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Posted: |
Sep 9, 2015 - 11:22 PM
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By: |
dragon53
(Member)
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My pc's problems have gotten worse to the point my pc barely works. Consequently, I doubt I'll be posting the Movie/TV News unless the pc problems are solved. Since the problems have been going on for months and have gotten worse instead of better, the prognosis doesn't look good for the Movie/TV News.
Tonight, it took me two hours to get on the internet. My Avast antivirus stopped working tonight, and I was unable to download it again.
My pc freezes several times an hour, and I frequently get popups warning about Unresponsive Shockwave and Unresponsive Script and blue screens saying my pc is being scanned and repaired. Yesterday, I got an Avast popup saying my pc takes 229 seconds to start. Right now at the bottom of my screen, it says, "Mozilla Firefox seems slow...to...start. Learn how to Speed It Up" (I tried and it didn't speed up).
If anyone has any suggestions about solving these problems, post them here.
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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2015 - 12:42 AM
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By: |
Mike_J
(Member)
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Firstly, thanks for all the effort you have put in before with your regular movie and TV news - it would be a shame to see that go just because of technology failures!
Ok a few suggestions for you:
Firstly, have you de-fragged your PC in the last year? If you don't know what I'm talking about then you haven't and I'll talk you through what you should do. This will solve a huge amount of issues.
A PC clean up will also de-clutter a lot of unnecessary rubbish that is probably clogging up you r machine and if you haven't se-fragged then chances are you haven't done this either. Again, happy to talk you through it.
Next up, when you can get onto the Internet, Google Malwarebytes and download that free program. If you can't get online at all, see if you can do it from a friend's PC or laptop and download it to a USB stick and run the program on your machine from there. It sounds to me like you have a lot of malware which is corrupting your system and this has probably got through Avast.
Not sure why you can't re-install Avast but you should definitely try again because I suspect you are probably riddled with viruses (well, your PC, not you personally!). I would suggest in-install your original Avast (again I'll talk you through this if you need me to) and then try a fresh install, again if necessary via a USB drive.
If all else fails it may be best to do a fresh installation of your operating system, once you have backed up whatever data you want to keep. If you have the discs that came with the PC this is an easy process.
Hope this is helpful - if you do need me to talk you through any of the above processes, let me know what version of Windows you are running.
Mike
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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2015 - 2:48 AM
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By: |
Grecchus
(Member)
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If you haven't loaded anything new or major to your system in a long time, it's a good idea to restore an earlier version of your registry. Say, to a time before the problems started to surface.
The old PC I'm using has a minimal working set of software on it covering everything I could conceivably want to use. I have the same info copied to a cloned hard-drive. The A system is in constant use. If the drive gets corrupted I'll zero it, then copy the B system onto it. I covered how I do this a few years ago. Basically the drives I'm using are Western Digital made, so I use Data Lifeguard (a very comprehensive Western Digital setup) to effect the transfer from the B system back to A, making sure there is no internet connection while I'm at it. This way everything, including the bootable OS, is recovered and comprehensive functionality returns with a minimum of fuss.
It just means you have to invest in a compatible system of two drives and become a little familiar with a low-level overview of any mass data transfer facilities available from the hard-disk manufacturer. The idea is that, rather than waste a huge amount of time tinkering with a failing system, just wipe the slate clean and start again not too far from where you left off.
These days, you need to create a recoverable snapshot of your system before you install anything new. That means backup your registry before the installation!
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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2015 - 5:38 AM
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By: |
Solium
(Member)
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Toss it and get a new computer! There comes a time when a desktop cannot be fixed. I had numerous issues with my last PC, even had it looked at professionally. I defragged it, tried anti virus software, reinstalled the whole operating system-twice. Still the thing wouldn't work right, sluggish as a snail, and was a monumental headache.
Of course if you can't afford a new computer I understand then you are stuck with what you have.
