64 replies to this topic

[solo58]

Not a malware problem. They referred me to you.
My laptop is running very slow. A five minute boot up; slow file openings; slow web openings....everything is sluggish.
The laptop seems to run very hot. I'm operating on a pedestal to improve the air circulation. Don't know if that's related.
This is a Dell Latitude D420.
What would you suggest?


http://forums.whatth...h...=113908&hl=

[Nahumi]

Hello solo58,

Let's have a look at the status of your laptop. I have a feeling that it's probably a hardware issue, but lets make sure it isn't something else. Please follow the instructions to run PC Pitstop below:

Please use IE for the next steps. Chrome or Firefox aren't supported unfortunately.

Head over to http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/

At the top left of the page it should say "Sign up FREE". Click the button and create an account. Don't worry, it really is free.

Use your e-mail address and password to login.

Go back to http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit and click the green button that says "Scan this system Now!"

The tests will take a few minutes and you will see some flashing shapes on your screen. If you suffer from epilepsy or are susceptible to nausea or motion sickness, try not to look at the screen whilst it does these graphical tests.

When you get presented with the report, please copy and paste the URL from your browser in your next post.


Cheers,
Nahumi

[solo58]

Hello solo58,

Let's have a look at the status of your laptop. I have a feeling that it's probably a hardware issue, but lets make sure it isn't something else. Please follow the instructions to run PC Pitstop below:

Please use IE for the next steps. Chrome or Firefox aren't supported unfortunately.

Head over to http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/

At the top left of the page it should say "Sign up FREE". Click the button and create an account. Don't worry, it really is free.

Use your e-mail address and password to login.

Go back to http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit and click the green button that says "Scan this system Now!"

The tests will take a few minutes and you will see some flashing shapes on your screen. If you suffer from epilepsy or are susceptible to nausea or motion sickness, try not to look at the screen whilst it does these graphical tests.

When you get presented with the report, please copy and paste the URL from your browser in your next post.


Cheers,
Nahumi

[solo58]

Done,
The report is in the URL below.
http://www.pcpitstop...?conid=23808050

Hello solo58,

Let's have a look at the status of your laptop. I have a feeling that it's probably a hardware issue, but lets make sure it isn't something else. Please follow the instructions to run PC Pitstop below:

Please use IE for the next steps. Chrome or Firefox aren't supported unfortunately.

Head over to http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/

At the top left of the page it should say "Sign up FREE". Click the button and create an account. Don't worry, it really is free.

Use your e-mail address and password to login.

Go back to http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit and click the green button that says "Scan this system Now!"

The tests will take a few minutes and you will see some flashing shapes on your screen. If you suffer from epilepsy or are susceptible to nausea or motion sickness, try not to look at the screen whilst it does these graphical tests.

When you get presented with the report, please copy and paste the URL from your browser in your next post.


Cheers,
Nahumi

[Nahumi]

Okay, couple of things which could do with fixing.

First, you need to update your Network card drivers. Download them from the links below :

http://downloadcente...s...59&lang=eng

and

http://www.broadcom....netlink_k57.php

Secondly, PC Pitstop wasn't able to collect any info on whether your hard drive was fragmented or not. I see that you have Auslogics Disc Defrag installed, but we might as well use the Defrag tool that comes with windows.

1. Right click the Start button and click "Explore".
2. Right click your hard drive and click Properties
3. Go to Tools and then Defragment Now
4. Click Defragment

It should do a quick analysis and then defrag your hard drive. It might take a while.


Thirdly, well have a look at what applications are starting when your machine boots up. Please follow the instructions below:

CodeStuff-Starters
http://www.snapfiles...et/Starter.html

Download, unzip and install, agreeing to the licensing terms and allow to install with all of the default settings as preselected in the installation wizard.

When you finally allow CodeStuff-Starters to run
It will preselect StartUps Tab -

• Click on File
• Select - save as .Plain Text (name the report file - Startups Aug16.txt

In your next reply, post the file as an attached file (use browse and upload buttons -- at the bottom-right corner of your topic posting window where you are typing your next reply)

Please do not make any changes with Code-Stuff Starters, until after you post the requested information above and receive recommendations from a helper here.

I also noticed that Internet Explorer is running twice and are taking up a lot of resources. Do you start IE with lots of tabs open, and do you close them once you are done with them?


