Computer still crashing after diagnostic test came out fine...confused and frustrated.

1 - reinistall windows xp.. virus software etc...

2 get some more RAM is will cost nxt to nothing on ebay its an old machine..

3 clean any dust from the inside of your computer and check your fan is working right

4 run msconfig and goto startup - turn off anything you dont need...

ff is renowned for locking up with chats, it has prob with the info...

dat should make a big diff


or if you are feeling real brave install linux on your laptop and it will move like grease lightning..

Do a system restore to your last system restore point.

This should work unless you have a really bad virus.

Edit: And you shouldn't lose anything except what you've done in the past couple days.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I can sum it up for you pretty quickly.

Chrome takes alot of resources. You dont have enough ram for it to remain stable.

If you're having IE issues, to that extent... (Cmon people, IE isnt THAT bad if youre careful about what you dig around on with the internet) I would honestly wipe it clean and start over.

Why?

- Your computer will be as fast as it was the first day you got it
- You will have stability again
- You can use IE again without problems
- Your puter will not crash (untill you junk it up again)
- You can catagorize everything again, this time like you always wanted
- It just feels good to have a clean pair of underwear
- You will get rid of any spyware, malware and viruses that you dont know of that are probably hiding on your system, or already has caused some damage.


Just because your detector doesnt show you have a virus (which, if your IE messed up that bad.... Sorry, you have one!), does not mean you dont have one. Some out now are VERY undetectible.

If your scanner has found one, many times that virus has already done damage. It's altered files... It's stopped some files from working... It's caused serious instability on your system. Scanners cant always remove viruses. You have to sometimes take many more steps to get rid of them.


Trust me... You want to format and get more Ram (stick ram). Chrome is very memory greedy. If it's crashing, with less than 500mb ram, it's not suprising. I'm suprised you're able to run it. If you're still stuck on it, then simply install it again.


This comming from a 20 year tech.

Hope this helps!


PS.. If your PC crashes, it could be a heat issue. Once a system processor gets to a certain temp, they "usually" shut down to protect it. Blow the dust out of that thing, including the processor fan. You have to keep the insides clean or it'll act just like your attic in the summer time. That's VERY bad for a computer.

Bad memory will also do this. Nothing lasts forever and it only takes a minor static charge to make a mess out of any and all electronics in your PC.

As with the 9/11 threads, Bonez knows what he is talking about. Froggy55 also has a good idea to check the system logs, may hold some clues. Personally, do a back up and chuck the old hard drive in the back of some draw and get a new one. Upgrading RAM to 2GB will make a big difference to your speed and put less stress on the hard drive.

As for anti virus packages you can run 2 or more if you are very concerned about viruses, but expect a big drop in performance. No one antivirus package checks all viruses, just too many and they can be custom made to pass through any signature checks. I do use Threatfire that checks for virus like activity and skips the scanning part, also use Advast as well in case any new big ones get out in the community.

Originally posted by kwakakev
As with the 9/11 threads, Bonez knows what he is talking about.

Thanks for that vote of confidence and recognition. As I stated earlier, any real, experienced, educated tech would immediately recognize the problems after seeing the specs and reported issues.

More memory and a slightly faster hard drive will solve most of the problems on that laptop and bring it back to life. I personally wouldn't spend the money to upgrade that laptop if I could save another hundred or two and get a newer, faster laptop. But, if money is hard to come by, upgrading is the only option to help that laptop out at this point.

reply to post by _BoneZ_


Your response just deriding my post by slating the closing comment - as though your statement of it being your area of expertise allows you to dismiss all other suggestions like you are THE authority on computers...makes me think you're very arrogant..
Here is my post - with the part you included in your approval summary of "everyones suggestions" in black bold - .
*******************

Back up pics & docs -
MAKE sure you have the driver disc for the pc - if not go to HP website for this device and download some of the main drivers for this device like chipset, network etc - because once you have wiped the drive most of these will need reinstalling and without at least the above 2 drivers you can't get on the Internet to download the rest of them along with subsequent windows updates
ALSO make sure you have the licence code for windows - if the stickers not on the case use "keyfinder" free utility that will show your licence code...
pop xp cd in drive
Reboot pc - it should say do you want to boot from cd (if not press F2 or del to enter BIOS and change the boo options to boot from cd)
Boot off the XP disc and it will show you the C drive with your OS on - if you choose to install on this it will tell you there is already an install present and show you the options to delete this then confirm deletion.
Do this - be prepared to spend the best part of a day coming back to the pc to keep installing windows updates..
At this point you can install remaining apps.
I would then suggest getting a USB drive and "easeus" disk image freeware - you can then create a "clean" image of your disk to restore in the event of a future issue.
Hope this helps - there is no other solution worth bothering with.
As an add to this I would definitely clean out case with a can of compressed air and add thermal paste to the CPU as well - just ve careful with this as you could damage mainboard if the screwdriver slips when taking the CPU fan off..
Good luck - post back if need anything else?

