I need an expert opinion-computer acting "weird"

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LA GRL

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Hi. you guys seem to be pretty clued up about computers. My knowledge is not the greatest (i.e. dont use big words). All I care to know is how to go on the internet which I LOVE.

Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone knew what to call my computers "condition". Whenever I log onto the internet with my wireless connection it will be about 45 min and my internet will switch itself off while im still on it. I normally struggle to re-establish connection. I have to switch computer off and back on again. The one day my computer just switched itself off and straight back on again after disconnecting the internet. The cursor moves all around the screen by itself whether Im connected to the internet or not (which is frustating).

I only have the norton trial pack that came with my computer for security.
(My computer is only 3 months old-I bought it brand new from a store).

I have a bitdefender pack which is still new in its packaging. should I load it and try to find the virus? Im worried my computer might crash from the virus along with my money i paid for the bitdefender. oh, and I didnt make any back-ups as I didnt know how.

Expert advice would be greatly appreciated.

Shouldn't be hard work for you boffins ;)
 
Sounds like you might have some sort of RAS or trojan installed ,i wouldd advise the following.

Uninstall norton

Download avg free edition from grisoft.com
Zonealarm free from zonelabs.com
spybot and adaware - free software - simply google it

Reboot into windows and update all above programs .
Reboot in safe mode ( press f8 and choose safe mode ) scan using avg free.Then scan using spybot and adaware .

This get you closer to solving the problem ;)
 
It depends which version of Bitdefender you have. The Internet Security version contains an Anti-Virus, Firewall and Spyware built into it.

That having been said there is no reason you can't get what arkunsan recommended.
I have found that AVG sometimes misses one or two things but you get free updates a few times a day so that isn't too bad.

The fact that these software products are free doesn't take away from their effectiveness and they have a good reputation amongst PC users.
So don't be afraid of using them.

Just as a side note. Please uninstall Nortan before you install any of these software packages as it messes things up if you do. :p
 
Thanks guys. I'm definitely going to try it. If one of you don't mind could you explain to me how to do a back-up. I have a blank dvd that came with the packaging and im using windows vista.
 
LA GRL said:
Thanks guys. I'm definitely going to try it. If one of you don't mind could you explain to me how to do a back-up. I have a blank dvd that came with the packaging and im using windows vista.
Click to expand...

If I can be so bold as to suggest throwing Vista out and install either XP or Ubuntu instead of Vista?

Vista still gives problems, and my recommendation is to uninstall it completely and stick with XP or Ubuntu until all the issues has been resolved properly.

Regards

Libs
 
The_Librarian said:
If I can be so bold as to suggest throwing Vista out and install either XP or Ubuntu instead of Vista?

Vista still gives problems, and my recommendation is to uninstall it completely and stick with XP or Ubuntu until all the issues has been resolved properly.

Regards

Libs
Click to expand...

QTF :D
 
Unlikely that the poor girl will venture into the depths installing a different OS. Install the software first. Out of curiosity, is it a desktop or a laptop and how do you connect to the internet? ADSL? If so, are you making use of a wireless connection to your ADSL router(the box that plugs into the phoneline)?
 
Libs ;-):
I have a XP OS disc which I can install. Is it safe to install it over the originally loaded OS and also I think the store might throw their guarantee out the door if I fiddle where I don't belong. I must add I agree with replacing Vista as from my experience with it, I am not their biggest fan and never had problems with XP.

Mesugga:
I have a cheapie Acer desktop and use Huawei/vodaphone USB wireless modem.

Thanks guys.
 
Yeah, you have some naughty software on there then. Ask the store whether you'll void your warranty but it's unlikely. I'd suggest making sure you have all the drivers and things you need, then do a format on your system and install XP fresh. If memory serves, Microsoft supplied a way at some point to go back to XP from Vista, but I've never tried it so don't know how complicated it is. Fresh install's anyway better
 
Why not just do this.

Backup your email, all files you downloaded and want to keep, contacts lists, address book, bookmarks, internet connection settings and any drivers you downloaded for that, and so on, burn them onto the DVD as mentioned earlier OR use the Microsoft Backup program - I assume Vista has this as XP Home/Pro have it.

Then do a complete restoration of your system from the Recovery disks (Vista) which
came with the machine. The Acer utililty (eRecovery) which does this (based on Norton Ghost) usually deletes the contents of the harddrive first.

Acer laptops also have a HIDDEN RESTORATION partition of about 3GB containing the Operating System files
in Norton Ghost files. You may alternatively boot that, by pressing ALT and F10 during system startup.
You will loose all your files on your Windows partition so save your important files first.


Now you have a fresh system preloaded with all the drivers. Install your Bitdefender suite plus any of the products
mentioned in the earlier posts. Scan the backup you made and restore it with the
AntiVirus running in memory - scan all your documents, email attachments
and any programs you downloaded. This should not VOID the warranty at all.

This should cure any virus problems AND it should fix registry corruptions causing weird
internet disconnects. If your problems persist it could be BAD MEMORY (or some other
hardware problem) in your machine.
You will need to return the system to Acer (backup first) to get them to check the
RAM and so on.
 
Last edited:
LA GRL said:
oh, and I didnt make any back-ups as I didnt know how.
Click to expand...
This would be an excellent place to start.;)

Maybe this software can help you make backups.

LA GRL said:
Is it safe to install it over the originally loaded OS and also I think the store might throw their guarantee out the door if I fiddle where I don't belong.
Click to expand...
No, the store will only give you grief warranty-wise if you attack the computer with a screwdriver. You can change the software freely.

I wouldn't try to install it on top of the other OS. During the XP install it allows you to format the harddisk & start from scratch. This means you lose the data though which is why you need the backups.;)
 
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