Virus or Hardware problem? 2

[jazzman111]

Recently my PC has developed some problems. I'm running Windows XP and use Foxfire 3.0 as my browser. I also use Vipre as my anti-virus program. A few weeks ago, I began to notice my performance when loading programs, and even features like mail in Foxfire, was slowing down considerably. It also takes seemingly forever for the computer to boot up. So I ran the "Remove Programs" program and deleted a number of those I didn't use any more. I also ran the defrag program. I checked the history on my Vipre program and found it was scanning daily, as I had scheduled it. It reported no viruses that it had not been able to eliminate.

Recently, I uncharacteristically left my PC on over night. (I usually religiously go through the prescribed shut-down process.) Since then, if the PC is idle for an hour or so, I find that a large, dark, rectangle shape appears in the middle of the screen--and the bottom tray that normally shows the "Start" icon on the left and other programs' icons on the right--is no longer visible.

Sorry for the long-winded description, but here's my question: does it sound like I have a virus problem here? A hardware problem? Both?

 

[BadBigBen]

Are you suggesting I run HijackThis and delete those the three items you listed?

never-mind, I found them on the net...

there is nothing suspicious otherwise in the log...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[jazzman111]

One other possible clue. On a fairly often basis (e.g. just now), when I turn on the PC, I get a black screen with the error message: "Disk Read Error Restart: Ctrl Alt Del" Once I execute the latter, Windows loads, including with the "start" icon, etc. visible.

 

[kjv1611]

Disk Read Error

That's common with hard drive and/or controller/cable issues.

First thing I'd suggest is back your data up IMMEDIATELY, assuming you haven't already done so.

Then if you want to check to see if you can find the culprit, try downloading the ultimate boot cd, burn it, and boot from it, run some scans on your hardware.

Also, you could just try a couple of the hard drive manufacturers' scanning tools - WD, Seagate/Maxtor - each have utilities on their websites. Or if you can't find them there, they are probably on the boot CD - I forget.

Also, you can try these apps for just general clean-up of Windows:

IObit Advanced System Utilities

Glary Utilities

Or if you can afford to spend say $50 on a new hard drive, you could easily just buy a new one, transfer the data over or reinstall, and call it a day. If the problem resurfaced, then you'd know it wasn't the hard drive, but you'd also have an extra drive now.

I'd say it's a good chance it's the hard drive. It may not be, but it does look that way.

Another thing you could check just to be sure is your RAM - just use another scanner off of ultimate boot CD, and that should tell you well enough.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[NESWalt]

When you have the black box and missing Start bar, what is the memory usage like?

The reason I ask is that I've had issues with my XP MCE 2005 version with less than a gig of RAM. It would work fine for a while, but then after a day or so would just crawl unless I rebooted it. I upped the RAM in that particular box to 2 Gig and haven't had a problem since.

If there is an app with a memory leak (that is it takes memory and never gives it back), it could be a potential culprit.

 

[jazzman111]

After talking with a friend who is more technical than me (a fairly low bar), I'm becoming more inclined to think it's my hard drive. When I get the time, I may download and run the diagnostic programs suggested most recently, above, but if that doesn't work, I'm thinking it might be time to start looking for one of those places specializes in fixing these things.

 

[kjv1611]

If you buy a new HDD, you'll likely come out cheaper than "one of those places specializes in fixing these things." I'm talking, of course, about places such as Best Buy and related.

Then again, if you know someone who works on PCs in your area, and know they're trustworthy - say through a friend or something, then you could come out better for it... assuming you don't want to try to sort it out yourself. I've come to accept that many people don't want to figure it out on their own, and as such, I get some side PC work myself.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[bvic01]

That whole read error thing sheds alot of light on the situation. I suspect the hard drive as well but nothing can be done until you actually test the drive. I recommend Ultimate boot cd as well. It has most manufacturer's utilities already on the cd and it is free. Run some tests on your hardware and let us know.

 

[BadBigBen]

either the UBCD or Download the TOOL from the manufacturer (HDD that is) website...

here is a list:

Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities

http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[jazzman111]

Again, I'm not a real techy, but as far as I'm able to determine, my hard drive is an Intel Pentium. Am I missing something? If so, how do I find out what make my hard drive is?

 

[BadBigBen]

Again, I'm not a real techy, but as far as I'm able to determine, my hard drive is an Intel Pentium.

