Computer Problems! Help! Can You Help Diagnose My Problem?

[the_rev]

Dear phriends,

I have been having computer problems recently and to be honest, I don't have the money to dish out for expensive repairs or to take it to Best Buy or a computer shop to have them diagnose the problem. As of late I have been having three main problems:

1. When I've been playing a DVD in my cd-rom drive, sometimes during the middle of playing of the video, the video stops and the cd-rom drive sort of goes into an overdrive, making pretty crazy noises. I would try to eject it, but it would take several minutes for it to finally eject it. Sometimes though I could put a disc in my computer and it would tell me there is no disc even though there clearly is. A friend told me I probably needed a cd-rom drive. I have acquired one but have not yet had it installed by him.

2. I have had this problem off and on for the past year. Last year I think it was a problem for a month and then it subsided, but returned again in like October this year, subsided, but has now returned again. This is the problem: If I leave my computer on, not hibernate it or shut it down, but just leave everything pulled up so I can easily access it when I return to my room, if the computer is left unattended/idle for a significant amount of time (as quickly as 8 or 10 minutes or a greater amount of time.) I often wondered if this was a virus problem, so I ran my virus scan when I went off to lunch and my computer froze 8:31 into the scan. It seemed to have found a lot of spyware in that 8 minutes. Could this be my problem?

3. Just recently, I could be in the middle of doing some work and without any cause or reason my computer would go to the blue screen, it would do a crash dump and then restart as if nothing happened. Once I'd get to my desktop it would tell me about the recovery from an unexpected shutdown.

I saved that information from one time and this is what it said:

[b]Problem signature:[/b]
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

[b]Additional information about the problem:[/b]
BCCode: 24
BCP1: 00000000001904AA
BCP2: FFFFFA60193D1708
BCP3: FFFFFA60193D10E0
BCP4: FFFFFA60012E3B42
OS Version: 6_0_6002
Service Pack: 2_0
Product: 768_1

But this is in a foreign language to me. Maybe you can decode it!

Do you think all three of my problems are interrelated or are they unrelated?

Any help that you may be able to shed would be greatly appreciated.

God Bless,

the_rev

[rachael]

blue screen of death

[Deus te Amat]

You probably have a virus and need to reformat your hard-drive. Back up all your stuff before you do though, because you'll lose all your files.

[BigJon16]

Arfink should know something about this.

Somebody call him!

[brianthephysicist]

1 sounds like a separate issue, but it's impossible to know for sure. either way, I would fix 2 and 3 before spending the money to fix 1.

I'm almost certain that 2 and 3 are directly connected. Even if they aren't, the one solution that will fix them both is a complete reinstall of your operating system. Depending on when you bought your computer, they either packaged it with recovery disks or there is a recovery partition already in your hard-drive. Put the disk in the drive and restart your computer, it'll give you the option to reinstall. If it didn't come with a disk, when your computer starts up it will have a tiny message at the bottom of the screen something to the effect of "For boot options, press F12" (or some other button depending on your computer), press this and go through the options to reinstall your OS

As Deus said, backup all of your important files before you do this. Something to be aware of is that whatever is causing this on your computer may be hiding in those files. Often, this isn't the case, but it can happen. So after you reinstall your OS and put these back on, it might happen again. If that's the case, you can either go through the files and only save a copy of what's really really important and go through it again.

[arfink]

I'm going to begin by assuming you are using Windows XP, just based on the error codes. However, in future I would suggest that you be sure to mention what OS you are using. Nitpicky detail, but not everyone uses Windows machines, and not every install of Windows is the same.

One thing I'd like to point out is that the error message is indicating what's more commonly known as a "kernel panic" which is what happens when you crash the underlying structure of Windows. This can be caused by a number of things, but the most common culprits are 1) viruses or malware, or 2) failure of the computer's RAM. Or far less likely, 3) localized overheating of the northbridge, which generally only happens in laptops clogged with pet hair. (no, seriously.)

For most people, a BSOD-type crash is caused by malware. Malware can include viruses, adware, or even legitimate software which just happens to be poorly configured/installed/maintained and thus is capable of screwing up the kernel somehow.

To fix this:

You need to backup any and all data which you plan to keep, then reinstall the operating system. Your computer should have come with discs for this purpose, or at least a protected partition which will contain these files. Your original manual should contain the information for how to do this. Failing that, you can usually look it up on the manufacturer's website.

THEN, once you have reinstalled your OS you will need to do a few things to actually prevent this from happening again. Most people just continue using their computer the same way they always used to, and the problem will happen again and again. To prevent corruption from malware you must actually maintain your computer. Here is a simple list of steps to take:

1- reinstall Windows. From the ground up with a full HDD format, not just restoring a former image, but a real re-install.
2- once Windows is installed: do NOT go surf the web, do NOT install any programs, and DO update Windows to the very newest service pack, which is SP3.
3- then, after that's done, install reputable anti-virus and anti-malware software. I suggest Clamwin and Adaware Free edition. Run a full scan and let them clean up the mess. Yes, even a fresh Windows XP install will have a few annoying malwares from the manufacturer, which is super annoying but unfortunately normal. At least, all Dell, HP, Gateway, and Acer OEM discs I have used do.
4- then you should install an alternate browser that's actually secure, like Chrome or Firefox, preferably with an ad-blocker and scripting attack protection.

5- NOW you may surf the web and install your other programs.

[Blind]

1 is the lens is getting stuck and the track needs cleaned. its easy if you know what your doing. you can youtube it your computer should let you do that.

ok did you read what you wrote on 2? lol .

