Crashing laptop

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Mark_Henderson

Mark_Henderson

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This is a football forum, not a tech. support room, but some people here have been helpful with this stuff in the past.

I have a laptop that has started giving blue screen errors and crashing daily and now multiple times/day. I am running Kaspersky, though this seems to have started after I viewed some videos that are umm - questionable.

After the blue screen crash, I'm at first unable to reboot windows, but then after turning it off and waiting a while, I've been able to get it back. Just hitting control/alt/delete when my screen was frozen led to a blue screen crash. My concern is that one of these times, I won't be able to get Windows back at all. I even just got a message while typing this that Windows Explorer had stopped working, which I was able to exit out of.

Do you guys have any advice on what I should do to resolve this? Obviously, back up my hard drive to the cloud, but I'm already runinng automatic Kaspersky virus scans and disk defragmentations. What other steps might be a good idea to try to resolve what's happening?

Thanks.
 
I would try running CHKDSK from the DOS command prompt and see if your hard drive is on the way out.
 
Mark_Henderson said:
This is a football forum, not a tech. support room, but some people here have been helpful with this stuff in the past.

I have a laptop that has started giving blue screen errors and crashing daily and now multiple times/day. I am running Kaspersky, though this seems to have started after I viewed some videos that are umm - questionable.

After the blue screen crash, I'm at first unable to reboot windows, but then after turning it off and waiting a while, I've been able to get it back. Just hitting control/alt/delete when my screen was frozen led to a blue screen crash. My concern is that one of these times, I won't be able to get Windows back at all. I even just got a message while typing this that Windows Explorer had stopped working, which I was able to exit out of.

Do you guys have any advice on what I should do to resolve this? Obviously, back up my hard drive to the cloud, but I'm already runinng automatic Kaspersky virus scans and disk defragmentations. What other steps might be a good idea to try to resolve what's happening?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You might want to take your Laptop. To staples or best buy . Have them do a virus & Mal ware scran. I would guess it uploaded a virus. Once you watched those questionable videos . I had That happened to Me 2 years ago. I had Kaspersky it couldn't detect the virus.
 
You could try deleting Kaspersky and adding Avira Free which is rated far better than Kaspersky which is not free.

Or get a Mac. :coffee:
 
You can get a free malware scan remotely at TrendMicro.com it works very well.
 
king of kings said:
You might want to take your Laptop. To staples or best buy . Have them do a virus & Mal ware scran. I would guess it uploaded a virus. Once you watched those questionable videos . I had That happened to Me 2 years ago. I had Kaspersky it couldn't detect the virus.
Click to expand...

Always comforting.

Walk of shame to help desk.

"Hmmm. Let me ask a co-worker."

"Hey Lou! What was the fix for that porn virus from SpankFest?"

(muffled like Peanuts teacher)

"Huh?!?!"

"SpankFest!"

"The porn site!"

And you turn around and the heavyset teacher from your kids class last year is picking up copies.

And her jaw when she sees its you.
 
chevss454 said:
You could try deleting Kaspersky and adding Avira Free which is rated far better than Kaspersky which is not free.

Or get a Mac. :coffee:
Click to expand...

Agreed. My hearts on fire, for Alvira. :coffee:

Cheers, BostonTim
 
It could also be coincidence that the computer started crashing around the same time as the questionable browsing and it is a hardware failure (hard disk, memory, or overheating most likely.)
 
Undertaker #59* said:
It could also be coincidence that the computer started crashing around the same time as the questionable browsing and it is a hardware failure (hard disk, memory, or overheating most likely.)
Click to expand...

That's my thought as well.
You can break into the BIOS on startup (repeatedly hit F1 immediately after power on) and run hardware diagnostics.
 
OK, a few things.

First, what is the message you get when you get the BSOD?

Look for two things: What type of error and with what process/program.

Is it the same error or different ones?

If it's the same, Google it and you'll likely find a bunch of "how to" links to do something about it.

If the process/program is a driver (e.g., your graphics driver) then updating the driver could fix your problem.

Word of caution, laptops often don't use the generic windows driver but need custom ones for that particular hardware.

If you have a Dell, their website can scan your PC and tell you exactly what you have and what are the correct drivers for it.

Other manufacturers do the same, but I'm not as familiar with them.

If it's a memory related issue, the RAM could be going south.

Download Memtest and run it. If you have bad memory, you may be able to replace it, depending on the laptop design. Some are easy to get to the memory and replace it, some are a nightmare.

If you suspect malware I'd download and run two programs: Malwarebyte and Superantispyware

These will find stuff many other antimalware programs won't.

It couldn't hurt to get Iobit's Advanced System Care Free and run that.

This program will clean up a lot of performance issues that could be causing some of your problems.

They also have a driver check program that you could use to update a driver if you need to.

I'd also check installed programs to see if something was installed that could be causing the problems.

Sort on date and look at everything that was installed since you started having the problem. if you're not sure what it is, Google it. and then Google removing it.

Sometimes the normal uninstall won't do a damn thing with these programs.

If you have a problem getting the system to boot after a crash, try booting in "safe mode".

Just keep hitting the F8 key as it boots and that will let you load a limited set of drivers.

If everything works fine in safe mode, that points to a driver problem as the issue.

If you need more detailed instructions on anything, PM me and I'll give you my e-mail.
 
drop it off at someone who you know can fix it for free but pick up a couple 6 packs of what he/she enjoys and relax while they fix it.
 