You where not kidding... The Intel Pentium is a CPU not a HDD... the HDD sits usually at the front of the PC case, looks like a metal brick with cables coming out in the back...

looks something like this:

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[jazzman111]

Well, I plead guilty to not being much of a techy! As it turns out, I have an appointment with one of the tech guys who supports the company I work for and I plan to see if he might be able to help with this problem. Thanks.

 

[kjv1611]

Let us know how it goes, as I'm sure we'll all be interested.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[jazzman111]

Will be sure to. You guys have been great.

 

[bvic01]

Good luck! Tech guys at work are always a great tool for people. I work as a helpdesk technician at a compnay and we have people come up to us all the time with questions about their personal computers. While we're not going to fix ur personal computer on company time, most of us would be more than happy to take a look on personal time and charge much more reasonable rates than geeksquad or those services. Plus, you usually actually get someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[jazzman111]

I talked with one of the best tech support guys who supports our company about the issue and gave him a run down of the steps above. He said, given the reasonable prices around on desktop deals, I'd be better off buying a new computer. Mine is at least 5 years old. I don't do games and use my home PC for personal and business purposes (creating word docs, etc.), so I don't have to spend a lot for graphics. Any suggestions from you guys on what kind of PCs I might want to consider, where am I going to find the best deals, etc.? I looked at a website the tech guy pointed me to (I forget the name) and found a Dell package for low $400s that included a 22" LCD monitor. I need to do more research, but that kind of deal sounds pretty tempting.

 

[Grenage]

Dell machines are usually quite decent; as long as you don't want it next day, they're fine.

"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area" - Major Mike Shearer

 

[kjv1611]

You can also find some deals on eBay. Just be careful about the sellers, and be sure to read the description. There are some excellent buys there, as well as some rippoffs.

In general, you can't go wrong with NewEgg.com, though I don't think they do much on computer systems compared to parts... they do have several, but just not as much choice as the components.

Also TigerDirect.com usually has good deals on systems. That very well could be where your tech guy sent you to.

TigerDirect has one laptop at $329 after rebate, I guess shipping would be about $30. But I would still have a problem recommending it if you want to keep it for a long time.

The one at TigerDirect I would recommend (costs more, of course) is this one:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...?EdpNo=4830677&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs

It's $600, but it's got a lot to offer for the price. It has practically any connection you'd need/want, and it has a hefty processor, plent of RAM, plenty of HDD space, and a 16 inch screen. That's pretty nice and big on a laptop.

Considering you're looking at desktops, and don't do any high-end stuff, this one should get you by for at least a few years, possibly another 5+, just depends upon whether or not your needs/wants change. And it'd use less electricity than most desktops, and you'd have built-in battery back-up. And with a laptop, if you decide you WANT to take it with you, you can... you can't do that with a desktop - at least not as easily.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[jazzman111]

The site the tech guy recommended to me was TechBargains.com. He said it's actually a kind of online store that posts a lot of package deals offered by various PC vendors like Dell, HP, etc. When you click on a package you want to investigate, it takes you directly to the vendor's own website and you're actually ordering directly from them. Haven't had a chance to look through it a lot, but it looks like there are a lot of good deals there.

 

[jazzman111]

Hey guys:

Just to close the loop on this thread, I recently bought a new computer system. I bought a refurbished emachines with 320 gig HD, 4gig of memory and a 22" Nec monitor. (Despite the fact that I'd always heard the latter were highly reliable, mine turned out to be defective and I had to return it for a new one. I also bought the system from a local dealer, vs. going the internet--major vendor site route. Total cost for these features and a number of others was just about $650. (A techy friend told me the Dells and the H-Ps are in such a margin scqueeze they've been cutting back on the quality of the parts they're putting into their machines these days.)

Anyway, I'm in the tedious process of installing programs and transferring data--as well as trying to get used to Vista. (So far, I think XP is a lot easier and more intuitive to use, but that's another subject!)

Once again, thanks to all of you who helped with your advice. This is a great Forum!

 

[kjv1611]

Glad you got all set up. Yes, some things are easier in XP, but some are actually easier on Vista - once you get used to it, of course.

One thing I really like when I'm on a Vista machine is how you can hit the Start menu, then just start typing a word from a Document, or title of an application, and it'll bring it up in a search list, where you just click it and go - easier for me, sometimes, than navigating through folders/menus.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me