Cheers,
Nahumi

[solo58]

Done, Defragging didn't do much, I had tried that previously. CodeStop Starters Report is attached. I primarily use Firefox; I have from three to five tabs open at any one time. I've found no impact on IO speed from closing the tabs, or even closing FF. Don't know why IE would have been open, or why it would be open twice....malware?

Attached Files

•  CodeStuff_Starters_Report___20100817.txt   606bytes   448 downloads

[Nahumi]

Okay, when you saved the report, did you go to any other tab first? It's important that when you save the report, you do so without having a look around the application first.

[solo58]

Sorry about that. Here it is again.

Attached Files

•  CodeStuff_Starters_Report___20100817.txt   322bytes   446 downloads

[Nahumi]

No worries. Okay, it seems that you have no applications running at all when your machine starts, apart from Kernelfaultcheck and the Sigmatel system tray program. That seems a bit odd to me, so I'm going to ask a more qualified tech to have a quick look at the report. If it turns out to be okay, we can move onto checking the hardware itself.

[solo58]

standing by... But now I have a more serious problem...I was trying to copy a CD and was having trouble with Windows Media Player. So I uninstalled it with RevoUninstaller and then reinstalled Version 11. Not only was I not able to copy the CD, but the machine has crashed. At boot up, still very slow ...I'm getting the following message: "STOP: c0000221 unknown Hard Error \SystemRoot\System32\ntdll.dll I've tried booting in safe mode, with no luck. I've tried booting with the XP CD in the CD player and booting from the CD player....Nada.

[Nahumi]

Okay, this new problem may be related to the overall sluggishness. Before I explain what the problem could be, please stop trying to boot your machine.

Doing so may result in a fire or a more serious hardware malfunction.

An error with the ntdll.dll file can be a indicator that a piece of hardware has malfunctioned. I suspect that you have a particularly thick layer of dust coating the inside of your machine. This will cause the laptop to heat up considerably. Over a prolonged period this can cause components to overheat and malfunction.

If you are comfortable with handling your laptop, you should be able to open it up and clean out the dust:

1. Turn off the laptop, unplug it from the AC adapter and remove the battery.
2. Wait for at least a minute before placing the laptop upside down on a flat surface, such as a table.
3. Use a screw driver to take the covers/plates off the back of the laptop.
4. Use a q-tip / cotton swab to gently remove any compacted dust, taking close attention around the heatsinks and the airvents.
5. Replace all the covers and the battery.
6. Try turning the laptop on again.

Instead of trying to boot fully, please enter the BIOS. You should be able to get into it by pressing F1 or F2 when the laptop first boots.

Once in the BIOS, look for the PC Health Section, or something similar. Please note the temperatures of the CPU and include them in your next post. Do not try to use the laptop. There may still be a fire risk.

If you're not comfortable cleaning up the dust inside, I advise that you take it to your nearest PC repair shop. They will do a full service for a fee, ask them to check the motherboard and RAM too.

[solo58]

OK, I turned off the laptop, let it cool. took it apart...saw no dust bunnies of any kind, anywhere. Reassembled. Started up in BIOS. Did not find there any PC Health Section. I shut down the laptop, as you instructed...though I really wanted to see if I could start it.

[Nahumi]

Have you tried looking in "System Info" , "Performance" or "Power Management"?. It might take a bit of looking through, but it should be there somewhere.

[solo58]

BIOS has all three of those, but nothing related to temperature..... System Info gives us info about the System, BIOS Version A06, Service Tag, Asset Tag and Ownership Tag. Processor info gives us info about Processor type, ID, Clock Speed, Min and Max, Cache size and Dual core Present Then there's Memory Info, Battery Info and Health, Date/Time and Booth Sequence. Performance has a Multi Core Support, HDD Acoustic Mode, and SpeedStep Enable All are off or enabled. Power Management has Auto On Mode, On Time, USB Wake Support, and Wake One LAN/WLAN. Maintenance has Load defaults and Service Tag Load Defaults has the option of Continuing with factory default values (you don't see them) That's it... There is a separate DELL Diagnostic utility outside of BIOS...That's where I found the DST Short test failure. The machine is running cool (?)....

[Nahumi]

Does it give an error code when the DST Short Test fails? I have a feeling that your hard drive might need replacing...

Edited by Nahumi, 17 August 2010 - 05:02 PM.