ANNOYING AT ITS BEST, - please help

[Guest]

I have been having very annoying problems with my computer lately, most of
them involving games that take up the whole screen, and need a few sec. to
minimize ad maximize them (in this case, Counter-strike 1.6 and GunboundNA).
First, my game is minimized (button for it at bottom of screen, near
taskbar). I click it (to maximize it so I can play it), it tries to go
ingame, so that it takes up the screen, but then it goes back into minimized
mode - in this case my desktop (I usually don't multitask when playing
games...).
Second, on top of the last issue, my mouse pointer will sometimes become
invisible (can't see where my white mouse pointer is!)on my screen, so that I
have to restart my whole computer just to see it again!! But this one occurs
rarely, and my parents who simply tried to use the internet had this problem
as well.
Last, but not least, while on the internet trying to open up a page, it just
freezes on me! I have to wait about 10sec and ctrl+alt+delete it to get the
new page loading (weird problem, but yes)!
I've only had my computer for maybe 3 or 2 years at the most, and I really
don't want to call Geek Squad, as they charge too much
Please help, it will appreciated at the highest level x.x I just don't want
these problems anymore...
TY, and srry for long post, but, i did so to prevent unnecessary questions.

 

[Jimmy S.]

Hi Ballzley,

Here are some solutions (and workarounds) to deal with the problem where games minimize to the Task Bar.

1. Install and/or play the game using an administrator account.

2. Keyboard software has been known to cause this problem. One player
posted that by un-installing their Trust Silverline Direct Access keyboard
software, all their games worked again without minimizing to the Task Bar.

3. Norton's AntiVirus (Internet Security) can cause the problem as well. The
workaround is to disable the program. To do so, right click it's Tray icon.
One person wrote: "I just went to the Norton Anti-virus options, and turned
off the Liveupdate auto update option. It worked like a charm for me."

4. One person wrote: "I finally found that if I open the command line, cd to
the directory, then type the program name, it works!!!"

5. Yet another workaround is to click the screen after you launch the game.

If the problem persists, please try these additional troubleshooting steps.

The most common causes for that problem can be solved with
these few steps. If the problem persists after you've tried these,
please post back and we'll try some more solutions. Good luck!

A. To see if it's a software conflict: Temporarily disable Startup
programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
blockers using: http://new.jtsoft2001.com/windows/startup.php

You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

B. Run a virus scan at: http://housecall.antivirus.com Afterwards
Download & Run Spybot from: http://security.kolla.de to find any
Trojans, Adware, or Spyware which could clog up your system.

C. Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
/ Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.

D. Go to the Windows Update site for everything under Critical and
Recommended: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com Some games
require a patch: http://www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a

E. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
Checklist of Solutions at: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html


--
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Visit my MSN Games and Windows Gaming Help Site: www.msce.mvps.org
MS Games Help and Support Center: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________


Ballzley Wrote:
=================
| I have been having very annoying problems with my computer lately, most of
| them involving games that take up the whole screen, and need a few sec. to
| minimize ad maximize them (in this case, Counter-strike 1.6 and GunboundNA).
| First, my game is minimized (button for it at bottom of screen, near
| taskbar). I click it (to maximize it so I can play it), it tries to go
| ingame, so that it takes up the screen, but then it goes back into minimized
| mode - in this case my desktop (I usually don't multitask when playing
| games...).
| Second, on top of the last issue, my mouse pointer will sometimes become
| invisible (can't see where my white mouse pointer is!)on my screen, so that I
| have to restart my whole computer just to see it again!! But this one occurs
| rarely, and my parents who simply tried to use the internet had this problem
| as well.
| Last, but not least, while on the internet trying to open up a page, it just
| freezes on me! I have to wait about 10sec and ctrl+alt+delete it to get the
| new page loading (weird problem, but yes)!
| I've only had my computer for maybe 3 or 2 years at the most, and I really
| don't want to call Geek Squad, as they charge too much
| Please help, it will appreciated at the highest level x.x I just don't want
| these problems anymore...
| TY, and srry for long post, but, i did so to prevent unnecessary questions.

 

[Ludwig]

You may try this if you have a Microsoft compatible mouse and keyboard.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/default.mspx

 

[Guest]

Thanks a LOT, I'll try these - as long as it may take. All of these
steps/solutions go to all 3 of my issues? I'm just clarifying.