*********************************************************************
I have worked in I.T for 10 years with a string of Microsoft certifications under my belt - so you're not the only one on this board who works with computers - and to say that my suggestion would leave the OP back in the same position is ludicrous.
They would have a PC with a clean OS and the ability to install a few other programs as required - not facing the clearly corrupt file system issue they have now.
I definitely agree with your point about upgrading the memory - would be cheapest way of speeding the PC up - but it is NOT required just to run windows, however given the OP has stated they are not too tech savvy and REFUSES to spend any more money on PCs I didn't consider this worth mentioning.

Quote from Bonez Post
First and foremost, that computer has nowhere near enough memory to run Windows XP and do anything else on the computer at the same time.

for someone who states
I've been doing this for 15+ years. I've been to college for this. This is what I do. Any college-educated, and experienced computer tech should've given you the correct answer right off the bat, and should've immediately recognized the lack of memory that your computer had.

You don't know minimum specs, but obviously to avoid getting in a debate about it I have copied this straight from Microsoft themselves regarding their own O/S:

The minimum hardware requirements for Windows XP Home include:
Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)
At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended)
At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard disk
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
Keyboard and a Microsoft Mouse or some other compatible pointing device
Video adapter and monitor with Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution
Sound card Speakers or headphones

Which part of that minimum spec says 512mb ram is "nowhere near" enough to run windows XP alone??
None that I can see. The link that is from is here:
XP Minimum Spec according to Microsoft

Perhaps you need to check your facts before you dismiss someone else's comments out of hand next time.

ANTI VIRUS
Read these links - one shows which software uses the least amount of memory - so you could use the #1 but it comes at the cost of perhaps not being as effective as some others.
AV Memory Usage comparisons
The other is a proper review - AVAST fares well on this site and I can say it is a decent piece of freeware
AV Reviews

WEB BROWSER
Once you reinstall everything - you will find you wont have any issues with IE.
However, a lot of people dont like it - so take your pick from either Firefox, Chrome or Opera amongst others.
Here is a link showing the usage between firefox and Chrome - with FF using 102mb with 5 tabs, and Chrome using 183mb with the same 5 tabs.
FireFox V Chrome

As stated there really is nothing wrong with IE if you don't go on dodgy sites

Originally posted by facchino
Your response just deriding my post by slating the closing comment - as though your statement of it being your area of expertise allows you to dismiss all other suggestions like you are THE authority on computers...makes me think you're very arrogant.

Or very experienced, perhaps? I wasn't deriding, I was giving my professional opinion, which I'm allowed to do. I've fixed computers with the very same exact problems the OP is reporting, over and over and over and over again.

Originally posted by facchino
and to say that my suggestion would leave the OP back in the same position is ludicrous.
They would have a PC with a clean OS and the ability to install a few other programs as required - not facing the clearly corrupt file system issue they have now.

A clean OS taking up all the memory that's in the computer. And she would still have to deal with the hard drive thrashing while programs are constantly being moved from the memory to the paging file, and vice versa, which unnecessarily takes up the system resources. That still leaves her at square one and thus is not ludicrous. It's facts.

Originally posted by facchino
I definitely agree with your point about upgrading the memory - would be cheapest way of speeding the PC up - but it is NOT required just to run windows

No, it's not required "just to run Windows", but upgrading the memory is required to run Windows, have anti-virus installed, running a browser, especially in more than one window, and running at least one messenger program.

Originally posted by facchino
however given the OP has stated they are not too tech savvy and REFUSES to spend any more money on PCs I didn't consider this worth mentioning.

But she did say that her roommate would put any upgrades into the laptop that is needed. More memory is needed.

Originally posted by facchino
You don't know minimum specs

I do know the minimum specs. I have my college textbook right beside me. Those are the minimum specs for Windows XP to run. Not for the computer itself to run efficiently. It's up to a computer manufacturer (or builder) to decide how much memory a computer needs to run efficiently, not just run.

As a computer builder and repairer, my experience has shown that 512 MB of memory in a Windows XP system is not efficient or sufficient.

Originally posted by facchino
Which part of that minimum spec says 512mb ram is "nowhere near" enough to run windows XP alone??

Experience is what says that 512 MB of memory is not enough to run Windows XP and a browser, antivirus, messenger programs, etc. Every Windows XP computer that I've worked on is using between 300-400+ MB of memory after a fresh install and all drivers and updates are installed. That doesn't leave room for browsers, messenger programs, or antivirus programs when only 512 MB is installed. Every single Windows XP computer has had the same exact problems the OP is having when only 512 MB of memory is installed. 512 MB of memory on a Windows XP system is not enough memory for any computer to run at its full potential and efficiency.

Right now on my computer, Firefox alone is taking up 240+ MB of memory with only a few windows open. That's over half of her available 448 MB of memory.

Originally posted by facchino
Perhaps you need to check your facts before you dismiss someone else's comments out of hand next time.

I don't need to check any facts. It's been proven time and time again that a computer running Windows XP with only 512 MB of memory is not running efficiently, and that adding additional memory makes the computer run 100 times better.

