My computer is dieing now

[amatul_rahmaan]

Salam Alekom,

i'm not sure what happened, yesterday morning my computer was tottaly fine and i turned it off before i leave then when i came back at night, i can't use it at all (i'm using another PC right now)

i open it and it satys on for few second or minutes then it completely freez and no matter what you do it won't un-freez so i have to restart my computer again. there was even one time when it freezes even before it finish starting.

i can't scan it or do anything.

at the moment elhamdolelah i got the chance to click on check for errors and fix it and i restarted my computer but don't know what else can i do apart from taken it to the technecal person. also i don't have any pack up copies for my files which i have been downloading for the last couple of days :(

so can someone help :(

[Bobali]

try going into safe mode?

[amatul_rahmaan]

i don't know how to go to safe mode.

i checked for errors then staight when my computer finally turned on, i did an online scan and security check. i had so many adware and spyware so i deleted all of them and my computer seems to be working now so hopefully it will stay like this.

i think i need to free some space, i just realised that i have around 3Gb free out of 18Gb :D

but how do you do safe mode anyway, just in case i was stuck again

[Bobali]

:) long time since i went in safe mode,

before Windows starts, press F8.

also check you processes see if any stupid exe / dll files are running.

[amatul_rahmaan]

why are exe / dll stupid and what's wrong if they are running ??

[amatul_rahmaan]

i started to feel stupid now keeping in mind that i studied computer for 4 years in 2 different courses.

what do you mean by bad memory and what should i do to fix it??

[Khaled]

My favourite solution to a bad computer - format c:

[Bobali]

bad memory... i fink amir means the memory chips are faulty, change the RAM.

i bullshit my way through computer courses :)

[*saRah*]

i bullshit my way through computer courses :)
llool :)

[Bobali]

stupid exe, dlls

i mean spyware or unnessecary processes running in the background or being loaded.

[al-CIA-da]

if it was bad memory its more likely the computer probably wouldnt turn on at all (in my experience anyway!), although its a possibility. if you're able to try nortons etc try one of those programs, otherwise try a system restore if possible.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/faqsrwxp.mspx

alternatively, format C:

[Bobali]

lol, al-CIA-da...it seems u give up easily with format c:

it could be a simple problem eg: video card halted my computer cos it wasnt pluged in properly. just a wack across the tower fixed it daily :) [too lazy to open up case]

amatul_rahmaan, whats your computer doin now, what have u tried so far?

[amatul_rahmaan]

elhamdolelah it's fine at the moment,

apart from what i mentioned before, i don't use my computer a lot and i keep shut while i'm not using it (before i used to leave it on for a couple of days with Quran running since this is my only way of having Quran on for 24 hours :D )

i also got some CD to burn some of the files on the computer so i can free some space.

i don't like the idea of formating my computer because it usually take me a few days untill i download again all the programs and file that i'm doing plus i have to get someone to install the network connection so i will have access printer and internet and me having the worst computer in the whole network mains that it takes some time untill everything is back to normal that's plus how many days i have to leave my compuer at the store to be formated, bla bla bla bla ...

[member]

you could always do a windows repair, it keeps all your programs installed and files, but you just have to do windows updates again, aswell well as any drivers like video and motherboard etc.

[mhussain]

sis if you use internet explorer as your browser, than there is no way you can stop spyware from coming in. use firefox

what the exe's and dll' files do is that they take up memory but never free them as they are continuously being run and windows is extremely bad at self killing processes.

what you need to do, is to re-format your hardrive, and stop using IE, for ever

Hussain

[amatul_rahmaan]

ok, me back to her problem.
i stoped using IE except for checking my hotmail and SOME Arabic websites which i can't display it on Mozilla. and it have been fine

but lately, for a week now or so my computer started to freez again, some times it stays for few hours then freez and sometimes it freez after 30 min so yea.

the only thing i remember doing before this happen is after scanning my computer, i found there's it says my computer is at risk because of adware/spyware, so it told me that it was in one of the hidden folders called recycle or something like that.

i went there and didn't find the file because it was hidden as well so i deleted the whole folder thinking since it's recycle then it's not important.

also i left my PC open for more than 24 hours so the next day my computer got stuffed up.

i'm not using my PC now because it keeps freezing and couldn't be bothered with it.

i did everything from Disk defragmetor to Disk clean to scanning from virus, so i kida did all sort of cleaning but still have the problem.

buying a new computer is not an option for me. i know i asked this before and you have given me so many options but what can i do (something which i can do it myself without having to go to someone to fix it for me) and something that won't affect my internet and printer sitting because i'm on a network system as i mentioined before.

can you also tell me in details the steps of doing it so i will know what to do ??

