dell random problems

jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
edited February 2008 in Hardware
I have a dell laptop that started to get really really slow randomly. I posted in the spyware forum and deleted all that was on there and it didnt help. When the computer starts up it runs pretty well but when it sits for like 10 or 20 mins it will start to get really really laggy. Eventually my files got corrupt and a blue screen that said windows has ended to save your computer from damage or something and will now reboot. I finally just formatted the laptop and it was fine but now it is starting to be lagging again and that blue screen has popped up again. Im at my college campus and had to install cisco clean access agent and this is around the time it starts messing up. I dono if its a coincidence or what. Any ideas? Oh and i have changed all my battery options to always on when plugged in.

Also when i posted a hijack log and deleted some files it ran faster but than all the files came back

Comments

  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    As with any system displaying those symptoms, you need to run a few diagnostic tests...

    Memtest first... let us know if you need any specific help getting memtest burned or running the test.

    Next you should run a hard drive diagnostic test... what brand of hard drive? (Device Manager - Look for the "Disk Drives"). You let us know the brand, we can point you to the correct tools.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Heat buildup, it would seem.
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    my hard drive is a hitachi hts541616j9sa00 ata and im gonna run the mem test now
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    i tried running the memtest and im using daemons tools to mount the ISO but it opens up nothing but a readme file. what to i do?
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Memtest runs from CD before you ever get into Windows. You need to burn it to CD, put it in the drive, and then restart your computer and let it run its tests (the longer you let it run, the better). I usually run mine at least overnight.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    MJancaitis wrote:
    Memtest runs from CD before you ever get into Windows. You need to burn it to CD, put it in the drive, and then restart your computer and let it run its tests (the longer you let it run, the better). I usually run mine at least overnight.
    Yep... restart the PC and boot from CD. That is, after you use a burning program that knows how to burn an ISO.
  • MclovinMclovin
    edited February 2008
    Flash drive will save you the hassle of burning and wasting a CD
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    i dono if im doing it right. i burnt it to a cd as a ISO and i restarted it and nothing happened.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    In the computer's BIOS, is it set to boot first from CD ROM?
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    oh got it! alright its running now. Will it tell me in the end if it had found any errors?
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Let it run for several hours or until at least 2 full cycles have completed. It there are any errors, it will show up in red!!!
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    Alright I'll just let it run until i get back which will be in 8 or so hours.
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Cool.... let us know what, if any, shows up. :thumbsup:
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    Alright thanks. Is this a continuous test that will keep running until i stop it?
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    It will run forever unless you hit the "Esc" key.
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    Alright i think i let it run like 4 or so times and it found no errors. But it is still running really slow. I saw that the memory usage was high
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Well, that's good news that there were no errors. You can rule that out. Next is the hard drive. Download, Burn, and run Hitachi's Drive Fitness Test (Hard drive diagnostics). Same thing as before, boot from CD and the hard drive program will start. Select the drive, select the advanced test and let it crunch away for a few hours.

    My approach on problems that I cannot see myself is to test the hardware first to rule that out then start diving into other possible issues. Hang ion there and we'll get it worked out. :thumbsup:
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    i ran the test and nothing came up
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    I was looking at my resource monitor and it says 92% used physical memory and I dono if this is important but the hard faults gets up pretty high up to like 120 faults/sec or so
  • ThelemechThelemech Victoria Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    jayfivelim wrote:
    I posted in the spyware forum and deleted all that was on there and it didnt help. Also when i posted a hijack log and deleted some files it ran faster but than all the files came back

    I'm thinking that you should possibly post a new hi jack this log. Also perhaps running AVG Anti-Spyware/SpyBot and some online scanners: Kaspersky SOS online scanner etc. It sounds either malware related or as Leo mentioned it may be heat related. You may have a build up of dust etc in your laptop that may be overheating it.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    When the computer starts up it runs pretty well but when it sits for like 10 or 20 mins it will start to get really really laggy.
    That's why I think it's heat buildup - starts cool and slows down as the CPU starts overheating.
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    i'll clean the fan and blow any dust out and see what happens
  • QCHQCH Ancient Guru Chicago Area - USA Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    See... that's why this is such a great place. There are so many different people with great ideas. We'll figure it out and also teach you about troubleshooting. Good deal, huh?
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    Yeah thanks everyone for helping! I cleaned out the fan but its starting up slow and is overall slow still. Im gonna run another hijack
  • ThelemechThelemech Victoria Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    I took a look at your Spyware thread, and noticed that you are running Windows Vista and Mcafee. Vista requires a lot of horsepower just to run properly; how much ram are you using? Also if you are using Mcafee security suite, this also requires a lot of system power to run properly and may also be slowing down your computer. Some may disagree with me on this but I would remove Mcafee and install a less system hungry AV like AVG Anti-Virus, which is also free. Supplement that with a few good anti spyware: Avg Antispyware/Adaware2007 and a free Vista compatible firewall, and you will have just as good protection, with far less demands on your hardware.
    I recommend you not do the following, I am simply passing on some info(that I also found while researching your laptop)-- if you are computer handy and have a copy you could always "upgrade" to XP:bigggrin:. Although this not the action I am "really" advising (as it could be a job not for the normal user), Vista is a resource hog and XP would be much faster.
    jayfivelim could you post your system specs?
    And could you let us know(and SpywareShooter in your Spyware thread) what if anything your antivirus/antispyware programs have picked up. Also, as I believe you are doing, please post a new Hijack this log in your thread in the spyware forum area.
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    Hey thanks I think the Mcafee removal did it. I had originally noticed that Mcafee was running up the memory but didn't think anything of it at the time. Thanks and I'm reposting a new hijackthis log right now too. Thanks to all that helped!!!
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    We continually recommend to all here at Icrontic that if they run McAfee or Norton security suites on their personal computers to remove and install free anti-virus and anti-malware software. Jay, you've helped validate our recommendations.
  • jayfivelimjayfivelim Colorado
    edited February 2008
    I wanted to install windows XP on this computer but I wasn't sure if my drivers were compatible. I guess Vista Premium isn't too bad but it's still annoying!
  • ThelemechThelemech Victoria Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    jayfivelim wrote:
    I wanted to install windows XP on this computer but I wasn't sure if my drivers were compatible. I guess Vista Premium isn't too bad but it's still annoying!


    Yes, I too was worried about a complicated drivers treasure hunt that might ensue:cool2:.....well glad we where able to help out!

    :cheers2: ....and welcome to Icrontic!
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