded drivers which cause more harm than good.

If not, the problem is your computer, not the ISP.

 

[SubNebGuy]

this sounds like virus behavior. I'm trying to recall the exact bug, cuz it was years ago, but it used Windows 2000 and XP's RPC to try to gain control of the PC...but the virus was flawed, so it just crashed the machine..over and over and over.

get some up-to-date antivirus, NOW. www.avast.com is free for home use, just jump through the registration hurdles to get a 1 year license.

 

[Dazz Hetfield]

Ok, the shop I took it to ran tests and even went on the internet yesterday, their conclusion? No viruses, no spyware and nothing wrong with the computer at all. They said to jot down the error message if I get a blue screen again and that it's most likely the modem or the ISP upgrades.

Now, I've been on 2 and a half hours so far since having it back and had it disconnect 3 times much to my annoyance, I'm hoping it is just the ISP I use and that the disconnections or blue screen never happen again. I will buy that canned air from a computer shop once I've waited a week to see how it works, don't wanan buy it yet if I have to spend whatever money I have getting it fixed first.

Thanks for your help guys and I'll call the ISP to find out when the upgrades will stop and if it still acts up after that then I'll take it back to the shop I just got it back from.

 

[sassy_girl1963]

I will buy that canned air from a computer shop once I've waited a week to see how it works, don't wanan buy it yet if I have to spend whatever money I have getting it fixed first.

Hey before you buy the canned air from the computer shop - check Walmart and Target to see if they have any. My local Target carries the canned air and sells it for around $5.00 - yours might too and save you some money.

Good luck with the computer - I know it is soo frustrating when it does not work right...

 

[Scepter]

If you do use the canned air to clean the dust from your computer be sure to clean the heat sinks inside the case.
Heat buildup can cause many problems, up to and including complete breakdown.

Follow this link: http://www.wiscocomputing.com/articles/maintenance.htm

Or Google " Cleaning Computer"

If you're not comfortable cracking the case yourself you could always take it to a repair shop.

 

[Dazz Hetfield]

I downloaded some software from my ISP for this connection speed upgrade, so far so good but I've gotten everything you said written down and remembered, really appreciate the help guys and girls. Thank you all.