I really appreciate the hard work that goes into your Movie/TV news threads. (even though most of my replies are sarcastic towards the industry as a whole!) So like many others, thank you for doing them for us. 
Internet hobbies should be fun. If at the end of the day it becomes an increasingly frustrating experience, then by all means take a break, or don't mess with it anymore.
Nothing can drive me more bats than a malfunctioning computer or bad internet connection. You heard of road rage, I get computer rage. Save your life and your soul!
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Posted: |
Sep 10, 2015 - 6:41 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Firstly, thanks for all the effort you have put in before with your regular movie and TV news - it would be a shame to see that go just because of technology failures!
Ok a few suggestions for you:
Firstly, have you de-fragged your PC in the last year? If you don't know what I'm talking about then you haven't and I'll talk you through what you should do. This will solve a huge amount of issues.
A PC clean up will also de-clutter a lot of unnecessary rubbish that is probably clogging up you r machine and if you haven't se-fragged then chances are you haven't done this either. Again, happy to talk you through it.
Next up, when you can get onto the Internet, Google Malwarebytes and download that free program. If you can't get online at all, see if you can do it from a friend's PC or laptop and download it to a USB stick and run the program on your machine from there. It sounds to me like you have a lot of malware which is corrupting your system and this has probably got through Avast.
Not sure why you can't re-install Avast but you should definitely try again because I suspect you are probably riddled with viruses (well, your PC, not you personally!). I would suggest in-install your original Avast (again I'll talk you through this if you need me to) and then try a fresh install, again if necessary via a USB drive.
If all else fails it may be best to do a fresh installation of your operating system, once you have backed up whatever data you want to keep. If you have the discs that came with the PC this is an easy process.
Hope this is helpful - if you do need me to talk you through any of the above processes, let me know what version of Windows you are running.
Mike
Avast, ye landlubbers 
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It's hard to prescribe without knowing the specs of your machine. Perhaps you need to instal more RAM.
Try everything mentioned above, and also, if you haven't defragged in ages you MIGHT just have a million system-restore points going back centuries. Try an early one of those, before problems began.
Get rid of every cookie, every temp file. Back up on an expansion drive, and, hey, you could even take that to your local public library computer suite?
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Posted: |
Sep 11, 2015 - 5:49 AM
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By: |
Ian J.
(Member)
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Surely, one of the easiest things to do is run a diagnostic on the hard-drive? I've never had a hard disk die on me, although I've seen a couple DvD drives pack up. They tend to go through a phase where it takes several attempts to read disk information, as though coming across read errors. So they can linger a while before biting the dust.
I always thought that when hard drives fail the end is sudden and catastrophic. Come to think of it, which part generally or statistically goes first: the electric motor or the read/write assembly?
Edit: I tend to set the hard disk to turn off if left unattended after 5 minutes.
Well, it depends. If you're a savvy power user then getting hold of an ISO for a boot disc with HDD diagnostics, creating a CD or DVD, and setting your PC up to boot from it isn't hard. Neither is choosing the right program on the disc to run. But if you're not a power user then it could be a daunting prospect.
I've had HDDs fail on me, and not always suddenly. There are various reasons, but I think the most common (in no particular order) would be surface wear; read/write head wear or failure; mechanical failure (either the spindle bearing or some other moving component); integrated circuit failure.
With HDDs, one of the recommended things to do is leave it up and running, and not to keep spinning it up and down all the time. HDDs in servers that are on 24/7 tend to last longer (in terms of hours running) than those in workstations or PCs that turn off or go to standby regularly. Of course, server HDDs probably fail over fewer calendar days because they are running constantly, whereas the desktops/laptops often don't run as many hours per day, so last more calendar days on average. For instance (and I'm touching wood here) my laptop's HDD is over 9 years old, but still seems to be ok, and it's been spun up and down like a yo-yo!
