computer problems .....

dogger · 12-02-2003, 12:00 AM

my computer [ using windows ME] is running funny . occasionally the screen momentarily freezes [i.e. the cursor won't move/open things , or if i am typing the letters don't appear ( though after its little rest , the letters i type in the interim do appear )] for about 5 or 6 seconds . a few times it has done a restart with no input from me and i have sometimes got the blue screen of death . i installed a McAfee firewall and email antivirus about a week before it happened . i have spoken to McAfee help , they say it would not be their gear . i spoke to my ISP helpline , they thought it was probably a windows problem and i would most likely have to ''reformat my hard drive '' [what ever that means ] . i rang windows help and they wanted to relieve me of $55 , so i parted from them not knowing what their thoughts are , but with my wallet intact . i had a look through ''google'' about this reformatting thingo , let me start that caper and the internet as we know it could be dispatched into that black hole in cyberspace to which i routinely send uninportant little items like my annual tax returns .one other suggestion i saw on ''google'' was to ''restore '' my computer to some medievil time when i never had these problems , i.e about 3 weeks ago . as is well known i am the resident computer mongoloid , so when you computer wizards explain what i need to do PLEASE use little , common words .
thank you ,
dogger

p.s. and if anyone wants to know what sort of computer i have , it is an IBM , a black and blue one . and it was that colour before i resorted to violence to try and make it work .
every day i wake up is a good one .

[This message was edited by dogger on 12-02-03 at 02:09 AM.]

bigbob · 12-02-2003, 12:28 AM

Im a little tired as I was up late helping my son with a paper for school, but I hope this helps. Go th start, then programs then accesories then system tools, then open sytem restore. There you will find a calender of dates you can restore your computer too. If you think the new virus program might be causing the problem use a restore point prior to its installation.
good luck, bob

bigbob · 12-02-2003, 12:33 AM

Please note that if you had windowsme before sept 2001 and never updated it on the microsoft update website system restore will not work. If you updated it now it will work but it will remove all your previous restore points. Hopefully yours is already updated and system restore is working.
bob

dogger · 12-02-2003, 03:23 AM

big bob , thank you , i only got this high tech piece of plastic rubbish in nov01 , and i have kept my updates current . i don't think it is a virus causing this problem , i am pretty fair dinkum about making sure my anti virus is kept up to date .
thank you ,
dogger

every day i wake up is a good one .

bigbob · 12-02-2003, 06:26 AM

Thats good that you keep your virus program updated, but I was talking about windows updates, especially the one for system restore.
bob

betheny · 12-02-2003, 07:45 AM

Dogger, as you know, I can't help. But I wanted to thank you for making me laugh. I wonder if you and I share the same cyberspace black hole, or do we each get our own? Good luck mate...

C5/6 incomplete, injured Aug. 2000

krstofer · 12-02-2003, 12:16 PM

Sounds like a virus to me.
Just because you have a checker installed, if your definitions aren't up to date, you can still get nailed.
Ex: if you updated last week, and a new virus came out yesterday, you're vunerable. (sp?)
Go to antivirus.housecall.com (I think, if not, google for it) it's an online checker.
I would dump mcaffee, and go with AVG- from grisoft.com. It's free, and imho better than the pay ones.

Anyway, hope that helps.

http://krstofer.org

dogger · 12-02-2003, 07:10 PM

one other thing i forgot to mention , the last 3 times i have run ''maintenance wizard '' [ disc scan , defrag etc ] , it has found problems while checking the disc for errors . it has fixed these .
bigbob and krs , thank you for your replies , i have run a housecall scan , no viruses found . i have kept both my windows and antivirus updates done . i am also running a second email virus checker at the ISP site . McAfee firewall was offered free to me for 3 months ..i won't be paying for it .
anyone got any suggestions please ? is ''restoring '' the thing to do , please ?
thank you ,
dogger

every day i wake up is a good one .

bigbob · 12-02-2003, 07:28 PM

Dogger: Glad I could help. System restore is a simple. It only takes a few minutes and then the computer reboots. It only sets it back to the configuration when it was working properly and it can be reversed.
bob

PN · 12-02-2003, 08:21 PM

If you decide to do a "System Restore," I recommend that you do it in "safe mode" by holding down the control key when you start your computer.

If you have the Windows Me startup disk, you can reinstall the operating system without having to reformat your hard drive, and you will not lose any of your programs. You may want to use "Spybot" search and destroy to see if you have any spyware on your PC. It would also be a good idea to back up all of your important files and folders.