Dwight Schrute said:
Always comforting. Walk of shame to help desk. "Hmmm. Let me ask a co-worker." "Hey Lou! What was the fix for that porn virus from SpankFest?" (muffled like Peanuts teacher) "Huh?!?!" "SpankFest!" "The porn site!" And you turn around and the heavyset teacher from your kids class last year is picking up copies. And her jaw when she sees its you.
Click to expand...
Mine was trying to watch Royal rumble on one of the sites. A friend told me about . Most expensive PPV I ever watched .
 
Mark_Henderson said:
This is a football forum, not a tech. support room, but some people here have been helpful with this stuff in the past.

I have a laptop that has started giving blue screen errors and crashing daily and now multiple times/day. I am running Kaspersky, though this seems to have started after I viewed some videos that are umm - questionable.

After the blue screen crash, I'm at first unable to reboot windows, but then after turning it off and waiting a while, I've been able to get it back. Just hitting control/alt/delete when my screen was frozen led to a blue screen crash. My concern is that one of these times, I won't be able to get Windows back at all. I even just got a message while typing this that Windows Explorer had stopped working, which I was able to exit out of.

Do you guys have any advice on what I should do to resolve this? Obviously, back up my hard drive to the cloud, but I'm already runinng automatic Kaspersky virus scans and disk defragmentations. What other steps might be a good idea to try to resolve what's happening?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
The fact that it takes time before it will reboot successfully, makes me suspect the hardware could be a factor as well. Cooling down might be what's making the behavior change.

One thing I'd be curious about is (after crashing), if you take the battery out and then reinsert it, does it power up right away?
 
dchester said:
The fact that it takes time before it will reboot successfully, makes me suspect the hardware could be a factor as well. Cooling down might be what's making the behavior change.

One thing I'd be curious about is (after crashing), if you take the battery out and then reinsert it, does it power up right away?
Click to expand...

Install PC wizard and let it monitor temperature.

If it is high, then the first thing to check is if the fan is working or obstructed.

It's pretty easy to get schmeg in the vent holes on a PC
 
The very first thing you should do is get anything of value off the machine and on to a DVD or external hard drive or wherever you keep your stuff. Losing a HD really sucks, losing it with irreplaceable stuff sucks more.

The fact that you were surfing questionable sites might have nothing to do with this and making that link without knowing for sure is a bit of a fools errand.

Also, if you save your stuff don't forget your bookmarks if you use them.
 
chevss454 said:
You could try deleting Kaspersky and adding Avira Free which is rated far better than Kaspersky which is not free.

Or get a Mac. :coffee:
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions, I may be trying more of them than I thought. I deleted Kaspersky and got the Avira free antivirus instead and was psyched how much faster my computer was with it. Although scanning didn't detect anything, it's been a month and the computer hasn't crashed since.

The last few days, though, something weird started happening. All of a sudden, I am unable to type a number of keys, both online and in Word or anywhere else. After multiple reboots and then deleting cookies, normal function came back. But, this has recurred a few times now. Today, rebooting and deleting the cookies didn't stop it, but then as the Avira scan was running, the keys started working again (maybe had nothing to do with the scan).

I know this is a football forum, not an IS support room, but you guys know more than me and have been helpful in the past. Is this anything you've heard of? Not sure if both the crashing and now this could both be hardware related or virus related. It's weird that the crashing went away went I substituted Avira for Kaspersky. The Avira scan looked at over 1 million files/objects and found nothing.

Thanks.
 
Did someone spill anything on the keyboard?

Something with sugar?

That will kill a keyboard.

I've also seen keyboards just go south after they get old.

I don't recall if you mentioned what specific hardware the laptop is, but one can often find the maintenance manuals on-line which will tell you how to crack open the chassis and get to the guts of the computer.

One can typically find this for Dell laptops.

Once you get it open, you can clean the fan, and spray some contact cleaner on the keyboard to see if that helps.

Personally, the only causes of limited key failures I've ever seen have been hardware and never malware.
 
Try using a regular desktop keyboard plugged into the USB port and see if that resolves it. If it does, laptop keyboard is suspicious.
 
Mark_Henderson said:
Thanks for all the helpful suggestions, I may be trying more of them than I thought. I deleted Kaspersky and got the Avira free antivirus instead and was psyched how much faster my computer was with it. Although scanning didn't detect anything, it's been a month and the computer hasn't crashed since.

The last few days, though, something weird started happening. All of a sudden, I am unable to type a number of keys, both online and in Word or anywhere else. After multiple reboots and then deleting cookies, normal function came back. But, this has recurred a few times now. Today, rebooting and deleting the cookies didn't stop it, but then as the Avira scan was running, the keys started working again (maybe had nothing to do with the scan).

I know this is a football forum, not an IS support room, but you guys know more than me and have been helpful in the past. Is this anything you've heard of? Not sure if both the crashing and now this could both be hardware related or virus related. It's weird that the crashing went away went I substituted Avira for Kaspersky. The Avira scan looked at over 1 million files/objects and found nothing.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Try starting your computer in safe mode (hit F8 on boot) and see if the problem persists.

If it does.. You're better off backing up all of your important files to a Blu-Ray disc or Google Drive (10GB free). Perform a fdisk/mbr, format and reinstall windows.
 
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