 

[Jimmy S.]

Hi Ballzley,

Maybe not all, but at least the first issue.

--
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Visit my MSN Games and Windows Gaming Help Site: www.msce.mvps.org
MS Games Help and Support Center: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

Ballzley Wrote:
=================
| Thanks a LOT, I'll try these - as long as it may take. All of these
| steps/solutions go to all 3 of my issues? I'm just clarifying.
|
| "Jimmy S." wrote:
|
|| Hi Ballzley,
||
|| Here are some solutions (and workarounds) to deal with the problem where games minimize to the Task Bar.
||
|| 1. Install and/or play the game using an administrator account.
||
|| 2. Keyboard software has been known to cause this problem. One player
|| posted that by un-installing their Trust Silverline Direct Access keyboard
|| software, all their games worked again without minimizing to the Task Bar.
||
|| 3. Norton's AntiVirus (Internet Security) can cause the problem as well. The
|| workaround is to disable the program. To do so, right click it's Tray icon.
|| One person wrote: "I just went to the Norton Anti-virus options, and turned
|| off the Liveupdate auto update option. It worked like a charm for me."
||
|| 4. One person wrote: "I finally found that if I open the command line, cd to
|| the directory, then type the program name, it works!!!"
||
|| 5. Yet another workaround is to click the screen after you launch the game.
||
|| If the problem persists, please try these additional troubleshooting steps.
||
|| The most common causes for that problem can be solved with
|| these few steps. If the problem persists after you've tried these,
|| please post back and we'll try some more solutions. Good luck!
||
|| A. To see if it's a software conflict: Temporarily disable Startup
|| programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
|| blockers using: http://new.jtsoft2001.com/windows/startup.php
||
|| You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
|| http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
||
|| B. Run a virus scan at: http://housecall.antivirus.com Afterwards
|| Download & Run Spybot from: http://security.kolla.de to find any
|| Trojans, Adware, or Spyware which could clog up your system.
||
|| C. Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
|| / Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
|| the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.
||
|| D. Go to the Windows Update site for everything under Critical and
|| Recommended: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com Some games
|| require a patch: http://www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a
||
|| E. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
|| For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
|| Checklist of Solutions at: http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html
||
||
|| --
|| Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
|| Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
||
|| Visit my MSN Games and Windows Gaming Help Site: www.msce.mvps.org
|| MS Games Help and Support Center: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
|| My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
|| _________________________________________________________
||
||
|| Ballzley Wrote:
|| =================
||| I have been having very annoying problems with my computer lately, most of
||| them involving games that take up the whole screen, and need a few sec. to
||| minimize ad maximize them (in this case, Counter-strike 1.6 and GunboundNA).
||| First, my game is minimized (button for it at bottom of screen, near
||| taskbar). I click it (to maximize it so I can play it), it tries to go
||| ingame, so that it takes up the screen, but then it goes back into minimized
||| mode - in this case my desktop (I usually don't multitask when playing
||| games...).
||| Second, on top of the last issue, my mouse pointer will sometimes become
||| invisible (can't see where my white mouse pointer is!)on my screen, so that I
||| have to restart my whole computer just to see it again!! But this one occurs
||| rarely, and my parents who simply tried to use the internet had this problem
||| as well.
||| Last, but not least, while on the internet trying to open up a page, it just
||| freezes on me! I have to wait about 10sec and ctrl+alt+delete it to get the
||| new page loading (weird problem, but yes)!
||| I've only had my computer for maybe 3 or 2 years at the most, and I really
||| don't want to call Geek Squad, as they charge too much
||| Please help, it will appreciated at the highest level x.x I just don't want
||| these problems anymore...
||| TY, and srry for long post, but, i did so to prevent unnecessary questions.

 

[Guest]

Got first problem down, but I still get invisible mouse, freezing browser,
and the continuous "ENter your Message" when i put my pointer over a text bow
(like this one).
Still trying out your other solutions - TY ~ Ballzley

 

[Guest]

THe browser freezing for only certain websites; this one freezes as I try to
navigate through it... if you won't respond, should I make another topic?
~TY, ballzley