PN

12-02-2003, 12:00 AM	#1
dogger Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Mitchell , Qld. Australia Posts: 2,238	computer problems ..... my computer [ using windows ME] is running funny . occasionally the screen momentarily freezes [i.e. the cursor won't move/open things , or if i am typing the letters don't appear ( though after its little rest , the letters i type in the interim do appear )] for about 5 or 6 seconds . a few times it has done a restart with no input from me and i have sometimes got the blue screen of death . i installed a McAfee firewall and email antivirus about a week before it happened . i have spoken to McAfee help , they say it would not be their gear . i spoke to my ISP helpline , they thought it was probably a windows problem and i would most likely have to ''reformat my hard drive '' [what ever that means ] . i rang windows help and they wanted to relieve me of $55 , so i parted from them not knowing what their thoughts are , but with my wallet intact . i had a look through ''google'' about this reformatting thingo , let me start that caper and the internet as we know it could be dispatched into that black hole in cyberspace to which i routinely send uninportant little items like my annual tax returns .one other suggestion i saw on ''google'' was to ''restore '' my computer to some medievil time when i never had these problems , i.e about 3 weeks ago . as is well known i am the resident computer mongoloid , so when you computer wizards explain what i need to do PLEASE use little , common words . thank you , dogger p.s. and if anyone wants to know what sort of computer i have , it is an IBM , a black and blue one . and it was that colour before i resorted to violence to try and make it work . every day i wake up is a good one . [This message was edited by dogger on 12-02-03 at 02:09 AM.]

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12-02-2003, 12:28 AM	#2
bigbob Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 4,005	Im a little tired as I was up late helping my son with a paper for school, but I hope this helps. Go th start, then programs then accesories then system tools, then open sytem restore. There you will find a calender of dates you can restore your computer too. If you think the new virus program might be causing the problem use a restore point prior to its installation. good luck, bob

12-02-2003, 12:33 AM	#3
bigbob Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 4,005	Please note that if you had windowsme before sept 2001 and never updated it on the microsoft update website system restore will not work. If you updated it now it will work but it will remove all your previous restore points. Hopefully yours is already updated and system restore is working. bob

12-02-2003, 03:23 AM	#4
dogger Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Mitchell , Qld. Australia Posts: 2,238	big bob , thank you , i only got this high tech piece of plastic rubbish in nov01 , and i have kept my updates current . i don't think it is a virus causing this problem , i am pretty fair dinkum about making sure my anti virus is kept up to date . thank you , dogger every day i wake up is a good one .

12-02-2003, 06:26 AM	#5
bigbob Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 4,005	Thats good that you keep your virus program updated, but I was talking about windows updates, especially the one for system restore. bob

12-02-2003, 07:45 AM	#6
betheny Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Oklahoma,USA Posts: 15,411	Dogger, as you know, I can't help. But I wanted to thank you for making me laugh. I wonder if you and I share the same cyberspace black hole, or do we each get our own? Good luck mate... C5/6 incomplete, injured Aug. 2000

12-02-2003, 12:16 PM	#7
krstofer Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Corvallis, Oregon Posts: 277	Sounds like a virus to me. Just because you have a checker installed, if your definitions aren't up to date, you can still get nailed. Ex: if you updated last week, and a new virus came out yesterday, you're vunerable. (sp?) Go to antivirus.housecall.com (I think, if not, google for it) it's an online checker. I would dump mcaffee, and go with AVG- from grisoft.com. It's free, and imho better than the pay ones. Anyway, hope that helps. http://krstofer.org

12-02-2003, 07:10 PM	#8
dogger Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Mitchell , Qld. Australia Posts: 2,238	one other thing i forgot to mention , the last 3 times i have run ''maintenance wizard '' [ disc scan , defrag etc ] , it has found problems while checking the disc for errors . it has fixed these . bigbob and krs , thank you for your replies , i have run a housecall scan , no viruses found . i have kept both my windows and antivirus updates done . i am also running a second email virus checker at the ISP site . McAfee firewall was offered free to me for 3 months ..i won't be paying for it . anyone got any suggestions please ? is ''restoring '' the thing to do , please ? thank you , dogger every day i wake up is a good one .

12-02-2003, 07:28 PM	#9
bigbob Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 4,005	Dogger: Glad I could help. System restore is a simple. It only takes a few minutes and then the computer reboots. It only sets it back to the configuration when it was working properly and it can be reversed. bob

12-02-2003, 08:21 PM	#10
PN Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 4,363	If you decide to do a "System Restore," I recommend that you do it in "safe mode" by holding down the control key when you start your computer. If you have the Windows Me startup disk, you can reinstall the operating system without having to reformat your hard drive, and you will not lose any of your programs. You may want to use "Spybot" search and destroy to see if you have any spyware on your PC. It would also be a good idea to back up all of your important files and folders. PN