[aussiemu]

Are you on dialup or cable? If you are on cable, then disable your internet connection whilst you aren't using it.

I think your computer needs a format. What you should do is when you download your programs, put them in a folder and then burn them onto a CD so when you have formatted, you have everything you need already saved and formatting and reinstalling isn't such a big deal. I did that and now formatting is much more easier.

If after a format your computer still has alot of issues then it may be some kind of hardware issue as mentioned e.g. bad memory.

You should also have a firewall installed e.g. Zonealarm and some adware scanners which you run regularly.

[Omar bin Muhammad]

I always partition my Hard Drives and keep all the info on the other half.
If you need to reformat all your files and software are still there on your other partition.
After formatting and reinstalling the Operating System, you then have a better idea on what was causing the problem!
One of the best and easiest things to do is once you have freshly installed everything make a Ghost or image file.
Once this is done you can be up and running within 30 minutes.
Redirect your email store folder to the other partition and that way you won't lose any emails.

Simple isn't it!

PS Run a firewall eg Zonealarm plus an Anti-Virus program, Spybot, Firefox & Ad-Aware(all available from www.download.com)
If you need a good Office Suite use the latest OpenOffice(it can read and save in Word, Excel etc file systems).

That's all for now, I don't want to overload your brain.

[amatul_rahmaan]

i have already tried to free lots of space on my computer by burning them on CDs but still i couldn't free much so i'm not sure what exactly is using my space.

my new antivirus version have something like firewall, don't remember the name.

i'm on cable and i only open my PC when i'm using internet, other than that i don't use my PC much, and if i was then there's always something in the background using the internet.

so how do i formate my computer?? have i mentioned before that my computer is Compac which is really bad and it was designed only to work with windowns ME so whoever install my computer, usually have some pain to make some programs work. so am i going to have this problem or formatting doesn't make it hard?

[Bobali]

i have already tried to free lots of space on my computer by burning them on CDs but still i couldn't free much so i'm not sure what exactly is using my space.

my new antivirus version have something like firewall, don't remember the name.

i'm on cable and i only open my PC when i'm using internet, other than that i don't use my PC much, and if i was then there's always something in the background using the internet.

so how do i formate my computer?? have i mentioned before that my computer is Compac which is really bad and it was designed only to work with windowns ME so whoever install my computer, usually have some pain to make some programs work. so am i going to have this problem or formatting doesn't make it hard?

are u using windows ME ?

to format your computer:

create a windows startup/boot disk
set floppy to be 1st boot device in BIOS
insert floppy restart comp, and
type in "Format C:/q" then press Y then ENTER.

time to upgrade to XP or better move to linux :)

[amatul_rahmaan]

u mis-understood me brother.

i'm using windows XP elhamdolelah, i was just showing how painful is my PC.

[prince Abooboo]

If in the end you are going to do a full format, you might as well try to do a system restore first, to a time that you can remember the pc being ok.
its under control panel>system>system restore.
Or you could do a system repair, which will re-install windows, but leave all your programs installed. You will have to re-intall any drivers though.
Then you could could do a full format, and reinstall everything, if all else doesnt work(best option, but you said you didnt want to do that at this point).

although before attempting any of this, you should backup any files and emails, favourites etc. first!

have fun
:p

[amatul_rahmaan]

elhamdolelah i was finally able to put all my files on CDs
*phew, didn't know that i needed that number of Cds to do so*

i tried formating my computer by right clicking on C Drive and choosing formate but it didn't let me and i always get a message saying something like: close all the programs that is using data first.
but there's NOTHING open which is using the data AFAIK.

also i tried re-installing the windows myself (i couldn't find the repair option) but it also wouldn't let me do it saying that XP version that i have on my computer is newer that the one in the CD *maybe because it's updated :confused: *

i also tried doing system restore and the earliest i was able to choose was the begining of October but then it told me that nothing have changed since then therefore it wasn't restored.

any advice on another way for formating it.

ps: i couldn't do it as Bobali have explained it because i didn't understand what should be done :o

[prince Abooboo]

is your computer still freezing?
maybe you just need to clean it up, if you're finding it too difficult to format.

