Internet Explorer restarts computer after going on-line

[Guest]

I am trying to fix a laptop for a friend, but I am at an absolute loss with
the exception of formatting the entire system and starting over (but this is
a tremendous task as he has no cd-burner, and only a 3-1/4 to back up all his
files. Every time I open up Internet explorer, the computer quickly shuts
down. It will open fine in safe mode, and you can surf the internet, but in
normal mode the internet forces an immediate shutdown. Even when Norton tries
to do automatic update, it shuts down the computer. Here is the error message
that I receive:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer.

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your
computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure and new hardware or software is properly installed. If
this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for
and windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or
software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you
need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer,
press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x000000D1 (0XFFB5A000, 0x0000000Z, 0x00000000, 0xF980C484)

*** jjfkabj - Address f980C484 base at F980C000, Datestamp 4263C4D4

Beginning dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system administrator or technical support group for futher
assisstance.


Any help with this would be greatly appreciated as I am at a complete loss
before formatting the whole damn thing. Thanks all.

Buck

iF

 

[Malke]

I am trying to fix a laptop for a friend, but I am at an absolute loss
with the exception of formatting the entire system and starting over
(but this is a tremendous task as he has no cd-burner, and only a
3-1/4 to back up all his
files. Every time I open up Internet explorer, the computer quickly
shuts down. It will open fine in safe mode, and you can surf the
internet, but in normal mode the internet forces an immediate
shutdown. Even when Norton tries to do automatic update, it shuts down
the computer. Here is the error message that I receive:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent
damage to your computer.

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart
your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure and new hardware or software is properly installed.
If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software
manufacturer for and windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware
or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.
If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart
your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then
select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:

*** STOP: 0x000000D1 (0XFFB5A000, 0x0000000Z, 0x00000000, 0xF980C484)

*** jjfkabj - Address f980C484 base at F980C000, Datestamp
4263C4D4

Beginning dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system administrator or technical support group for
futher assisstance.


Any help with this would be greatly appreciated as I am at a complete
loss before formatting the whole damn thing. Thanks all.

Uninstall whatever device (and its drivers) your friend is using to get
to the Internet; i.e., modem or network adapter. From a different
computer with an Internet connection and a cd burner, download the
latest drivers for that device from the laptop mftr.'s website, making
sure you get drivers for that specific model laptop.

If that doesn't work, there may be a physical problem with the device.
Since I don't know what the device is, I can't go further with this
except to say if it is an external device (pc card) try a different one
and if it is built-in, call the laptop's tech support.

Malke

 

[Guest]

I just tried uninstalling and re-installing the device drivers, but it did
not work. The laptop is a Dell inspiron 1100. He has a broadband connection
using a Broadcom 440 x 10/100 Integrated Controller, and a Conexant D480 MDC
v.92 modem to connect. He is also using I.E. as a browser, but I don't know
if that helps. Everything is an internal on this system with the exception of
the 3-1/4 floppy drive. Would it be easier to contact DELL at this point and
tell them the problem, or do you have any other suggestions that would allow
me to bypass incomprehensible India support for a few more hours? Thank you
for your help.

 

[Malke]

I just tried uninstalling and re-installing the device drivers, but it
did not work. The laptop is a Dell inspiron 1100. He has a broadband
connection using a Broadcom 440 x 10/100 Integrated Controller, and a
Conexant D480 MDC v.92 modem to connect. He is also using I.E. as a
browser, but I don't know if that helps. Everything is an internal on
this system with the exception of the 3-1/4 floppy drive. Would it be
easier to contact DELL at this point and tell them the problem, or do
you have any other suggestions that would allow me to bypass
incomprehensible India support for a few more hours? Thank you for
your help.

OK, if your friend is using broadband (cable or dsl), he doesn't need to
be using the modem which is just for dial-up. The error message you are
getting indicates a problem with drivers. Which device did you
uninstall/reinstall the drivers for? The network adapter (Broadcom) or
the modem (Conexant)? Let's get the situation clarified a bit more
before calling Dell. Certainly you should not reinstall Windows for
this.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Actually I un/re-installed both drivers, the Broadcom and the Conexant.

 

[Malke]

Actually I un/re-installed both drivers, the Broadcom and the
Conexant.

"Malke" wrote:

Try disabling the Conexant modem from Device Manager since there is no
need for it. Additionally, ask your friend what changed between the
time things worked and the time they didn't?

