Re: PC problem: the finale 8^(
- From: "Dave Fritzinger" <dfritzin@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 16 Jul 2006 12:30:19 -0700
Dave Fritzinger wrote:
John Slade wrote:
"Dave Fritzinger" <dfritzin@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1152940208.694514.48590@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I hope one of you Windows gurus can help me. My wife's PC has started
acting extremely wonky over the last couple of days. This seems to have
started when she downloaded the latest set up updates, etc from
Microsoft last Tuesday, or thereabouts. Since then, the computer has
been acting very strangely. First, she couldn't use Internet Explorer
to connect to the Web. I was able to fix that by getting rid of some
extra toolbars, etc., that she had installed.\
Ok this should set off a lightbulb in the brain of a tech. The words
"extra" and "toolbars" is the thing. There are lots of toolbars out there
for browsers and many of them will fight each other for resources. My advice
is not to install one. If you must install one try Google's tool bar. I've
seen no problems with it. Other toolbars from various places are actually
trojans for installing spyware and other malware. I suggest she keep some
protection running.
Yeah, I pretty much leave her alone to run her computer as she sees
fit. As is obvious, I am no PC or Windows expert. She has Norton
Antivirus, but I noticed the protection is turned off. Problem is, the
computer is still running so slow, I can't get Norton to start up
again.
Next, she was unable to
run MS Office XP, which gave her a dialog box saying one or more
components is missing. I was able to fix that by loading whatever was
missing from the Office XP CD. Now, today, the computer has become
*extremely* slow. Just opening up a control panel took about 20
minutes, and I am sitting here waiting for the "Add or Remove Programs"
control panel to finish populating the list. In the time it has taken
me to type this message so far, it has added exactly 0 programs to the
list. First question is how do I start up the computer in Safe Mode, so
I try troubleshooting. Then, I am requesting a strategy to
troubleshoot Windows. I'm pretty sure it is a software problem, but I'm
not sure.
Oh this looks really like one of those extra toolbars probably had some
malware in it. Do a spyware and virus scan ASAP. I recommend McAfee's
products, Spybot Search and Destroy and AdAware. But McAfee has the virus
scanner and catches most stuff. It's also wise to buy a $20 router for any
always-on Internet connection. A firewall wouldn't hurt either.
We have a router, and she has her firewall turned on, I think. I was
able to start up the computer in safe mode, and it was much more
responsive. That makes me think it is a software problem, which is what
I suspected anyway. I downloaded SpybotS&D, and it found a bunch of
tracking cookies, etc. That improved things a bit, but not all that
much. I am about to go back into safe mode so I can run the virus
checker. It will be interesting to see what it finds. I'm still afraid
I may have to reinstall everything over again, but I'm hoping I don't.
Just to show that all isn't well in MacLand either, my PM G5/Dual 2.0
(RevA) has started acting wonky as well. I leave the computer on over
night during the week, and the last two mornings when I arrived at
work, the fans were blowing full blast, and there was a kernal panic
message on the screen. The panic.log implies the panics occurred at
about 6 AM, which is right about the time I get into work, which is
odd. I ran the Apple Hardware test twiice. On the first, it gave me an
error (I don't remember the error-I am at home now), while the second
time on the extended hardware test, everything was OK. Time to call
AppleCare, I guess...
This could be any number of things. Could be malware or a hacker. It
could also be a bad memory chip. Maybe it just got overheated it happens. If
it happens again, take it into the shop and get it checked out. I hope
you're still under warranty.
Don't think it is malware, though I did see something odd last time I
shut the computer down, namely that someone else was logged on. That
shouldn't happen. Anyway, the computer is still covered by AppleCare,
and this is actually hapening at a good time, since I am about to go
away for a while, and I won't be needing the computer after the 24th.
Hopefully, it is something fairly minor.
Thanks again for all who are trying to help.
Well, it looked as if I was making some progress. The computer was at
least usable, though still pretty slow. Then, I went to turn it on this
morning, and absolutely nothing happened. The surge protector I am
using is OK, because I have the monitor and my laptop plugged into the
same strip, and both are OK (IOW, the laptop is charging). But, from
the PC, nothing. So, one last question on this subject. What brand PC
would you folks suggest we buy. We'll probably go to Costco, but we
aren't sure what brand to buy. This one is (was?) an eMachines, and I
don't want to get another one of those. Any other ideas? Also, when we
buy the new computer, we will want to install the our copy of Office
XP. What do we have to do to get the installation to work on the new
PC?
Thanks again for all your help. Too bad things didn't work out.
--
Dave Fritzinger
Honolulu, HI
.
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