Is the windows cd you're using XP sp1 or sp2? to check what you have installed press and hold down the start key(usually bottom left on keyboard) and then press the pause break key(top right), and it will tell you what you service pack you have.

So when you insert the windows cd, and you choose reinstall(over the top, not a fresh install) it tells you your windows is a newer version?
If so then you might just have to do a complete fresh format.
Or you could install some programs that will check your pc and see if theres anything wrong.

If you dont mind re-installing all the programs, drivers and setting everything back up, then do a complete format, otherwise install some programs to check your pc.

Which would you rather do?

[amatul_rahmaan]

i will try installing some programs and see how it will go in sha'allah.

[prince Abooboo]

as already mentioned you should get the following programs:

Firewall
Zone alarm (http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/free/1002_zl/zlsSetup_60_667_000.exe)

Anti-virus
AVG anti-virus (http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/setup/avg71free_362a652.exe)

Spyware/adware
Spy-bot 1.4 (http://www.networkwonks.com/spybot/spybotsd14.exe)

Ad-aware personal (http://www.download.com/3001-8022_4-10399602.html)

Web-browser
mozilla Firefox 1.07 (http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-1.0.7&os=win&lang=en-US)

If you already have an antivirus/firewall installed, you should un-install them first, before installing the above, as they might cause problems together.
and although these programs are free, they're very good, even better than some payed for software.

[amatul_rahmaan]

i already have all of these programs.

ok, i tried installing new things from the CD but it didn't check my computer.

i trying booting my computer using the windows CD and i was finally able to find the option of repairing the computer but guess what?? when i tried doing that, it asked me for the Administration passowrd.

and guess what ?? i have no clue what's the passowrd and i have no idea how to get simply because i had someone installing my windows at MYRE around 2 years ago so i don't even know if the man will still be there or not.

also another thing is MYRE doesn't keep a record of the information about thier customer.

now is there anyway to get around this and change the passowrd or anything ??

[Bobali]

okies

either use this

http://www.gp.lib.mi.us/information/about/Tools/sledgehammer.jpg

or

Download Cain & Abel v2.8 for Windows NT/2000/XP
http://www.oxid.it/downloads/ca_setup.exe

There is Also LC4, faster.

http://www.158apps.com/apps/lc4.zip

okay try them.

but i think ur password is blank. strange thing is when it request for passwords it doesnt allow blank entries. :p

[amatul_rahmaan]

just to make sure that i'm on the right track.

if you have the password and pressed enter, what's suppose to happen after that ??

is the computer suppose to start repairing by itself or there's more steps to do??

i just remembered that when i was playing with the password trying to guess it, at one stage i got the line.

C:/windows/

and i didn't know what to do after and thought that i'm on the wrong track. if that's meant to happen then what should i type there ??

[Nick_Mick_Yok]

FORMAT.
never fails. :D

[amatul_rahmaan]

how do i do i change
C:/windows/ to C:/q ??

also will this affect my network and internet sittings ?? if yes then i can't do it. i need something which won't affect the sittings.

[prince Abooboo]

when you put the cd in, did it restart and then load up the blue screen and then the installation screen?
you should just choose install xp, but over the previous installation, not a fresh install. I think you chose repair or recovery console, which takes you to a comand prompt type thing(and you can leave password blank, it should work), but you need to choose the install xp option.

[amatul_rahmaan]

yes it took me to that blue screen.

so if i choose install xp, will things work ok for me with my network sittings ??

is there anything specific that i need to know before i go a head with that option ?? i have never done it before in my whole life so i'm following you blindly and wishing that things will turn out ok.

[prince Abooboo]

oh, after you choose install xp, it will look for previous windows already installed, just install over the top, and hopefully it will then install xp without deleting any programs, but you should still backup your emails and my documents stuff first, just incase.
Also what network settings are they? you can alway write them down and just enter them after you install.
remember though you will have to do all the windows updates again, and install any drivers which arent found by windows, and maybe even service pack 2, if your cd is only sp1.

