Has anyone ever heard of a computer acting this way?

[James]

My laptop is windows xp pro., 1 gb RAM, Processor over 1 GHz,but
sometimes after clicking IE when I get on the internet above the
start button a little magnifying looking (I guess you might call it an
icon-or some kind of sign) will appear, and when it does my computer
goes very, very slow and I don't know if it would ever connect to a
website-because I give up and get back to the desktop, and I
try again. Sometimes it don't show on the second time-and sometimes it
will. I have put the arrow
down on the magnifyng glass, and and the reason it's there doesn't
show up. Has anyone ever heard of this before and what causes it?

James

 

[Malke]

My laptop is windows xp pro., 1 gb RAM, Processor over 1 GHz,but
sometimes after clicking IE when I get on the internet above the
start button a little magnifying looking (I guess you might call it an
icon-or some kind of sign) will appear, and when it does my computer
goes very, very slow and I don't know if it would ever connect to a
website-because I give up and get back to the desktop, and I
try again. Sometimes it don't show on the second time-and sometimes it
will. I have put the arrow
down on the magnifyng glass, and and the reason it's there doesn't
show up. Has anyone ever heard of this before and what causes it?

Start with the basics:

The First Question Of Troubleshooting: If the problem is new, what changed
between the time things worked and the time they didn't?

The Second Question of Windows Troubleshooting: what is the malware/virus
status of the machine? If you think it is clean, what programs (and
versions) did you use to determine this?

Be sure the computer is clean:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Malke

 

[peter]

Personally I think your Anti virus is set to scan every web page you try to
go on
I would check the settings of whatever your using for Anti Virus

peter

 

[James]

Start with the  basics:

The First Question Of Troubleshooting: If the problem is new, what changed
between the time things worked and the time they didn't?-Answer-I have had this problem for months, I'd say everysince I've owned the computer.

The Second Question of Windows Troubleshooting: what is the malware/virus
status of the machine? If you think it is clean, what programs (and
versions) did you use to determine this?-Answer-I use Malwarebytes-Antimalware Version 4.1

Be sure the computer is clean:http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Malke

 

[Malke]

James wrote:

(quoting weirdness fixed)

Answer- have had this problem for months, I'd say everysince I've owned

the computer.

Then it will be impossible for you to answer The First Question.

Answer-I use Malwarebytes-Antimalware Version 4.1

MBAM is an excellent program but is not an antivirus. You have not
thoroughly answered The Second Question.

If the computer is truly clean (and only running MBAM isn't enough - refer
to the link I already gave you for how to determine this - then manage your
Startup because you probably have too much stuff running in the background.

Start>Run>msconfig [enter]

This brings up the System Configuration Utility. Look on the Startup tab and
find the probable culprit. Uncheck the box next to its name, Apply and OK
out. You don't need to restart immediately, but the next time you do you'll
get a dialog saying you've used the Utility. Just tick the box that says in
effect, "don't bother me about this again".

Important - Do not use the System Configuration Utility to stop processes.
Instead, use Start>Run>services.msc [enter] and do not stop any services
unless you really, really know what you're doing.

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

The free Autoruns program is very useful for managing your Startup -
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx

Malke

 

[Hodges]

My laptop is windows xp pro., 1 gb RAM, Processor over 1 GHz,but
sometimes after clicking  IE when I get on the internet above the
start button a little magnifying looking (I guess you might call it an
icon-or some kind of sign) will appear, and when it does my computer
goes very, very slow and I don't know if it would ever connect to a
website-because I give up and get back to the desktop, and I
try again. Sometimes it don't show on the second time-and sometimes it
will. I have put the arrow
down on the magnifyng glass, and and the reason it's there doesn't
show up. Has anyone ever heard of this before and what causes it?

James

You didn't state which version of IE. I had that problem with IE8 on
XP, so I just uninstalled it.

 

[Dallas]

i have a question malke, re: the startup tab - when i delete anything from
there, threy don't stay deleted, so is the sutorun you suggested the only
way to permanently delete or disable the startup processes ? thanks

--
Dallas.....

Dell P 4, 3GHz, 512 MB DDR SDRAM, 160 GB, Win XP HomeSP2,
16X DVD-ROM & ,6X DVD+/RW, IE7, OE6, DSL, via AT&T

James wrote:

(quoting weirdness fixed)

Answer- have had this problem for months, I'd say everysince I've owned

the computer.

Then it will be impossible for you to answer The First Question.

Answer-I use Malwarebytes-Antimalware Version 4.1

MBAM is an excellent program but is not an antivirus. You have not
thoroughly answered The Second Question.

If the computer is truly clean (and only running MBAM isn't enough - refer
to the link I already gave you for how to determine this - then manage
your
Startup because you probably have too much stuff running in the
background.

Start>Run>msconfig [enter]

This brings up the System Configuration Utility. Look on the Startup tab
and
find the probable culprit. Uncheck the box next to its name, Apply and OK
out. You don't need to restart immediately, but the next time you do
you'll
get a dialog saying you've used the Utility. Just tick the box that says
in
effect, "don't bother me about this again".

Important - Do not use the System Configuration Utility to stop processes.
Instead, use Start>Run>services.msc [enter] and do not stop any services
unless you really, really know what you're doing.

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

The free Autoruns program is very useful for managing your Startup -
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx

Malke

 

[Malke]

i have a question malke, re: the startup tab - when i delete anything from
there, threy don't stay deleted, so is the sutorun you suggested the only
way to permanently delete or disable the startup processes ? thanks

Next time make a new post instead of hijacking someone else's thread. If the
OP comes back you will have made it difficult to help both parties.

If entries don't stay deleted, you probably have third-party security
installed that is preventing the changes. Examples are some Norton and
McAfee products, Spybot Search & Destroy TeaTimer, Ad-aware features, etc.
If you wish to pursue this further, please make a new thread.

Malke

 

[Richard]

My laptop is windows xp pro., 1 gb RAM, Processor over 1 GHz,but
sometimes after clicking IE when I get on the internet above the
start button a little magnifying looking (I guess you might call it an
icon-or some kind of sign) will appear, and when it does my computer
goes very, very slow and I don't know if it would ever connect to a
website-because I give up and get back to the desktop, and I
try again. Sometimes it don't show on the second time-and sometimes it
will. I have put the arrow
down on the magnifyng glass, and and the reason it's there doesn't
show up. Has anyone ever heard of this before and what causes it?

James

Hi James,

What version of Internet Explorer are you using?

IE7 has a magnifying glass webzoom:
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsvista/webzoom.aspx

You describe yours as being above the Start button. When IE is maximized,
the left side of the status bar is above the Start button, where there is
usually an IE icon when pages load, and sometimes a Shield icon if there
are script errors on the web page.

If you are using AVG or AVG Free as your virus scanner, perhaps you are
seeing the "linkscanner" feature. If so, run the AVG installer, and use the
"add or remove components" option to de-select linkscanner.

HTH. (Hope This Helps.
--Richard