Winxp Browser Problems

[Rafferty]

Yesterday my computer (Dell XPS210, WinXP, 80 GB HD, IntelCore2 duo) began
freezing anytime I used a browser (IE or Firefox). I contacted Dell since
the computer is still in warranty. By then the problem had "spread" so that
the computer was locking up in OE as well. They advised restoring to an
earlier date but I couldn't because that screen too was frozen. They
advised rebooting c. the XP installation disk and using CHKDSK. We first
attempted using CHKDSK using the "run" command within XP, no luck, another
freeze. Using the installation disk I was able to run CHKDSK but it took a
very long time, several hours, to run so I sacked out and left the computer
on. This AM there was a DOS window up and the report that CHKDSK had fixed
errors. So I rebooted and had a normal boot. Obviously I can use OE but
the freeze problem persists c. IE or Firefox. That is, it loads a page just
fine but then freezes so that I have to close the program. Any help you all
can provide would be deeply appreciated. I'll probably call Dell again as
well since I have an open case no. there but I can't do that until after
work. Many thanks in advance.

 

[Malke]

Yesterday my computer (Dell XPS210, WinXP, 80 GB HD, IntelCore2 duo) began
freezing anytime I used a browser (IE or Firefox). I contacted Dell since
the computer is still in warranty. By then the problem had "spread" so
that
the computer was locking up in OE as well. They advised restoring to an
earlier date but I couldn't because that screen too was frozen. They
advised rebooting c. the XP installation disk and using CHKDSK. We first
attempted using CHKDSK using the "run" command within XP, no luck, another
freeze. Using the installation disk I was able to run CHKDSK but it took
a very long time, several hours, to run so I sacked out and left the
computer
on. This AM there was a DOS window up and the report that CHKDSK had
fixed
errors. So I rebooted and had a normal boot. Obviously I can use OE but
the freeze problem persists c. IE or Firefox. That is, it loads a page
just
fine but then freezes so that I have to close the program. Any help you
all
can provide would be deeply appreciated. I'll probably call Dell again as
well since I have an open case no. there but I can't do that until after
work. Many thanks in advance.

1. What is the virus/malware status of the machine? If you think it is
clean, what did you use to determine this?

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

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

3. Go to Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager. Are there any yellow
exclamation marks next to hardware entries such as the network adapter?
Even if not, get the latest drivers for the network adapter from Dell for
your XPS210. You will need to get them from a different computer and save
them to a USB thumbdrive. Then uninstall the network adapter drivers and
install the ones you downloaded.

Malke

 

[Gerry]

Have a look in the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for
Errors and Warnings and post copies here. Don't post any more than 48
hours ago.

You will see a hang report in the Application log referring to the Internet
Explorer freeze, which indicates the result not the cause. Posting this
report will not help Try and find a report which refers to another event
about the same time. In particular are there any reports where the source is
"Disk"?

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
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/kb/308427/en-us

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. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

Try HD Tune. It only gives information and does not fix any
problems.

Download and run it and see what it turns up. You want HD Tune
(freeware) version 2.55 not HD Tune Pro (not Freeware) version 3.00.
http://www.hdtune.com/

Select the Info tabs and place the cursor on the drive under Drive
letter and then double click the two page icon ( copy to Clipboard )
and copy into a further message.

Select the Health tab and then double click the two page icon ( copy to
Clipboard ) and copy into a further message. Make sure you do a full
surface scan with HD Tune.

--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~