Originally posted by facchino
Here is a link showing the usage between firefox and Chrome - with FF using 102mb with 5 tabs, and Chrome using 183mb with the same 5 tabs.

That article uses FF 3.5. We're up to FF 5.0 now. I have 3 FF tabs open to ATS and I'm using about 240 MB of memory. Of course, I have a few add-ons installed, but that's what makes FF superior over any other browser, especially IE. FF's smaller memory footprint as well as its speed also makes it superior to IE any day of the week.

reply to post by _BoneZ_


Just to clarify - If she did a clean install with just IE and Avast, and perhaps Windows messenger - the device would function OK. Not fast, but its an old laptop - what do you expect?
I know because I have seen devices perform OK in this state.
Clearly - we are both in agreement more memory would be the cheapest, best way of improving the device given the inability to upgrade to a new laptop - I don't believe it essential as you do - but do agree if you have the £40 ish needed then just do it...
In an ideal world - the laptop would go in the bin and you would buy a new one for £300 that would leave it for dead really...

IMHO - I would replace AVG with AVAST Free - Many have pointed out you can only have one AV software running safely - Some Firewall Apps overlap AV software so make sure you disabel the AV area of any firewall "COMODO" is great example of this.

Make sure there is no MS AV product running - Might have to kill this is services and disable.

Download "Malwarebytes" and run it - This one is really good to have if your pc is already infected, most AV software struggle with the removal portion of a Virus.

Little Registry Cleaner is a effictive GNU reg cleaner, however I have never seen one product / at least one Free Product remove all the errors - I usually run Little Registry Cleaner and Glary Utilities.

OLE Clean will clean out / remove a lot of missed PIDs and interface issues.

All of the above are free.

I recently had a major issue with a recent MS update for XP SP3 - To be honest I never could nail it down the exact update but the issues consumed a few day to resolve - The update wiped out my wife's HP Laser Jet P2025dn driver and I could not get it reinstalled - It also wiped out ATI Catalyst - In the end I removed all recent updates from MS through the Add and Remove panel in CP - The suspect updates were Net Framework version but I uninstalled all the recent updates.

Which ever path you choose and there are many suggested here, formatting and reinstalling would be my last option, in-fact I would install windows in a new dir and then move everything over from the corrupt one, before I would go down the road of wiping the drive.

In a nut shell clean the registry with two recommended cleaners, then reboot.

Remove any recent MS updates that suspiciously coincide with your trouble, then reboot.

Tell Scandisk to run on the next reboot and choose test for bad sectors, then reboot.

See if any of the above help, reboot into safe mode and see if this helps. If safemode does not show any improvement then do the AV recommendations above. Reboot after every un-install. I would grab "Malwarebytes" and load it up and update then run a full scan before removing anything else.

Avast IMO is a better then AVG.

If you do all these things and still have problems in safe mode, I would install a second copy of windows on the same drive next to the existing windows installation and see if issues are there, if they are not then think about wiping and installing all over again - If they are still there then think hardware and the CPU thermal compound is one that comes to mind, but this has already been pointed out.

Maybe increase the swap file size to 4GB since you should really have 2 GB min with XP - Note if you have to replace the Mem think (2 x 2GB) modules = 4 GB that way if XP will have somewhere around 3.4 GB of Mem to use.

A thought maybe your video adapter is using shared memory - This would be set in the bios - have a look and reduce the amount of mem it is hijacking.

Be sure to have pen and paper at hand to document your steps as it can get confusing.

Good Luck, You will fix it and once you do at the least create a system restore point and back up the reg some where safe.

Cheers

Here is a handy app to grab all the XP updates from MS and store them locally so you do not have to go through the painful process of updating off MS site. It is nice to have all updates to a recent date near by.

Autopatcher

reply to post by facchino


All that you said, plus... What one pair of eyes dont see, a fresh pair may see his/her first time around.


There is never just one correct answer when it comes to troubleshooting a pc problem. I see that many suggestions are pretty helpful here. No need to beat over another just to be more right than the rest. Yet... Heh, we're plagued with it.

You made a very valid point.

Since when does any 2 computer techs ever agree on anything?

Advice: Pick through the things you have not tried and see if it helps your cituation. Dont always go off one persons suggestions, because you may find a better way or more than 1 fix to more than 1 problem.

If ya find a solution that works, then everyone has at least taken part in a solution in one way or the other, if not for your specific problem, then perhaps for someone elses who reads this same thread looking for help.

Cheers!

You're what is called I/O bound.

Laptops video processors share system memory with the CPU.

That 448MB of RAM is also being shared with your Video card.

This is why your internet browsing is hanging your system...for there's no room for the system to work in any longer.
Also as to why a memory hog like IE hangs your system.

You need more RAM. I run 2GB in all of my XP Laptops. Even my Wife's ACER.

Get 2 GB of RAM and free up some disk space on the Hard Disk...the more GB you can free the better.

No need to deep six this laptop...those AMD CPU laptops make great space heaters/bed warmers in the winter time ~!