[amatul_rahmaan]

hopefully it will then install xp without deleting any programs

i already have burned all my files and everything on CDs and i have no problem doing the updates again

but

i have no idea how to check the network sittings niether do i know how to install drivers which are not found by windows.

now i'm scared and not sure if i should go a head with it or not.

[prince Abooboo]

yes it took me to that blue screen.

so if i choose install xp, will things work ok for me with my network sittings ??

is there anything specific that i need to know before i go a head with that option ?? i have never done it before in my whole life so i'm following you blindly and wishing that things will turn out ok.


lol, then maybe you should read a proper guide to re-installing xp, as that should give proper steps, and any problems that may come up, as with any installations involving windows ANYTHING could go wrong in the process, and it seems you have some important stuff that you cant lose.
You should just do a google search on repairing xp, i'll do one later aswell, and post any good ones i find, although you might find some pretty good ones first, as im sure there'd be plenty available.

[amatul_rahmaan]

yea i was hoping to find any info but couldn't., i tried the help files on the computer and i went to windows website but found nothing.

jazak allah khairan for you help and i will try searching in sha'allah in google.

[prince Abooboo]

i already have burned all my files and everything on CDs and i have no problem doing the updates again

but

i have no idea how to check the network sittings niether do i know how to install drivers which are not found by windows.

now i'm scared and not sure if i should go a head with it or not.

yeah, thers alot of things to consider before re-installing windows, and especially if you have things you must keep like settings etc.. its hard to know what to tell you when things like these are involved.
if you just wanted to wipe your windows and had nothing important to keep, then its pretty easy, just format.

So whats the actuall problem with the pc, is it still freezing or something?

[prince Abooboo]

yea i was hoping to find any info but couldn't., i tried the help files on the computer and i went to windows website but found nothing.

jazak allah khairan for you help and i will try searching in sha'allah in google.

if you still want to repair, theres a few sites found in google, just dont use the recovery console guides, as i dont think thats what you need.

search results (http://www.google.com.au/search?num=30&hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=+windows+xp+repair&btnG=Search&meta=)

i cant find one now, i'll look later, so just ahve a look at those results, thats if you still want to re-install.

[amatul_rahmaan]

yes every now and then it freeze and it refuse to work.

sometimes it freez after a few min and sometimes after a few hours so for me to use it, i just press the power button for a few second untill it shut down then after that i open it again and it work ok and then after that it freez and sometimes not.

[prince Abooboo]

so you did all the scans(virus, spyware/adware, and have zonealarm installed), and anything new come up?

does it freeze quicker on hot days?
does the mouse pointer still move when it freezes, or any error messages come up?

[amatul_rahmaan]

i did everything in regard of cleaning and checking for errors/virus/spyware

elhamdolelah all of these are ok with no problems.

i never had the freezing problem before untill 1 or 2 month ago (i have been using this computer since 5 years if i remember correctly)

when it freez, nothing moves or work at all. you can't use keyboared or mouse or anything.

[prince Abooboo]

you could try checking if xp has any info on the freezing, go to
control panel>administrative tools>event viewer
and see if theres any errors about the same time you remember the pc freezing.

[amatul_rahmaan]

it's hard to tell when exactly it happened since the event viewer shows what happened every few second or every min

there's in the source section:
Service control manager
SNMP
eventlog
redbook

and in the user section there's:
N/A
System
"My name"

i also found:
Type ............................ Source
Warning......................... Dhcp

[Bobali]

have u got "hijackthis"

if yes can u post up the result of its scan.

[prince Abooboo]

i guess you should just look at the errors under application and system, maybe look for an application hang. Best thing to do might be to look at it just after your pc freezes again.

[amatul_rahmaan]

ok khier in sha'allah.

