IE6 and Windows Explorer - tempermental operation

[deshario]

i am viewing this page with navigator as over the last couple of days i have experienced a problem with anything on windows that uses explorer (my documents, my computer, control panel ie6 etc.) with most of these i click on them, my hard drive light comes on for a split second and then nothing happens. when i click on ie6 it starts to load and then hangs before it displays a web page. i then have to do an end task on ie6 and explorer. i thought this problem had corrected itself as it was working fine this morning but now it has come back. i have done disk scans, virus scans, defrags, reinstalled ie6 and even did a partial system restore to a point when i knew it was working and now it has come back. as you can imagine, this is causing me severe difficulties, please help. i am running windows me with a 1000mhz processor and 256mb sdram.

ps. the pc is still under warranty but the after sales support is pretty shitty. i have already had to have the hard drive replaced once (less than a month ago which took two weeks) so if it comes to it a second time does anyone know where i stand with demanding my money back (i live in the uk by the way).

thanks

 

[deshario]

using the selective startup on msconfig i have narrowed this problem down to the static vxds. are these some kind of drivers? how do i go about correcting them?

cheers

 

[reghakr]

Names of the .vxd's would help.

reghakr

 

[deshario]

i've narrowed it down to ndis.vxd

 

[reghakr]

Ndis.vxd is the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) manager. Enables multiple protocols to bind to one network adapter.

I would go to Start>Settings>ControlPanel>Network. Write down all settings, then remove all components. Shutdown and restart, go back and add them in again.

If you run into a common problem where Windows says it can't find a file...

On the first one, click the browse button and choose the c:\windows\system directory. When it comes to the 2nd one, choose the c:\windows directory.

Have you tried a repair of IE6?
Go to Start>Run, and type:
rundll32 setupwbv.dll,IE6Maintenance

reghakr

 

[deshario]

tried all of this and the problem is still there. i think it must be the actual ndis.vxd file. where can i get replacement?

 

[deshario]

forget last post. i reinstalled it from the cab files and the problem is still there. aggghhhh.

 

[deshario]

ok, new update. removed my cable modem and kept it removed. everything works fine even with ndis.vxd enabled. reinstalled the driver for cable modem and now i can't accesss my docs, ie6 etc etc. so, is there a problem with my modem driver? if there is why? it has been working fine for months and the only change i've made to the pc is to install some new ram and the pc worked fine for about a week after that so i don't think the new ram could be the cause. even more annoying is the fact that it all works fine if i disable ndis.vxd. wtf?

 

[reghakr]

How are you enabling and disabling ndis?

Try the cable modem's site or your cable company. They can't guartantee speed, but they have to guarantee reliability.

reghakr

 

[deshario]

enabling & disabling through msconfig. also did it through the step-by-step confirmation option on the boot menu. both processes produce the same results.
i will try the modem manufacturer but i'm not holding my breath!

 

[smitee]

deshario

You and rehakr seem to have it narrowed down..

In case you haven't looked at MKB

Hang at Startup or Shutdown with Ndis.vxd Enabled

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q261/7/66.asp

smitee

 

[deshario]

yeah, tried mkb but it didn't help. it seems to be alright now but i thought that the last time and theproblem came back. we will see...

thanks for your help rehakr and smitee.

 

[deshario]

ok, i get it even less now. the problem's come back again. neither the company that supplied the modem (my isp) or the modem manufacturer were any help.but check this out, after fiddling around i found that if i boot up the pc with the modem unplugged then it works fine (ie6, my docs, everything). the problem only happens when i boot the pc with the modem connected. at least this has reduced the problem from "a major pain in the arse" to "dead irritating" but i would still like to find a solution. could it be something to do with my registry getting corrupted. if it is then why does the problem seem to intermitent? bizarre.