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Posted: |
Sep 13, 2015 - 3:29 PM
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By: |
dragon53
(Member)
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My pc is barely functioning now and is near death, so something needs to be done now.
My pc is a Dell C-521, Vista Home Basic, (222gb, 186 gb free)
Problems: extremely slow in all modes (pass word, startup, internet, shutting down) with popups for Shockwave not Responding, Script not Responding and freezing.
Also, the pc has on its own automatically run Check Disk and Startup Repair scans. Also, Avast antivirus does not run and won't turn on.
Assuming the hard drive is dying and has to be replaced, I need step-by-step instructions to replace the hard drive the first time before my pc dies completely.
My pc came with the following dvds:
1. Operating System--reinstallation dvd (already installed on your computer).
2. Drivers and Utilities--reinstallation dvd (already installed on your computer)
3. Application--for reinstalling Cyberlink PowerDvd 7.0 software (already installed on your computer).
4. Drivers and User Documentation--Dell LCD flat panel monitor (apparently not installed on pc).
5. Microsoft Works 8.5 (apparently not installed on pc).
6. Roxio Creator & MyDvd 9.0 DE (apparently not installed on pc).
Also, 7 years ago, Dell sent me a repacement hard drive (refurbished to replace my original hard drive). It came with the following dvds:
1. Operating System--reintallation dvd for Windows Home Basic 32 bit (already installed on your computer).
2. Drivers and Utilities--for installing Dell Dimension and XPS software (already installed on your computer).
3. Dell Application (already installed on your computer)
Also, my ATT&T DSL includes a support cd.
As for backup, I did a backup on flash drive about 2 years ago which took hours to complete. Any suggestions on a new backup on flashdrive or dvd?
Again, I need step-by-step, easy to understand instructions on installing the new hard drive before the pc dies since I may get only 1-2 chances.
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Posted: |
Sep 14, 2015 - 2:53 AM
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By: |
Ian J.
(Member)
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With the strong possibility of data loss I'd recommend getting someone knowledgeable of maintaining PCs to get a back up of the HDD, as no matter how any of us try to explain it we might miss a step in our instructions and all could go pear-shaped.
If it were me doing the work, I'd take the HDD out, attach it to another PC, and grab a disk image via Acronis TrueImage before doing anything else. That way, at least there is a copy of the data somewhere other than the suspect drive.
I'd then do a thorough set of scans with non-windows utilities software on your HDD to see just what state it's in. If it's truly buggered, then I'd put a replacement HDD in your PC and run through the Dell install discs, starting with the Operating System and slowly adding software until it was back up and running, and taking Acronis disk images regularly so that there is always a viable fall back point to work with.
This answer isn't meant to be a set of instructions, it's an advisory to get the HDD backed up ASAP via, if at all possible, another PC.
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Posted: |
Sep 14, 2015 - 4:27 AM
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By: |
Ralph
(Member)
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My pc is barely functioning now and is near death, so something needs to be done now.
All the aggravation you’re going through isn’t worth squat because your Dell is spec-wise obsolete and in the last churnings of terminalitis. Don’t spend a dime more of your time or money on it. Bad for your health: we can all sense your blood pressure might be getting dangerously high.
First and last question: have you backed up your personal data lately?
Now, go buy a new computer. As you know, Dell and Walmart and other outlets sell refurbished, if it’s a question of cost. In any purchase, buy nothing less than a jobbie with 8 GB of Ram. 12 would be better, or with hefty ram expandability. Avoid Windows 8, 8.1, unless you’re willing to gamble on a Windows 10 update installation. The one benefit of machines with 8, 8.1 is that they are more current with the kinds of drivers Win 10 needs. 10 is very picky about video/graphics drivers, as users of Win 7 can attest. OTOH, if we can assume you’ve been using Vista all along, Win 7, fully updated, is a logical choice. There’s practically no learning curve and the operating system is backward-compatible with a variety of software and probably trouble-free for using your backed-up personal files.
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