Malke

 

[Guest]

I disabled, and un-installed the modem through the program list, but it was
unsuccessful. I talked to my friend and he doesn't remember doing anything
out of the ordinary, just working on-line and wham, it just shut off. The
only program he thinks was even installed in the last year was a program
called ACT! I just ran another virus scan and Norton found the bloodhound
virus, though it was able to delete the infected files successfully. I can't
believe it would be the actual network card as the computer works just fine
in safe mode, you can browse the net and do whatever you have to. And one
other thing I've found is that you cannot even have the ethernet cable
connected to the machine, it will shut down without even trying to activate
the internet, just so long as the broadband cable is attached in the port. I
appreciate all your help on this. Thank you.

 

[Guest]

Also, I just spoke with him again. He added that his roomate was the first
one to experience the problem. He was generally browsing on the internet ( a
Wil Farrel site) pop-ups went crazy, and the computer shut down. He also
mentioned that he had recently tried to install different spy-ware blockers
to try and kill the minimal pop-ups he was getting before the incident where
the machine shut down. He had tried microsoft ad-aware, and the yahoo pop-up
blocker.

 

[Malke]

Also, I just spoke with him again. He added that his roomate was the
first one to experience the problem. He was generally browsing on the
internet ( a Wil Farrel site) pop-ups went crazy, and the computer
shut down. He also mentioned that he had recently tried to install
different spy-ware blockers to try and kill the minimal pop-ups he was
getting before the incident where the machine shut down. He had tried
microsoft ad-aware, and the yahoo pop-up blocker.

The information from your friend's roommate indicates that the computer
was heavily infested with malware which puts the issue in another
light. The Stop Error you got usually indicates a problem with hardware
and/or drivers, but it is quite possible that some malware damaged or
overwrote something connected with the Internet networking. Since your
friend has broadband, when he puts in the ethernet cable he *is* on
line, whether or not a browser is actually opened.

Since the machine can get into Safe Mode, you or your friend can try
cleaning it up; however, I'm going to suggest taking it to a
professional (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA). I'm not saying
this to hurt your feelings or those of your friend, but simply because
this will be the most effective way to fix the computer. However, if
you want to attempt this yourself, here are general malware removal
steps. Everything must be done in Safe Mode with updated tools. Get the
tools/updates from a different, known-clean machine with an Internet
connection and a cd burner. You will note that Step 1 is to scan with a
current version antivirus (not earlier than 2004 and using updated
definitions). If your friend does not have an av installed, you will
need to start with running TrendMicro's Sysclean, and then get a
full-featured av, install it, update it, and do a thorough scan.

A. Sysclean - TrendMicro's Sysclean is an extensive antivirus tool which
has the advantage of not needing to be installed. It requires two parts
- the scanning engine and the virus pattern files. Delete all Temporary
and Temporary Internet Files before running the program.

1. Create a new folder on your Desktop or the C: drive named something
useful like "Sysclean".
2. Go here and download the two parts of the program to that folder:

http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp - Sysclean
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp - virus pattern files

The pattern files will be zipped - extract them with your unzipper (like
WinZip) or if you have XP, you can just open the folder. You need to
put the extracted files in the Sysclean folder you made. For a more
automated way to get Sysclean, use Dave Lipman's Sysclean_FE from
http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm .

3. Restart your computer in Safe Mode. Get into Safe Mode by repeatedly
tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up to get to the proper
menu.
4. Go to the Sysclean folder you made and double-click on sysclean.com.
Start the scan. After the scan is finished, look at the log. You may
need to make a note of where any viruses were found if they were not
able to be removed so you can manually delete them.

B. Malware removal - First delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet
Files. For IE's Temporary Files, go to Control Panel>Internet
Options>General tab. You'll see where you can delete cookies and files.
For Firefox, clear its cache by going to Tools>Options>Privacy>Cache>
Clear. For Windows Temporary files, Start>Run cleanmgr [enter]. Then
follow these detailed malware removal steps, doing everything with
updated tools in Safe Mode. You can find all the links to referenced
programs and sites on my website here:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2004)
antivirus using updated definitions.

Before you remove malware, get LSPFix or WinSockFix for XP - see links
below.

2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.

Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).

