Windows is acting very very buggy.

[tomduo]

Hi. I am using Vista Home. I reformatted my harddrive (when the harddrives
are wiped and a clean windows is installed) about a week ago. Ever since
things have been acting buggy, and several major problems have sprung up.

- First, internet explorer freezes up and doesn't respond after some
surfing. When I try opening another tab it also happens. I try to x out, and
it just stays up, not responding.

So task manager?

- Second, when I go to the task manager to look around, that doesn't end
programs. It too either freezes up, or when I CAD, a black screen loads with
a 'Failure Security Options' popup.

- Third, I thought it might be the antivirus I had, so I uninstalled the
Norton AV and installed AVP 8.0. It picked up 2 trojans, and after that
nothing. After that, I restarted and then couldn't log onto the internet. I
finally am able to now after constant restarts and the like.

- Fourth, On the subject of 'restarts', when things freeze up, I can't
restart. I have to hold down the power, which I know isn't good. Everything
just siezes up. >.<

And finally, Fifth, I tried doing a disk defrag, and it just won't load.
When I go to the task manager, it shows it's running, but with very little
memory, and not showing up. When I click to run again, another defrag comes
up but not avail to me. When I try to end, task manager freaks out.

Should I do another restore, or is there something I can do to fix this,
thank you.

 

[DL]

You should have installed the hardware drivers that are specific to your
system, either from cd's supplied or by visiting the PC makers site if a
large OEM eg Dell/HP
Installing two antivirus apps wont help as they will fight with each other

 

[tomduo]

I am not using 2 antivirus programs. I was using Norton, I am now using AVP.
The drivers I installed were from an HP disc as part of the recovery. Is this
a driver issue?

 

[Hobo]

Couple of questions for you, tomduo.

1. What caused you to carry out the reinstall? Were you
having similar problems at the time?

2. Exactly what steps did you carry out to do the reinstall?

How about some more specs and any previous problems on your
system. Don't be shy, tell us all. From your description of
things you could have either a software or hardware problem.
Without pertinent info it is hard to suggest solutions over
the internet.

Hobo

 

[tomduo]

Not with this, something had gone wrong with the registry when I was trying
to clean out a piece of malware. My school uses the Cisco Clean Access Agent
for the internet, which only covers crappy antivirus programs which are
outdated. I was in the middle of trying a new one, and I think I picked up a
bug. The computer was going incredibly slow, etc. I asked HP support what to
do and they suggested a reinstall. I did it and everything worked fine until
I had to install a new antivirus. I've tried two, now I am trying Kaspersky
6.0 *since others aren't supported by the CCAA*.

First I backed up my files. Then I used the three disks HP sent me. After
that it cleaned it all out. I started to reinstall programs, but the norton
it came with didn't work, and the internet explorer started to act buggy.
Like I would surf for a few minutes, and then the browser would just lock up.
I couldn't right click anywhere on the system unless I exited out of IE.

Then all the above problems started to spring up. The UTS suggested I switch
from Norton to AVG. What they didn't tell me was that I had to use 7 instead
of 8 (which I am using). 8 found some trojans and deleted them, but the
problems just got worse.

Basically progams are not responding, including disk defrag, task manager,
IE, and explorer. When I try to shut down it wont, and when I CADelete, it
says 'Failure Security Options'. I've googled around for help, but found
nothing but conflicting answers.

Could it be something with the NVIDIA Drivers? Im using the nForce
Networking Controller for the NEtwork adapter and the GeForce 61250SE nForce
430 Display adapter. When Windows tried to install a new update which was
about NVIDIA, that's when the problems escalated.

Thank you

 

[Mick Murphy]

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

If I was you, I would delete the existing partition, format, install again.
Use the above Free, vista compatible anti-virus, Avast free 4 home.

 

[Dwarf]

Hi tomduo,

The root cause of the problem may not be your machine, but the Cisco Clean
Access Agent for the Internet. This seems to be well out of date, since you
state that you are 'trying Kaspersky
6.0 *since others aren't supported by the CCAA*'. I am not sure whether this
version of Kaspersky is compatible with Vista, but the newest version,
7.0.1.324, which I use, certainly is. However, you should NEVER use more than
one anti-virus product on a single machine. Even having 2 installed with one
being disabled can cause problems. You should completely uninstall your
current anti-virus product prior to installing a new product. This doesn't
apply if you are merely updating your current product to its latest
incarnation UNLESS the instructions explicitly tell you to. I notice that you
are using a HP machine. Many of these come with trial versions of
Norton/Symantec and these will need to be removed completely prior to you
installing a new product. Follow the instructions from Symantec (link given
below). When ALL Norton programs are uninstalled from your system, you should
have no trouble in installing Kaspersky.
Dwarf

http://service1.symantec.com/Suppor...005092709200113&nsf=sharedtech.nsf&view=docid

 

[tomduo]

Again, I DO NOT HAVE 2 ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS INSTALLED ON MY MACHINE. I DO NOT.

I installed Norton 2008, CCAA Didn't like it and my machine was acting freaky.
I uninstalled it, and then installed AVG 8.0. It scanned and removed
somethings, but the problems got worse. Now I am looking to use Kaspersky
*since it seems to be the best*, but only 6.0 is covered. This is my
university's site on the CCAA.

http://cleanaccess.fiu.edu/main.php?view=antivirus_support

 

[Hobo]

I agree with Mick Murphy. I would wipe the drive, use 'full
format' instead of the quick version, do the reinstall, and
load AVAST only at this time. Before you install any of your
other software run Vista for while on its own to see if any
of the old problems surface. If all looks good, start
reinstalling your software one at a time, with a reboot
after each install, and verify that the system is running
ok. If the system starts acting up after a particular
program is installed, then you'll know what the culprit is.
One other thing, do not install hardware driver updates from
MS - get them from the manufacturer's site. When you're
ready to return your backed up files to the drive be sure to
check each of them for malware, etc. before putting them on
the drive.

I know that this whole thing is going to take some time to
carry out by doing it this way, but a little patience will
pay off.

Let us know how you make out.

Hobo

 

[Mick Murphy]

We think alike Hobo!
Get it right from the word go!
Instead of mucking aroung with too many maybes!

 

[Hobo]

Well, Mick,

Being retired, I've made my share of mistakes along the way.
Been screwing around with computers since I built my first
one in '78. I learned a long time ago that if you don't have
time to do it right at first, then you will be finding time
to do it again.

 

[tomduo]

Well I did the full reinstall, installed avast, etc. and it worked... up to
an hour or two in. Then when I was surfing (I had the window open for about
half an hour) I couldn't download a file. I don't think it was the website I
was using (turnitin.com), but I couldn't right click. When I opened a new
tab, it wouldn't load. I couldn't open the start menu. I had to again x out
the IE winow. I had spyware SD and adaware installed on this machine, and
they found nothing. I ran a scan in my antivirus, adaware, and s SD and
nothing was found.

Is it possible that it was a windows update? Even now less than 24 hours
after I reformatted the activity light on the tower is basically staying out.