Blue Window 1

[salametomy]

I occasionally experience a blue window when attempting to log on to Earthlink advising me to continue by…Ctrl- Alt- Delete or hit any key. This usually results in the computer (Sony laptop 215, 850 MHz, ME) to freeze. The only solution is to close utilizing the on button and go through a scan disk at start-up. Any thoughts on how I can eliminate this interruption would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Salametomy

 

[Alcom]

Has it always done this? Has anything changed recently on your computer that you can attribute this problem to? If it's a new anomoly, try and do a system restore to a point before you were having problems. (It's a wonderful tool, it won't undo your work, just registry changes from activities like installing software!)

Please describe your software environment as well as your networking hardware setup. I'm not familiar with laptop hardware, but I think someone might relate to your Bluescreen if you can provide more details on your running applications.

 

[salametomy]

The problem seems to only occur after I am automatically disconnected from my ISP - Earthlink. When I try to re-connect I get the blue screen. I have managed to Ctrl, Alt & Delete to close conmgr then perform a conventional restart. I have experienced the problem for several months and have installed a few new programs including Dragon - Naturally Speaking. I believe it may be in the Earthlink program - this is just an unqualified guess.

 

[Alcom]

Dial-up connection? Make sure you have the latest drivers for your modem manufacturer's web site, as well as mainboard chipset drivers (and perhaps your BIOS needs to be flashed). I'm guessing, I'm not sure how old your computer is. Please post your hardware specs.

 

[salametomy]

The subject laptop is a Sony, 850mghz, 128 MB Ram, 8 Gig HD, 32 Bit, 1 1/2 yrs old. ME operating system, Office XP, ACT!, Quicken, Dragon Nat Speaking and Norton Anti Virus are the main programs. I have closed most of my start up programs and now close everything prior to reconnecting to Earthlink ...and this seems to help.
I appreciate your assistance. I will update the above suggested items at after your review of this e-mail.

Salametomy

 

[Alcom]

Another tool you could use is msconfig, (which is what you would type at the start>run box to access the utility). From there, open the Startup tab and uncheck the programs you know you don't need 1 at a time. Using this "Selective Startup" allows you to isolate the buggy program. If there are programs you're unsure of, rather than disabling them straight away as you work through your issues, do a google search on the executables name to find out what it is and whether or not you can afford to disable it. Your method of closing them from the program manager is also a good way to do this, but having them run at startup may leave lingering .vxd and .dll tidbits in memory.

Your system sounds new enough that you shouldn't have problems like these (even with ME's track record). Good luck!

 

[salametomy]

Thanks ALCOM for your help it is greatly appreciated.

Salametomy

 

[thebest2uDon]

salametomy,
Go to windows Me FAQ #5

thebest2uDon