My Computer is hosed!

[Guest]

I've been having trouble shutting down my XP SP2 computer lately and last
night had to use the power button. This has not been too uncommon lately and
usually ie refuses to close with the Turn Off button.

This morning I'm in really bad shape and am posting this message from
another computer. At first I thought that ie would not open but then
realized that it would open after about 10 open but then realized that it
would open but after about a 10 minute wait. Other things I've noticed are:

Task Manager will not open. Notepad will open but anything I type into a
window has scramled characters which do not match what I type. Same is true
if I type into a Google search window.

I hope someone can help me recover from this.

 

[DatabaseBen]

it could be "anything" that is
causing these problems.

first, do a windows repair with
your windows setup cd and
provide us with the results.

be sure to have only the kb, mouse
and video connected to the pc.

if you have any special
boards like video remove it.

if a repair won't go through,
then the problem can be narrowed
down to being a hardware issue.

but take it one step at a time.

 

[Guest]

Ben,

I did not receive a Setup CD with this Dell XPS 400. Instead I received a
piece of paper with a picture of a CD which says: "Your computer does not
require an operating system CD or drivers CD. Instead, if you ever need to
reinstall your sw, use one of the following methods." These methods are
windows system restore and Dell PC restore. I guess it's gonna be one or the
other.

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Please check Event Viewer for Warning / Error Reports in the System
and Application logs for the last boot and post copies.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Administrative Tools, and
Event Viewer. When researching the meaning of the error, information
regarding Event ID, Source and Description are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308427&sd=tech

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you should
double click for further information. You can copy using copy and paste.
Often the link will, however, say there is no further information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double click
on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a button
resembling two pages. Double click the button and close Event Viewer. Now
start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of the message. This
will paste the info from the Event Viewer Error Report complete with links
into the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from Event
Viewer.


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[DatabaseBen]

ok,
not having any method to access
your pc externally puts you in a very
difficult situation.

It's not a matter of
what will cause you to loose the o.s. but
when - since the methods of attacks are
continuouisly improving to bypass safe gaurds.

At this time you should make an emergency
bootup cd from this good pc you are temporarily
working from; because this will bring you one
step closer to accessing a crashed pc for the
future.

Secondly, you need to work on getting
a copy of the o.s. for your pc.

Some things might help right now
is to boot into safe mode. Remember
that you can access safe mode with networking
via f8 for this option on the boot menu.

Then see if some of your symptoms are
alleviated. While in safe mode, be sure
to disable all your startups in msconfig and reboot
back into safe mode.

If you have antiviruls in
the startups, disabling them should be of no consequence
at this time, since they had the opportunity
to protect your system previously.
taking back more control of your pc.

disconnect your modem and open the ie in
offline mode. Ensure the default homepage is blank,
ensure all addins are disabled and ensure
your temp file space is set to auto and
to a size of maybe 200 megs. then exit ie.

Next connect to the net via your internet connection then
wait to ensure a connection and ensure your firewall is
turned off.

start your ie and type in a safe url like
www.msn.com or www.microsoft.com
if possible i suggest you download a backup browser
from http://www.avantbrowser.com/download.html
while your online

afterwards, disconnect and reboot or shutdown.

what are the results?