Vista crashes; three specific issues

[Guest]

Hello,

My computer info:

Dell XPS M140
Windows Vista Business
Intel Pentium M Processor 1.86 GHz
1015 MB RAM
32-bit Operating System

My Problem (help???):

Vista crashes or freezes on three specific instances...so far. First, and
most problematic, is when I leave the machine for a length of time, usually
more than 20 minutes, it completely freezes. Nothing responds and the
machine has to be hard rebooted. When it does boot from that crash, the
Windows "unexpected shutdown" screen appears asking to boot in safe or normal
mode. I cannot tell if this is a hibernation or sleep problem but I have
turned both off and the crash/freeze still occurs.

Second is not so much a crash but a operations freeze. When I attempt to
perform a Windows Backup procedure onto DVD, the backup operation freezes and
eventually fails after attempting to write the first disk. I've tried
several times and with several disks. I have also attempted the backup
operation with an external HDD with the same freeze/failure problem.

Last is a quirk. The taskbar properties do not save. For instance, I want
the taskbar to autohide and I apply and save this setting. When the machine
is rebooted in any fashion, the taskbar is again on top and does not
autohide.

That's all. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Mr. Arnold]

Hello,

My computer info:

Dell XPS M140
Windows Vista Business
Intel Pentium M Processor 1.86 GHz
1015 MB RAM
32-bit Operating System

My Problem (help???):

Vista crashes or freezes on three specific instances...so far. First, and
most problematic, is when I leave the machine for a length of time,
usually
more than 20 minutes, it completely freezes. Nothing responds and the
machine has to be hard rebooted. When it does boot from that crash, the
Windows "unexpected shutdown" screen appears asking to boot in safe or
normal
mode. I cannot tell if this is a hibernation or sleep problem but I have
turned both off and the crash/freeze still occurs.

Second is not so much a crash but a operations freeze. When I attempt to
perform a Windows Backup procedure onto DVD, the backup operation freezes
and
eventually fails after attempting to write the first disk. I've tried
several times and with several disks. I have also attempted the backup
operation with an external HDD with the same freeze/failure problem.

Last is a quirk. The taskbar properties do not save. For instance, I
want
the taskbar to autohide and I apply and save this setting. When the
machine
is rebooted in any fashion, the taskbar is again on top and does not
autohide.

That's all. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Did you upgrade over the top of XP? And have you been installing non Vista
compliant software?

 

[Guest]

I did a clean install over XP Pro and yes, I've had non-compliant software on
the machine; however, the programs I know of, like Palm Desktop, have been
removed. Most programs I'm running now in Vista are one's that worked on XP,
such as Office XP 2002 or Adobe Acrobat 7, both of which were reinstalled
after the Vista clean install. What gave me the most headaches was McAfee
Total Protection but after some updates it is working fine.

Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Spirit]

1st is to go to System Maker, Motherboard Maker, Video, Sound and so on
sites to get the latest drivers (newer drivers often cure these ills). Be
sure to
get any hard drive utilities/drivers too.

 

[Guest]

Done before I posted. Thx for the suggestion though.

 

[Spirit]

Then I would suspect either you missed a driver (especially for hard drive)
and or you have programs, especially startup ones, causing issues. Try
using Task Manager to narrow in on the culprits.

 

[Mr. Arnold]

I did a clean install over XP Pro and yes, I've had non-compliant software
on
the machine; however, the programs I know of, like Palm Desktop, have been
removed. Most programs I'm running now in Vista are one's that worked on
XP,
such as Office XP 2002 or Adobe Acrobat 7, both of which were reinstalled
after the Vista clean install. What gave me the most headaches was McAfee
Total Protection but after some updates it is working fine.

Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

I don't see why people that install XP software on Vista can't seem to
correlate that there could be issues in doing that. Just because the XP
software is not presenting a problem for itself, it doesn't mean that the
components of the XP solution cannot be causing problems else where.

You should try to install only Vista compatible software on the machine to
reduce possible problems.

http://www.bestvistadownloads.com/

 

[mikeyhsd]

first thing I would do is to totally remove mcafee. it is not vista compatible.

use either avg (FREE) or avast (FREE) both are vista compatible.

you should use the uninstaller downloaded from the mcafee web site.
the uninstaller on the computer does not do a good enough job.



(e-mail address removed)



Hello,

My computer info:

Dell XPS M140
Windows Vista Business
Intel Pentium M Processor 1.86 GHz
1015 MB RAM
32-bit Operating System

My Problem (help???):

Vista crashes or freezes on three specific instances...so far. First, and
most problematic, is when I leave the machine for a length of time, usually
more than 20 minutes, it completely freezes. Nothing responds and the
machine has to be hard rebooted. When it does boot from that crash, the
Windows "unexpected shutdown" screen appears asking to boot in safe or normal
mode. I cannot tell if this is a hibernation or sleep problem but I have
turned both off and the crash/freeze still occurs.

Second is not so much a crash but a operations freeze. When I attempt to
perform a Windows Backup procedure onto DVD, the backup operation freezes and
eventually fails after attempting to write the first disk. I've tried
several times and with several disks. I have also attempted the backup
operation with an external HDD with the same freeze/failure problem.

Last is a quirk. The taskbar properties do not save. For instance, I want
the taskbar to autohide and I apply and save this setting. When the machine
is rebooted in any fashion, the taskbar is again on top and does not
autohide.

That's all. Any help is greatly appreciated.