Hi, have a problem with the computer I use and share with flatmates (its a flatmates pc). the pc was working fine then the screen started freezing after around 10-15 mins of going on. then it started running really slow. i downloaded AVG free trial and ashampoo and found several viruses, trojans and worms etc. these were cleared and the pc started working fine (pages loading fast etc) except that the screen still keeps freezing after around 10-15 mins. cant do anything except turn off at power button the switch on again. does anyone know what this is or how to rectify it? its really frustrating as i play a lot of online poker and when it crashes i miss a lot of hands lol... all help appreciated...
If you had several infections just cleaning them up could have caused damage to the drivers/software download superantispyeware and run a full system scan just to make sure things are cleaned up. Then run windows update to make sure you have the latest drivers and patches. do disc clean up and defragment your hard drive reboot and see what happens you may have a system that is just to corrupted and broken meaning you will have to back up your files and reinstall everything.
If you had several infections just cleaning them up could have caused damage to the drivers/software download superantispyeware and run a full system scan just to make sure things are cleaned up. Then run windows update to make sure you have the latest drivers and patches. do disc clean up and defragment your hard drive reboot and see what happens you may have a system that is just to corrupted and broken meaning you will have to back up your files and reinstall everything.
thanks for the quick reply how do i do disc clean up and defragment my hard drive reboot? sorry, im not that good with computers. limited knowledge lol... and, if it comes to it, how do i back everything up and reinstall it? thanks again...
Well now, you know how to post on a message board and don't know how to perform routine maintenance on your pc mmmmm ok well here are some links because I don't wanna get all long winded but want you to learn how it's vital to the overal life span and performance of your computer investment. disc clean up - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312 or http://www.helium.com/items/393880-how-to-perform-disk-cleanup defrag hd - http://helpdesk.its.uiowa.edu/windows/instructions/defrag.htm disc check - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265 how to disable system resotore - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405 do these steps first and run the scans then let me know if your issue continues lets take it in steps
lol... thanks man ;-) much appreciated. my computer back home (im backpacking and sharing a flat with others and its there computer thats playing up) has all the necessary security on it. I just dont eally know a lot about how to fix them etc... i'll run the steps you've given me so far and hopefully I can sort this. again, really appreciate your help...
lmao..sounds like fixing it would be a wasted exercise obviously someones visiting sites they shouldn't..lol..reformat & do a fresh install only this time it would be best to setup separate user accounts that aren't admin so only the owner installs whatever maybe needed otherwise the idiot will only get the comp reinfected,look at getting ghost or acronis true image Comodo firewall-free very strong in & out blocking of suspicious network activity including programs that attempt install spywareterminator-it's free & unlike superantispyware it does it all for nothing,make sure HIPS is enabled Avast antivirus-realtime scanning at boot & while surfing In your case all three above will be needed,however it requires a iitle common sense not to get reinfected & is why it's best only one person has install permissions PS:By the way i only say do a fresh install simply coz the time it takes to clean a system is slower by days,just look thru the forums average time spent cleaning is around 4 days,as well as once infected the comp just doesn't run right unless you have a failing hardware
Scorp I was gonna say the same thing I usually value my time more and just do a fresh install. I just wasn't sure with multiple users if backing up the data was gonna be an option as he asked how to do a reinstall and how to backup. Burkey a fresh install will also bring new life and zing to that pc.
Below is a link to a site that specializes in imaging advice is free http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl As for cleaning & defragging etc a simple google search say like how to defrag xp will bring up the necessary info or cruise over to Cnet they have a good source of how to articles as well as how to protect against nasties,otherwise you could be here for a week holding hands
thanks for the replies guys. big problem now lol. whilst doing thew disc clean up the computer "froze" and now it wont go on. when i turn it on i get the screen that gives you the options to choose "safe mode" "safe mode with command promt" etc etc. when the clock runs down or when i select something it just goes right back to the same screen over and over. how do i get it back on? lol sorry to be a pest. I think the computer needs a fresh install. is there a link on how to do this (once I get the computer on obviously lol) im guessing i'll need the windows xp disc etc. thanks again
Sounds like your boot sector may have been damaged by clean up at this point I would just do a clean install and yes you wll need the operating system disc or restore disc that came with the pc. Here are a few links with how to's choose the one that makes the most sense to you and feel comfortable in understanding. http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxpclean1.htm http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp
If it's a reasonably late computer say 2000 onwards give or take a year it could have a recovery partition,it would be best to look up the model to see if it has one,the quickest way is if it shows a FAT32 hdd in "My Computer" of around 4-10gb & another partition being C then it has a recovery option,normally it will say on boot "recovery F10" along the bottom. Once comp is reformatted & FIREWALL Enabled go directly to windows update & do not leave till every single update has been installed,reboots in between are necessary,windows update can be got to by the icon in the "All Programs" when at website it will install active x then you continue,clik on custom button when it appears by the way you can download SP3 & burn it to cd this will save a large download while updating as you won't need SP2 Once that's all sorted get these after booting to safe mode & defragging,to do a proper defrag turn off hybernation & set pagefile to 0 while still in windows & not safe mode,once defrag complete reset pagefile & reboot back to windows & install the following ccleaner comodo firewall spyware terminator avast anitivirus or AVG once installed run ccleaner use both the first & second buttons at left column again reset pagefile to 0 & boot to safe & defrag,then reset pagefile back to it's size & boot to windows,every time you install programs of around 3 or more do a defrag the way i've said including doing a defrag weekly as well as running ccleaner,lastly do a chkdsk then do a chkdsk weekly
I hope you don't have anything that was important on there, because I assume you know that doing a reformat erases absolutely everything. If you need files then its gonna be a little more difficult. Just makin sure we cover all bases here guys. Don't want to be too quick to reformat.
