OE lockup problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave Gower
  • Start date Start date
D

Dave Gower

My old computer with Win 98 used to lock up regularly, and my new one with
XP is much better, except that recently it's started something weird. I
should explain that I live in the boonies and can only get 56K dialup :<(.
Once every few days I come to the computer and find that the dial-up icon is
on, implying that the program has actuated it somehow. But the strange thing
is that the phone line is never busy and when this happens the machine is
locked. I can't access the dialup icon and although I can make the start and
turn off commands appear, when I hit restart or shut down it simply runs on
forever. I have to do a power down to get it to respond.

It has only started when the weather became really damp here in Eastern
Ontario so I'm wondering if noise in the phone lines could be affecting it
some how (these country lines are notoriously noisy).

Any thoughts?
 
My old computer with Win 98 used to lock up regularly, and my new one with
XP is much better, except that recently it's started something weird. I
should explain that I live in the boonies and can only get 56K dialup :<(.
Once every few days I come to the computer and find that the dial-up icon is
on, implying that the program has actuated it somehow. But the strange thing
is that the phone line is never busy and when this happens the machine is
locked. I can't access the dialup icon and although I can make the start and
turn off commands appear, when I hit restart or shut down it simply runs on
forever. I have to do a power down to get it to respond.

It has only started when the weather became really damp here in Eastern
Ontario so I'm wondering if noise in the phone lines could be affecting it
some how (these country lines are notoriously noisy).

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Something is trying to connect. It could be something as simple as a
setting in a rarely used program that says "check for updates every
month." You could explorer settings and preferences for your installed
software. You could check for spyware in case something of that sort is
trying to phone home. And you could try bringing up Task Manager
(Ctrl+Alt+Del) to see if you can catch the name of what program is trying
to dial out.

Have you thought about disabling all automatic dialup possibilities so
that a connection is *only* made when you initiate it?

Internet Options> Connections, select Never Dial.

Also, open the Network Connections window. Click Advanced in the menu bar.
On the screen that appears, there is an AutoDial page. Mark the boxes for
"always ask me before autodialing" and for "disable autodial while I am logged
on."
 
Sharon F said:
...you could try bringing up Task Manager
(Ctrl+Alt+Del) to see if you can catch the name of what program is trying
to dial out.
Click to expand...

I'll try that.
Internet Options> Connections, select Never Dial.
Click to expand...

I had already done that.
Also, open the Network Connections window. Click Advanced in the menu bar.
On the screen that appears, there is an AutoDial page. Mark the boxes for
"always ask me before autodialing"
Click to expand...

Ditto.

Thanks for the hints. But what is causing the lockup?
 
Sharon F said:
[3 quoted lines supressed]
Click to expand...

I'll try that.
[1 quoted line supressed]
Click to expand...

I had already done that.
[3 quoted lines supressed]
Click to expand...

Ditto.

Thanks for the hints. But what is causing the lockup?
Click to expand...

You're welcome. Hard to say exactly what's causing the lockup but when I
was still using dialup and before I locked it down, I would occasionally find a
program trying to make a connection. If the server on the other end was
very slow to respond to the ping for an update, the system would bog down
or lockup.

For example, imagine a graphics program or other bit of software that is
not designed to make server connections. The companies slap on an update
feature. The configurations in the default setup for updating will sometimes
become outdated - URLs change, numbers change and so on. Or the
software wasn't written to disconnect gracefully when a connection is not
available. Or it gets stuck in a loop trying to connect over and over again.

So finding the software or process that's trying to connect is a first
step. Then tracking down updates for that feature, reconfiguring it or
disabling it is the next step.

Another idea: May want to take a peek in Event Viewer to see if any extra
information from the same time span as the lockups.
 
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