[amatul_rahmaan]

ok, my computer have freezed again around 9:37 pm
i haven't used my computer all day and i opened it around 8:30 pm so here's what it say in the Application section of Event Viewer:
Type ................... Time ............... Source ................... User
Warning ...............8:39pm ............. EvntAgnt ................ N/A
Warning ...............9:39pm ............. EvntAgnt ................ N/A

in System Section:
Type ........................... Time ................. Source .......... User
Information...................9:38:12 ............... redbook ........ N/A
Information...................9:38:36 ............... eventlog ........ N/A

does that make any sence to you ?? because i have no clue what does it mean

[Bobali]

when u click on those items, in event viewer, what does the description say?

find a program [in google] that will monitor and log the programs running, so u can find out which program is the one causing the freezing.

if this problem is really bugging u, how about letting on the experts [that u trust ] on these forums to fix it remotely via Remote Assistant [some one controling and fixing your computer via internet ] ?

:o

[amatul_rahmaan]

i think my brain has stoped because i can't understand what you are saying.

can you please reword it and say it in simpler way :)

[prince Abooboo]

yeah, you could try remote assistance, although sometimes that's a headache in itself :p

What exactly were you doing just before it froze?
does it freeze everyday, after a certain amount of time you've been using the pc, or is it a random thing?

[amatul_rahmaan]

what's remote assistance ??

it doesn't freez after specific amount of time, everytime is different from the others.

i'm usually on the forum reading posts, checking my email and listening to something.

[prince Abooboo]

it's what bobali suggested ^^ :)

well it could be many things i guess, just before the first time you remember it starting to freeze, did you install anything new into your pc, hardware or software, drivers updates etc.. for example did you install a new program/driver, and then the freezing started to happen?

[amatul_rahmaan]

the first time ever it froze (used to freez every now and then) it was a few month ago, i did a full disk clean, defragmantation, virus scan, check for errors and so on and elhamdolelah it was fixed.

the second time the problem started to happen again, i remember that i deleted a folder because one of the file was at risk and because the file was invisble and i couldn't find it so i deleted the whole folder. i also left my computer open for nearly 24 hours or more then when i turned it off and i turned it on again, i started having this problem. no i can't recover the folder because i believe that i deleted the recovery folder.

[Bobali]

if not remote asssitance in win xp then

use vnc, Radmin , etc

:)

if ur gonna call upon remote admin, make sure u copy/hide/encrypt or delete confidential stuff. just to be safe ;)

[prince Abooboo]

what folder did you delete?

[amatul_rahmaan]

baboli, i have no clue how to do the things you are saying and i have no clue about what are they.

prince i really don't remember but it had the word recycle in the name and it was a hidden folder too, i had a hard time finding it after locating the file that was at risk.

[prince Abooboo]

can you check under mycomputer>local disk c: drive
and see if there is a folder called 'RECYCLER' and a folder called 'System Volume Information'


oh, and what told you, you were at risk? was it your virus scanner? and what is the name of your virus scanner?


lol bobali, thats hard to follow for someone who has never even heard of remote assistance :D

[Bobali]

lol bobali, thats hard to follow for someone who has never even heard of remote assistance

it was meant for u guys, i think amatul_rahmaan is at risk of smashing the computer out of anger before fixing it :p

better if one of u guys go over in person and fix it, or use remote admin

amatul_rahmaan, sorry abt confusing u :o

[prince Abooboo]

it was meant for u guys, i think amatul_rahmaan is at risk of smashing the computer out of anger before fixing it :p


I think its already happened :D

Did you fix it AR?

[amatul_rahmaan]

nah, i really don't care that much about the computer anymore but i still want to fix it.

it's very old computer and ma sha'allah it have survived with me for nearly 5 years if i remember correctly so it have done a good job.

i didn't fix it, elhamdolelah it didn't freez since the last time but sometimes it's very slow.

[Nick_Mick_Yok]

how long is this thread gonna go for ?? lol

[aussiemu]

amatul rahman sorry I didn't send you instructions on how to format.

Can anyone write it up?

[Bobali]

how long is this thread gonna go for ?? lol

as soon as amatul_rahmaan, finds a sledge hammer :)

after reading this thread im going to try NetSwitcher and read about Sysprep :)

[amatul_rahmaan]

brothers can you please give me a break and stop making fun of me and my computer. i'm only asking for help to make it better so i can keep using it :(

it's ok aussiemu, i guess i can wait longer in sha'allah.

not sure if i said this before but subhan allah, when i was scared and didn't want to touch my computer, everyone was helping me saying do this and that and now when i'm not scared and i don't mind playing around with it, i get complicated solutions which needs expert or i get some jokes.

Allahu Al Mosta'an.