What the heck is wrong with my laptop??!!

August 15, 2008 9:36 PM

What the heck is wrong with my computer??

So for the past week or so, my computer has been freezing up on me about 80 percent of the time I log onto the internet. It is out of control. I get this message "this program is not responding" and have to end the program, etc. Sometimes it takes a while to freeze and sometimes it is almost instantly. I noticed that when I log onto sites I use often (like Metafilter) it doesnt happen. But if I do a Google search and then click on a site I dont usually go to, it freezes right away.
I went to look for answers on the internet, but after about 3 times, I got frustrated and came here to ask you guys because I am clueless.
Its a two year old Dell Inspiron with Windows XP.

posted by osloheart to computers & internet (13 comments total)

When it freezes, press Ctrl-Alt-Del, open task manager, sort processes by CPU. What's grabbing the most resources? That's your problem, start from there. If it's IE, you might have malware/spyware installed, like a toolbar or such.
posted by suedehead at 9:44 PM on August 15, 2008

Sounds a lot like Spyware. Spybot is a good removal app to start with if you can get it to download.
posted by monkeymcgee at 9:48 PM on August 15, 2008

Its probably some sort of software conflict with a background service, or spyware, or a virus, or god knows what. Win XP just gets like that over time unless you reinstall it.

Before doing a full OS refresh try these:

Firefox or internet explorer? If youre using IE, try installing firefox or another browser and see if that does the same thing.

Try rebooting in safe mode with networking (hold f8 before the windows logo appears) and see if the same thing happens.

And try start -> run -> type 'msconfig' -> services, then disable anything that looks suspicious or nefarious. Later on once your browser is working right you can reenable anything important that you disabled by accident.

If none of that works, you should probably think about reinstalling windows, itll make everything snappy and new again, and it really isn't that hard, just annoying.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:49 PM on August 15, 2008

Oh right, before thinking about a reinstall, run Spybot, Adaware, Housecall and maybe AVG. That should take care of most common spyware issues.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:52 PM on August 15, 2008

Well, never mind on Spybot. Seems like it's been getting beat up recently. That's what our workstation monkeys use at work these days, so I thought it was still decent.
posted by monkeymcgee at 9:54 PM on August 15, 2008

A failing hard disk could conceivably make your computer behave like that, too.
posted by hattifattener at 9:59 PM on August 15, 2008

Could be the Firefox fsync problem. If it's FF, try turning off checking for forged sites.
posted by orthogonality at 10:04 PM on August 15, 2008

Oh right, before thinking about a reinstall, run Spybot, Adaware, Housecall and maybe AVG. That should take care of most common spyware issues.

Sounds a lot like Spyware. Spybot is a good removal app to start with if you can get it to download.

When it freezes, press Ctrl-Alt-Del, open task manager, sort processes by CPU. What's grabbing the most resources? That's your problem, start from there. If it's IE, you might have malware/spyware installed, like a toolbar or such.

Well, never mind on Spybot. Seems like it's been getting beat up recently.

Its probably some sort of software conflict with a background service, or spyware, or a virus, or god knows what. Win XP just gets like that over time unless you reinstall it.

My advice is to turn that computer into a cool appliance like a MAME cabinet and use a Mac or Linux system as you go-to day-to-day PC.

You can go ultra cheap (Linux) or kinda expensive (Mac) but the end result is that these issues will cease to plague you. Sure, you can fix this with a number of patches and OS restores, but then the time you spend is time lost and it will still be a temporary fix. You can live in a world where you deal with installing updates from AVG, Norton or whoever, but you could also spend that time doing other things at your computer.

No intent to start a flamewar, but the simplest solution is to change your OS.
posted by sourwookie at 11:32 PM on August 15, 2008

If the lockups are only happening when you use a Web-browser to surf the internet, then they are almost certainly caused by some browser corruption, plugin, toolbar or something of that sort. And it almost certainly can be fixed (without reinstalling Windows)

Assuming you are using Internet Explorer...here are the things I would try:

1.) Empty out all your temporary internet files and cookies.
(go to: START, Settings, Control Panel, Internet Options. Under "Browsing History" click on DELETE and choose "Delete All" making sure to check the box to "Delete all files and settings stored by add-ons")

2.) Run a full DEFRAG on the hard drive
(go to: START, Programs, Accessories, SystemTools and Disk Defragmenter. Highlight the C:\ and click the DEFRAGMENT button) It may take a while - just relax and let it do its thing :)

3.) Download the free versions of Ad-Aware and MalwareBytes "Anti-Malware". Install them, Update them, and run full scans on your hard drive. Remove whatever nasty things they detect.

4.) Try a different web-browser. Firefox is a great choice. Opera is also.

Try all those things and post back here with a reply ... we can help more.


"Win XP just gets like that over time unless you reinstall it." - T.D. Strange

While its true that XP does tend to get clogged up over time, this isnt necessarily the fault of the operating system, as much as it is the loads of flaky programs people install willy-nilly. Of course your WindowsXP is going to be unstable if you've loaded it down with 3rd party screensavers, animated-email-icons, Helper-buddy toolbars and 14 different IM/chat/filesharing applications. Running a computer is much like running your car. If you take care of it and do some regularly scheduled maintenance, it will perform to your expectations. If you treat it like crap and run it into the ground, how is that your cars fault?

I'm not saying the OP has done this.. just making a point that painting XP with a broad brush of "its just a crappy OS" is silly. I've had systems run for years without needing to be reinstalled, simply by taking care of them.
posted by jmnugent at 4:15 AM on August 16, 2008

This kind of thing, especially the freezing when you go to Google, sounds a HELL of a lot like spyware. In addition to the other spyware programs people have suggested (Adaware, etc.), download the "Cool Web Shredder," which was a freeware program developed specifically to deal with a particularly virulent strain of spyware someone developed in Russia that I saw completely undo an old boyfriend's computer once. He downloaded Cool Web Shredder and ran it, and that took care of it in one fell swoop.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:35 AM on August 16, 2008

Also check your fans with Speedfan. A fan not cooling your processor could make the same lockups happen.
posted by deezil at 8:23 AM on August 16, 2008

Type msconfig into the run box, what programs are autostarting?
posted by conrad101 at 2:35 PM on August 16, 2008

I'm not saying the OP has done this.. just making a point that painting XP with a broad brush of "its just a crappy OS" is silly. I've had systems run for years without needing to be reinstalled, simply by taking care of them.

XP is fine if you maintain it and install/uninstall programs correctly, know how to eliminate spyware, etc, etc. I use it on my laptop, and downgraded from Vista to keep using XP. (I keep wanting to dual boot linux and eventually migrate full time, but the geforce 8000 series brightness bug on sony laptops is stopping me...arghh, my eyes!!)

In my experience, the vast majority of people do not properly take care of their OS, never defrag, install stupid adware riddled flash games and toolbars, click yes on every popup box without knowing what it means, use internet explorer, download pirate software and porn off limewire and do who knows what else to the OS.

Since the OP is asking this question, he most likely falls into this or a similar typically abusive OS usage pattern, which makes XP get all cluttered and perform like crap. I've found its often easier to just recommend a OS refresh rather than trying to repair months/years of careless usage.
posted by T.D. Strange at 3:09 PM on August 16, 2008