"I have had this problem off and on for the past year. Last year I think it was a problem for a month and then it subsided, but returned again in like October this year, subsided, but has now returned again. This is the problem: If I leave my computer on, not hibernate it or shut it down, but just leave everything pulled up so I can easily access it when I return to my room, if the computer is left unattended/idle for a significant amount of time (as quickly as 8 or 10 minutes or a greater amount of time.) I often wondered if this was a virus problem, so I ran my virus scan when I went off to lunch and my computer froze 8:31 into the scan. It seemed to have found a lot of spyware in that 8 minutes. Could this be my problem?"

what is the issue when you leave it on? it freezes?

this can also be connected to 3...

3 this sounds to me like your video card is having issues but it may be a bios problem. the reinstall is an easy fix if you have the recovery discs. I would need a little more info though to be sure, like Operating System and your level of computers would probably help just so I could figure out how to explain it.

try this if you have time [url="http://www.ubuntu.com/"]http://www.ubuntu.com/[/url] it is linux and is a very basic operating system which requires minimal stuff to work. make a disc and run it off the disc dont install it. you can surf the web with firefox with no problems but see if the blue screen still happens. and let us know. this is a free sofware sight and will be the fastest way in my opinion to figure out where the issue is and who knows you may like linux. if all you do is surf the web you should install it no viruses or spyware attacks...which is a plus. I will try to check back but my time is running out so i hope to help you fix this before i go.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Blind

[Groo the Wanderer]

[b]Backup all your User Data now[/b]



BCCode: 24
BCP1: 00000000001904AA

[b]0x24: [/b][b]NTFS.SYS[/b]
This indicates a problem occurred in ntfs.sys, the driver file that allows the system to read and write to NTFS drives

Cause
One possible cause of this bug check is disk corruption. Corruption in the NTFS file system or bad blocks (sectors) on the hard disk can induce this error. Corrupted SCSI and IDE drivers can also adversely affect[url="http://www.vistax64.com/#"][color="#3676a2"][font=inherit !important][size=1][font=inherit !important][size=1]the [/size][/font][font=inherit !important][size=1]system's[/size][/font][/size][/font][/color][/url] ability to read and write to disk, thus causing the error.

Another possible cause is depletion of nonpaged pool memory. If the nonpaged pool memory is completely depleted, this error can stop the system. However, during the indexing process, if the amount of available nonpaged pool memory is very low, another kernel-mode driver requiring nonpaged pool memory can also trigger this error.

Resolve:
Run sfc/scannow
Check disk for file system errors bad sectors
To resolve a nonpaged pool memory depletion problem: Either add new physical memory to the computer (thus increasing the quantity of nonpaged pool memory available to the kernel), or run the Vista diagnostic memory Test to check your installed RAM- If your drive comes up clean, then this problem is probably the issue with your RAM sticks; either they are bad, or not supported

Do this first;
[url="http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html"]System Files - SFC Command[/url]

Do this next: (note Check out page 2 regarding Corruption If the Checkdisk fails.)
[url="http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/165576-how-make-vista-more-responsive-faster.html?fiddler"]How To Make Vista more responsive and faster[/url]

Memory test
Start>control Panel> click "classic View"> click Admin tools> click Memory tester

[BigJon16]

Guess Arfink isn't the only one...



Nerd[b]s[/b].... hahahaha

[Groo the Wanderer]

**secret**

i found my info by googling the error code.


**shh!**

[arfink]

[quote name='Groo the Wanderer' timestamp='1323576686' post='2348942']
**secret**

i found my info by googling the error code.


**shh!**


[/quote]

Whoops, you got me. I just assumed I was looking at an XP error code.

Yeah, if you have impending drive failure then yuppers you bettah be backing up now.

Edited December 11, 2011 by arfink

[the_rev]

Man, it is like you all are speaking a foreign language to me. Basically this is what I am getting from what you all are saying: This smells of elderberries!

1. I don't know where my original back up discs are. So I don't think I'll be able to do that.

2. I don't have the money to shell out for a new computer, so I guess in the future I might have to make friends with the school computer lab.

3. I have no idea how to back up my computer.

Gahh!

[Ed Normile]

When you leave your computer alone in your room and return to have these problems, are you leaving it laying on your bed or a couch or chair by any chance? The reason I ask those types of surfaces restrict air flow and will cause overheating of your mainboard and it acts just like what you are explaining. Just something for you to consider.

ed

Edited December 11, 2011 by Ed Normile

[the_rev]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1323577859' post='2348954']
When you leave your computer alone in your room and return tohave these problems, are you leaving laying it on your bed or a couch or chair by any chance? The reason I ask those types of surfaces restrict air flow and will cause overheating of your mainboard and it acts just like what you are explaining. Just something for you to consider.

ed
[/quote]

I leave it on my computer desk open.
[quote name='Groo the Wanderer' timestamp='1323576092' post='2348934']

Do this first;
[url="http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html"]System Files - SFC Command[/url]

Do this next: (note Check out page 2 regarding Corruption If the Checkdisk fails.)
[url="http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/165576-how-make-vista-more-responsive-faster.html?fiddler"]How To Make Vista more responsive and faster[/url]

Memory test
Start>control Panel> click "classic View"> click Admin tools> click Memory tester
[/quote]

So one of these links you gave me linked me to something that i could download called uniblue which it did a registry booster, it told me that after the scan it found 365 registry errors. To fix all these errors I'd have to buy the program which they want thirty bucks. I did fix 15 for free because it wanted to show me how easy it was. Do you think that this program can fix my problems?

[arfink]

I have no idea how you wound up following a link to Uniblue, but a Google search suggests they are a known scam organization, and their software is classified as malware. Neither of those links contains further links to Uniblue, which suggests to me your web browser might possibly be hacked or compromised and is redirecting you. I dunno.

EDIT: Or you clicked on a banner ad by mistake?

Edited December 11, 2011 by arfink