First check is always a virus scan. It is quite possible that you have one of the older viruses which is swamping your CPU making everything else time-out.
So, do you have a virus scanner ?
Is it up to date ?
Have you run it recently ?
If you have not got one then you should get one quickly. There are free internet ones which are pretty good, but that's not much help without internet access.
If its not uptodate you should be able to use your friends computer to download an update to CD or diskette.
Another thing to check is what its actually doing. Hit ctrl-alt-delete and then select Task Manager. There are three pretty self-explanatory tabs. Start with performance and see if a lot of resources are being used. If a lot of CPU is being consumed then go to processes and see which one is using the capacity.
Go to my computer and then right click Disk C and select properties. Is the disk full ?
Go to Internet Explorer, Tools, Internet Options and clear history. Also (from memory) look for "tempory internet files" then settings, then "delete files"
If you find something then let us know here.
If you get on the internet then firstly
www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_pr...m
and run the scanner;
then
v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp
to see if you are missing any essential patches.
Check the above stuff, its easier to check that before we start considering system recovery disks.
Have you loaded and programs or changed any settings within the last [say] two weeks ? Mention it, even if you are sure its not relevant.
|
Thank-you, Mark, for your very helpful reply.
A friend who knows a little more about the pc than I do is calling tomorrow and we will go through your suggestions.
In the meantime, in answer to your questions, I can tell you that:
(1)Norton Systemworks scans my files every Friday and did not find anything wrong on the 13th.
(2)My hard drive is not even half full.
(3)I have a program (System Wiper) which removes temporary files etc every time I disconnect.
(4) A few weeks ago I did put a program on hard drive (a series of reference books) which required 64MB minimum memory. My system has 64MB and it has been running satisfactorily.
I have a query re M/S patches. I have assumed that because Norton Anti-virus does an automatic up-date every time I go on-line, that Norton would include any new protection which M/S patches would provide. Am I right or should I be visiting M/S for patches as well?
More info for you soon.
Please watch this space.
|
OAP
Programs which refuse to load & file corruptions reported by Word possibly point to a failing hard disk. Failing bad sectors on the hard disk can cause data/software to be corrupted in a fairly random manner.
Click "Start"/"Programs"/"Accessories"/"System Tools"/"ScanDisk".
Initially run the Standard ScanDisk, and then leave the PC on overnight to run the Thorough ScanDisk (Surface Check).
If Thorough ScanDisk reports "Bad Sectors", you will be looking to buy a new hard disk with all the problems that entails.
Microsoft Patches - Most of these patches relate to "Security Breaches/Vulnerabilities" in Windows or Internet Explorer. These potentially allow hackers to gain access to your computer and do various other nasty things. You should expect firewalls and virus checkers to catch these hackers/nasties but it is better to stop them occuring in the first place. Download the patches!
You download the patches by clicking the tab "Windows Update" which you should find in the Start Menu. Otherwise just go directly to windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Ian
|
Mark?..further to my post on the 19th?..my friend duly called and spent a couple of hours trying to solve the problem?..as yet without success.
Amongst various other things, he uninstalled and reinstalled Norton Systemworks and, before leaving, set the system to scan?.no virus was found.
Without access to the ?net, we were unable to visit the sites which you named in your post of the 18th.
I am lost as to what to do next! I fear that I may have to put myself in the hands of a ?rig doctor? as the chap who assembled my rig four years ago has moved on to other things.
Unless you have a better idea?
PS?.for the record, I can get as far as ?Web site found and waiting for reply? (from NTL homepage) but no further?.Also, I am able to access Outlook Express via desktop icon.
PPS...Thank-you Ian for your suggestions. We will do what you suggest. Sorry about the time lag but I am having to use a.n.other pc as and when I can get to it!
Hopefully more news soon.
|
OAP,
When you say you are able to access Outlook Express; do you mean you are able to open the program, or that you are actually able to send and receive e-mails ?
Have you checked with the NTL customer line to make sure that have no issues which may be effecting you ?
Also, what happens if you do not try and load the NTL home page ? Try and load www.msn.com which s virtually always available.
Do take Ian's suggestion on the scandisk.
Mark.
|
OAP - I missed this one earlier.
Is it possible your hard disk is full? Unpredictable program operations (crashing and not being able to run) can arise due to the swap file being unable to grow, or insufficient room to create temporary files. Could also account for failure to load web pages and Outlook Express.
To check free space, look at Free Space in My Computer. A friend recently suffered exactly this with some very weird results. Microsoft screen names (the words in the border) were garbled and nothing much would run, with all kinds of errors. I deleted the sounds directory from one of his (huge) games and everything was immediately fine.
If you are short of space, and can't find anything to delete, disk drives are very cheap but be sure that your BIOS supports the size disk you are buying. You could concevably add it as a second disk and move some things to it, or use it as a new C drive but this would pretty much require a full re-installation - you'd need to save any files you need, and note down all kinds of settings. (There are software products to clone drives, which enable you to move to a larger disk without re-installing - repost if you need more on this)
|
oap
i believe similar problems are caused by vx2.dll spyware.
copy/print the advice from following sites and check your pc to see if you possibly might just have this problem.
www.easywindows.com/messages/1344.html
www.cexx.org/vx2.htm
www.pestpatrol.com/pestinfo/v/vx2.asp
|
oap
i just had a word with my uncle.
he suggests you
1. check that your firewall settings, if you have one, are not blocking access to internet explorer.
2. install a second browser such as mozilla or netscape or other to use for emergency fallback position when internet explorer is playing up. that allows you to access help from forums.
good luck.
|
|
|
|
