Shenan Stanley wrote:
<snipped>
<formatting repair attempt>
I noticed my formatting did not go through on the latter half of the
posting. That can make it very difficult to read. Therefore - this is my
first attempt at fixing that issue.
Specifications of laptop?
- Model?
- CPU installed (Name Brand, Speed, Single *and* Dual or Quad Core?)
- Amount of System Memory (RAM) - and is it shared with the Video Device?
- Information for the Video Device (Amount of RAM - either it uses from a
shared source or what it has on its own; usually Intel, nVidia or ATI -
but
also need the model...)
- Type of hard drive (Make/Model would be great but just disk or solid
state would be helpful as well.)
If you don't know that - you should download, installa and run the FREE
Belarc Advisor application:
http://belarc.com/Programs/advisor.exe
(It will tell you all I asked for in general terms and more. I would
print
out the results - you may need it if this machine requires a rebuild from
scratch.)
Windows Vista Home ______ __-bit? (Basic 32-bit, Basic 64-bit, Premium
32-bit or Premium 64-bit?
What service pack is installed? (If anything other than Service Pack 2 -
after you perform my cleanup steps and the backup(s) - you will want to
get
SP2 for Windows Vista installed. If nothing else, it *did* increase the
perceptual speed of the OS for many people.)
If you don't know how to get that information:
Start button --> RUN --> type in:
(No "RUN", press the WindowsKey+R at the same time.)
winver
--> Click OK.
That will give you (picture at top) the full name of the operating system.
That will give you (in the test) the Service Pack you have installed.
How to determine whether a computer is running a 32-bit version or 64-bit
version of the Windows operating system
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827218
- How is the hard drive partitioned (single partition, multiple
partitions)?
- How much free space is available on the partition designated as the
"System" partition - usually C:\ - where the operating system is
installed?
My advice is fairly simple and straight forward and should help in any
case - although it may not fix your issue if it is a deeper one - it will
eliminate *many* possible issues.
1) Backup everything of importance. Best bet - some sort of full drive
image or complete "bare metal restoration capable" backup. If you have no
backup for this machine - a $99 U.S. investment into a Seagate Replica
external USB drive (500GB version) is well worth it for its ease of use,
multiple computer capability and the fact it can be used for daily and
bare
metal restorable backups with no real knowledge needed on your part. Or
you
can use various software packages and external drives to accomplish the
same
thing.
2) Uninstall any and all unused/unnecessary programs. Just use the proper
method for the given program to remove it. Only remove applications you
*know* you and your son do not need.
3) If any version of Norton or McAfee antivirus or full Internet
Protection
type suite is installed - uninstall it. __After__ it is uninstalled by
whatever means presented - download and run their respective removal tools
to make sure all evidence/leftovers from their prior installation is gone.
If you do remove a Norton or McAfee antivirus/suite product - please do
immediately install something else. Avira AntiVir is good and FREE. eSet
NOD32 is great (just the antivirus, no need for the entire suite) and
fairly
inexpensive. Either option is preferrable (IMO) than Norton/McAfee.
Norton Removal Tool:
http://service1.symantec.com/support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
McAfee Removal Tool:
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS100507
Avira AntiVir:
http://www.free-av.de/en/trialpay_download/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html
eSet NOD32:
http://www.eset.com/home/nod32-antivirus
4) Do some drive cleanup. You should use the Disk Cleanup tool built in,
empty the Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files and the likes, turn
off
Hibernate and delete that file for now and use something like CCleaner
after
that to clean up all other remnants of temprary and other such files.
Want a few more details?
How to use Disk Cleanup
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Delete-files-using-Disk-Cleanup
You can turn off hibernation...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/920730
You can control how much space your System Restore can use...
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/diskspacev.html
(I suggest 2GB.)
Temporary Internet Explorer Files/Cache...
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm
You can use an application that scans your system for log files and
temporary files and use that to get rid of those:
Ccleaner (Free!)
http://www.ccleaner.com/
Other ways to free up space..
JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html
SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/
Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.
5) Now that you have cleaned up stale files, you should do a full CHKDSK
on
the drive. This will require a reboot to check the system drive.
http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-vista/how-to-use-check-disk-in-windows-vista/
6) Now that you have checked (and hopefully found no errors) the drive -
you
should perform a full defragmentation. I suggest Defraggler. It'll take
some time - but should be well worth it.
http://www.piriform.com/defraggler
7) Now that your drive is free of excess baggage, your antivirus product
is
not overly taxing and it is somewhat straightened up/in order - I suggest
performing the following steps to minimize the chance you have any malware
floating about:
Reboot and logon as administrative user.
Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
(freeware version):
SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/
Reboot and logon as administrative user.
Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
(freeware version):
MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/
Reboot and logon as administrative user.
Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx
That will all but guarantee you are malware free (at least for the common
and nastiest known stuff.)
Reboot and logon as administrative user.
8) Update the hardware device drivers from the respective hardware device
manufacturers. In your case - I would use the Make/Model first to visit
the
laptop manufacturer's web page and get their supported drivers for your
OS.
Especially the motherboard chipset, video/display device, network
device(s)
and audio device.
If you need help with this step - come back and let us know.
Those are my suggestions - in the order I suggest doing them in from
thebeginning of my response on. It may seem long - but a lot of it should
have
been done in a periodic basis as it is - and should continue being done in
a
periodic basis. If you get back to this posting and respond with the
information I have requested and give the result of each suggestion I made
in the order I made it - and still need help - someone may suggest a
complete wipe of the system. Obviously there is something deeper wrong
with
it (maybe a rootkit, maybe a corrupt file/folder due to a bum
install/uninstall, etc) and even though the above seemed long - it is
nothing in comparision to troubleshooting such things and it is often
preferrable to just start fresh and restore the wanted fiules you created
from backups.
Good luck - but in any case - PLEASE do come back and let us know how you
got on...
</formatting repair attempt>