If the malware remains even after you used Ad-aware and Spybot, you can
scan with HijackThis. HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and
disable hijackers, but it requires expert skill. See the links on my
website for a HijackThis tutorial and places where you can post your
HJT log. Again, this is an expert tool and novices should get help
with it.

3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore after the system is clean because malware will be in the
Restore Points. With ME, you must disable System Restore completely.
With XP, you can delete all but the most recent (presumably clean)
System Restore point from the More Options section of Disk Cleanup
(Run>cleanmgr).

4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.

5) Run a firewall.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help Malke, I got the computer back up and working. Your
assistance was greatly appreciated. Thank you again.

Buck

Also, I just spoke with him again. He added that his roomate was the
first one to experience the problem. He was generally browsing on the
internet ( a Wil Farrel site) pop-ups went crazy, and the computer
shut down. He also mentioned that he had recently tried to install
different spy-ware blockers to try and kill the minimal pop-ups he was
getting before the incident where the machine shut down. He had tried
microsoft ad-aware, and the yahoo pop-up blocker.

The information from your friend's roommate indicates that the computer
was heavily infested with malware which puts the issue in another
light. The Stop Error you got usually indicates a problem with hardware
and/or drivers, but it is quite possible that some malware damaged or
overwrote something connected with the Internet networking. Since your
friend has broadband, when he puts in the ethernet cable he *is* on
line, whether or not a browser is actually opened.

Since the machine can get into Safe Mode, you or your friend can try
cleaning it up; however, I'm going to suggest taking it to a
professional (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA). I'm not saying
this to hurt your feelings or those of your friend, but simply because
this will be the most effective way to fix the computer. However, if
you want to attempt this yourself, here are general malware removal
steps. Everything must be done in Safe Mode with updated tools. Get the
tools/updates from a different, known-clean machine with an Internet
connection and a cd burner. You will note that Step 1 is to scan with a
current version antivirus (not earlier than 2004 and using updated
definitions). If your friend does not have an av installed, you will
need to start with running TrendMicro's Sysclean, and then get a
full-featured av, install it, update it, and do a thorough scan.

A. Sysclean - TrendMicro's Sysclean is an extensive antivirus tool which
has the advantage of not needing to be installed. It requires two parts
- the scanning engine and the virus pattern files. Delete all Temporary
and Temporary Internet Files before running the program.

1. Create a new folder on your Desktop or the C: drive named something
useful like "Sysclean".
2. Go here and download the two parts of the program to that folder:

http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp - Sysclean
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp - virus pattern files

The pattern files will be zipped - extract them with your unzipper (like
WinZip) or if you have XP, you can just open the folder. You need to
put the extracted files in the Sysclean folder you made. For a more
automated way to get Sysclean, use Dave Lipman's Sysclean_FE from
http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm .

3. Restart your computer in Safe Mode. Get into Safe Mode by repeatedly
tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up to get to the proper
menu.
4. Go to the Sysclean folder you made and double-click on sysclean.com.
Start the scan. After the scan is finished, look at the log. You may
need to make a note of where any viruses were found if they were not
able to be removed so you can manually delete them.

B. Malware removal - First delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet
Files. For IE's Temporary Files, go to Control Panel>Internet
Options>General tab. You'll see where you can delete cookies and files.
For Firefox, clear its cache by going to Tools>Options>Privacy>Cache>
Clear. For Windows Temporary files, Start>Run cleanmgr [enter]. Then
follow these detailed malware removal steps, doing everything with
updated tools in Safe Mode. You can find all the links to referenced
programs and sites on my website here:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2004)
antivirus using updated definitions.

Before you remove malware, get LSPFix or WinSockFix for XP - see links
below.

2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.

Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).

If the malware remains even after you used Ad-aware and Spybot, you can
scan with HijackThis. HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and
disable hijackers, but it requires expert skill. See the links on my
website for a HijackThis tutorial and places where you can post your
HJT log. Again, this is an expert tool and novices should get help
with it.

3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore after the system is clean because malware will be in the
Restore Points. With ME, you must disable System Restore completely.
With XP, you can delete all but the most recent (presumably clean)
System Restore point from the More Options section of Disk Cleanup
(Run>cleanmgr).

4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.

5) Run a firewall.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Malke]

Thanks for your help Malke, I got the computer back up and working.
Your assistance was greatly appreciated. Thank you again.

Buck

That's great! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I hope your
friend appreciates you!

Malke