32 replies to this topic

[Charlene Reeves]

Hi I have computer freezing at will. I use Windows Vista 64 with IE 8. I have tried to see if it is infected here and there were none. Can you help?
Thanks,
Charlene

http://forums.whatth...ed_t110208.html

[Ztruker]

Hi Charlene, welcome to the bright side (not the dark side) of WhatTheTech

Glad you do not have anyt malware.

When did this start happening?
What did you do around that time?
Did you add any hardware or software?
Did you add any Add-ons (toolbars, etc.) to IE8?

The first thing to do is reset IE8 to it's default values, see if that resolves the problem.

See this Microsoft article: Reset Internet Explorer 8

Edited by Ztruker, 13 February 2010 - 01:35 PM.

[Charlene Reeves]

It happens at random. I open 4 approx peograms and get started and it either doesn't resond at all or it doesn't respond (all programs) at once. I appreciate any help. Thanks, Charlene I have Norton Antivirus, yahoo toolbar and Norton toolbar. These and google are what I normally run except I stopped with google.

Edited by Charlene Reeves, 13 February 2010 - 12:46 PM.

[Ztruker]

Did you reset IE8 following the directions at the link I provided?

[Charlene Reeves]

I tried but the link you gave was invalid I found the site and have done this.

Edited by Charlene Reeves, 13 February 2010 - 12:58 PM.

[Ztruker]

Sorry about that. I usually check links I post but didn't do so this time. I've fixed for anyone else who comes here. Did resetting IE8 make any difference?

[Charlene Reeves]

No there has been no change.

[Ztruker]

Does the entire computer freeze or is it only IE8?

[Charlene Reeves]

The entire computer freezes

[Ztruker]

Sorry, I thought this was an IE8 only problem from the description in your malware thread.

Does it take awhile after you turn on the computer before the problem occurs? If so, this could be caused by heat buildup inside the computer. Have you ever cleaned out the inside of your computer? Dust, animal dander and human hair can build up inside causing the computer to over heat and lock up.

This is a pretty good, step by step set of instructions for doing this: http://www.wikihow.c...e-of-a-Computer

If the problem still persists, try booting to Safe Mode with Networking. See here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222

Operate the computer for awhile and see if the problem occurs or not. If not, then something that is starting on a normal boot is causing the problem.

I'll wait for you to post back with results before continuing.

[Duey]

Hi Charlene,

Before attempting any of my advice, follow Ztruker's advice first (as he is part of the Tech Team) and better able to advise you than I can.

I do not wish to be deformatory to Norton but in my experience(s) it does tend to use a large amount of resources. You could try temporarily exiting your toolbars and your Norton (make sure you have some form of firewall running) and see if that speeds your computer up and helps it to not stop responding. I do not suggest that you make this a permenant solution but just to test. A;so, how much RAM have you got installed on your computer and what type of processor (all this can be found in system properties (Windows Key and Pause Key together) or Right Click on "Computer" on start menu and click properties, both will bring you the same screen.

The reason i suggest this is that if you do not have a large amount of RAM or a slow processor, opening multiple programs will lower your system's performance.

If the RAM and processor are OK then try the usual computer maintenance, Defrag (i've never liked vista's defrag, i prefer AusLogics Disk Defrag (more information here it can also be downloaded from that site) although i'm not sure if it is compatible with WIn7 64bit). Regular Disk cleanup, A/V scans etc. can help keep your computer running nice and fast. another program i use regularly is CCleaner. It cleans any/all junk files that are laying around on the computer as well as doing a full registry scan to find errors. It is recommended to always back up your registry because any change to the computers' registry can be fatal to the system, so always have a good backup of it (and all your files) first.

I hope that any/all of the information that i have provided for you, helps with your problems

Regards

Duey

Edited by Duey, 13 February 2010 - 08:13 PM.

[Charlene Reeves]

I tried all of this and when I click on IE on a link it starts saying IE 8 filed and is searching for a reason it failed.

[Ztruker]

Charlene, please decide which problem you are want to work on. When I asked you recently what the problem was you said your computer freezes and is not specifically an IE8 problem. Now you say IE8 is failing. I believe they are two separate problems, the more serious being the computer freezing. Have you followed the directions I provided for cleaning out the computer and starting in Safe Mode with Networking? Please be more specific in your responses so I know exactly what you have and have not done. Thanks

[Charlene Reeves]

I would like to fix the freezing affect. I have followed each suggestion-cleaning the inside, resetting all add ons to off which helped but I don't understand how to print without a printer icon and I have started in safe mode with networking which you suggested, but wasn't an Vista site and run diagnostics which state is fine. I have gone to Are You Infected and have tried all those techniques who sent me here. No I don't believe it is an IE8 issue. I am unable to to figure out what to call it. I have run CC Cleaner and the problem still freezes. I have and do keep up to date on running defrag, cleaning my disc from added space, and I remove the programs in add and delete. I have too many processes running in task manager, buyt am unsure what is needed vs what isn't. I feel like I could delete some more programs, but again I am unsure of necessiaty. If I am incorrect in doing any of this please explain in more details and I will comply. Thanks, Charlene

[Ztruker]

Charlene, when you booted to Safe Mode with Networking, did the computer still freeze or did it run okay. That's all I wanted to learn from that task. It's ugly and many things won't work but run it for a few hours doing as much as you can to see what happens. If it still froze then nothing that starts at boot time is causing the problem since Safe Mode with Networking loads only the minimal necessary drivers to run XP and access the internet. None of your applications would be running then. When you had the computer open, did you notice if all the fans were running. There can be 3 or more. One at the rear of the case, one over the heat sink for the CPU and one for your video card if it's not an on board video chip set. If it did not freeze then we have something to work with.