blind-fitter Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 My computer persistently switches off and re-boots itself these days. Also I sometimes get what I call a "screen- freeze", where no programmes respond and the cursor will not budge, no response to "C + Alt + Del", with the result that I have to turn the computer off manually. I don't think this has anything to do with viruses (viri?), as my Norton Anti-Virus Protection, (which has served me well for the last two years), is up-to-date and claims to be functioning properly. On the advice of an "in-the-know" colleague, I also ran Spybot Search And Dsetroy a couple of weeks back, but the problem remains. I have also had the side of the computer off to clean dust out of the fan,(several weeks ago now) but that also doesn't seem to have had much effect, if any. Are all my music files and Word documents in jeopardy??? What do I need to do? Any advice welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSYCHOcatholic Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Happened to me one time... Always think of the most simple thing first...make sure your reset button isnt stuck. A program called Ad-Aware is pretty good. You might also wanna check all your computer settings, your registry, different things like that. But, it is possible that viruses can reboot your computer, but if you have norton, thats almost impossible to get a virus that bad. I would have to say a simple adware got in to a certain file and now, you just have to find that file. Next time you turn on your computer, try disconnecting your internet, see if that works. If it works, run your norton again. If you can stay online long enough, download Ad-Aware from cnet.com How old is your computer, the screen freezing worries me and what Operating System are you running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 The shutting down and restarting usually signals a problem with the power supply. I had that problem. I had mine replaced for $45.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daslied Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Mine did that once, and it was because of a virus. Norton did nothing for it, but an IT guy fixed it up for a few bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malakin Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Could even be Norton. Norton is a big steaming pile of doo-doo. Get yourself AVG anti-virus for free and a-squared malware protection download them, disconnect from the internet, turn off norton, and run both of those programs. If those don't help, then Onkel Joe's probably right about your power supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 If you could reveal your operating system, that would help. Apart from that Norton is no good anymore and my laptop is surviving using ZoneAlarm for viruses(ii), spyware and firewall. It could also be a memory problem... perhaps you are running too many programs at one time? Too many windows open? Have you performed a cleanup and defragmentation recently? I don't think that's the cause, but it does help keep things tidy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Mine did that too once, and in the end I had to try to save as much data as I could and buy a new hard drive. There had been a number of power short cuts in the past (not just the computer, but the whole house), and all that sudden switching off and switching back on again broke the hard drive beyond repair. I don't think that's the case with yours, though. I don't hope so either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSYCHOcatholic Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 ...whatever you do, dont try opening your power supply up and seeing if its broken. See, im a computer freak...lets just say i learned the hard way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Yep, I'm thinking power supply. You could try to see if there is any overheating as well that could be causing it to shut off and freeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Buy a 4 dollar can of compressed air, open the case (outside, where flying dust won't cause a domestic brawl), and have at it. Dust (particularly around the power supply and heat-sinks) acts as in insulator, a blanket, and traps heat in allowing the power supply to fever-up and shut the whole smash down. Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Are all my music files and Word documents in jeopardy??? only if you don't back them up. That'd be the first thing I'd do if I were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Hmmmmm. Thanks for all your helpful suggestions, folks. I'm a bit of a babe-in-the-woods where the computer's concerned. I've had disasters in the past, but thankfully not for the last couple of years. Some of the terminology you have used has me a bit befuddled, (what operating system do I use? ) but I'll look into these suggestions and try some out; might need a friend to help me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Which Windows ya got? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Windows XP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Buy a 4 dollar can of compressed air, open the case (outside, where flying dust won't cause a domestic brawl), and have at it. Dust (particularly around the power supply and heat-sinks) acts as in insulator, a blanket, and traps heat in allowing the power supply to fever-up and shut the whole smash down. Ken. Just imagine this if you will. It's 1975, and someone says. "I just bought a bottle of water at the grocery store, and a can of air at radio shack" But Ken is quite right!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 BF, get a Mac. At last you won´t get virus. You´ll have some of the same problems due to Windows and so, but it´s a great machine. I will have to buy a Mac laptop as soon as I´m rich again cause my BigMac is quite old... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcM Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 I will have to buy a Mac laptop as soon as I´m rich again cause my BigMac is quite old... McDonalds makes computers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 It's McDonald's Mac-weeks until the 23rd of September. One Mac per Happy Meal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Hats off to obesity! I watched half of a documentary on the History Channel about food. How pizza chains, hamburger franchises and KFC came to America. My cholestrol went up just looking at the burgers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 Obese is the new skinny, or so I've heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 I'm so unhip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 You'll never be hip if you continue being too lazy to get up and eat when you're hungry. Of course you lose weight by going to the kitchen, but you might get up once and carry all the food to your room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 But it's so FAR!!! It's 16 whole steps down and then an additional 8 to the kitchen. And then I have to walk back UP. Eating in the kitchen is no fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 And the worst thing is that even if you do manage to reach the kitchen without fainting with exhaustion, you almost always realise that there's nothing that you like to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 That's right... the cupboards are pretty much bare and anything edible usually needs to be cooked or assembled and thats no fun at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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