Computer Help? Any Computer Geeks out there?

David Stifle

David Stifle

Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
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I posted this question is tech support, but the mod moved it. Hope it's okay to ask the question here. Since we all use our computers to get on this forum, I figure this is an appropriate issue to post here (well, that's my arguement anyway, haha). My computer is slow, freezes up, and I get an alert saying the computer is low on virtual memory. I know freeze up's are usually caused by virus's and/or registry errors. I don't have any virus's, so by default it's registry errors. My question, what do you guys do when you encounter this problem? I've seen a lot of free fixit programs I could upload, but I'm leery of doing so.Thanks for any advice.
 
You should always run multiple virus/malware/spyware tools against your PC in a case like this. Trend Micro's housecall is free for an online scan, you can download Spybot search and destroy, also free. AVGfree is also an additional free virus tool. (not sure if I should have included names but they are non-knife related and free)
 
Dodgeem33, will Spybot or the other programs interfere with my current security program? (Kaspersky Lab)
 
They shouldn't, Kaspersky is a great tool but nothing is perfect. If you think they are interfering you can always install them, run a one time scan to clean up anything then uninstall.
 
Run RKill, this will find the major malwares and will try to stop the process Link to site

Run Cleanup.exe to remove most of your temp files Link to site (Run with default options)

Log off may be needed after running this

Then

SuperAntiSpyWare Link to site
Click portable Version >
Click "click here to download your product" Under the "SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner Existing License Holders" section at the bottom >
Click the red banner "Click here to download SuperaAntiSpyware portable"
Click Open or run. If you're using FireFox then save the .COM file
Log Off or reboot may be needed after you run this

Then

Run MalwareBytes Link to site
download install and run the free version

That should solve most of your problems

I wouldn't run spybot... i find that it sucks... Kaspersky is a great tool.

You may want to run Kaserskys rescue disk Link to site

MS has some good off line tools as well, but depending on what you have it takes some work to properly clean.

Other tools to try
Norton Power Eraser (Requires reboot)
FixTDSS (Requires reboot)


What you really really don't want to do is install multiple AntiVirus at the same time (Kaspersky+AVGFree+McAfee = Bad)
 
I'm probably the geekiest guy here, in that I've been in the computer industry since 1979, and work for Hewlett Packard now.

My personal advice... reload the software from scratch. Frankly, I find it to be good practice to do that every year or two, whether you have a strong reason to do so or not. Windows especially is prone to accumulating a lot of trash over the course of time... registry settings for software you no longer use, cookies, temporary files, disk fragmentation, and so on. Sure, you can spend a lot of time attacking the problems one at at time (and I do). Reloading the OS is the easier path.

Someone suggested using multiple virus scanners. Bad idea. Each one of them leaves behind residue of its own, and that slows your system down unless you are very clever about removing it. I also don't recommend those web sites that offer "free diagnosis". They invariably give you some gigantic number of "problems", most of which aren't problems at all. Then they charge you to fix all the non problems, which you could have fixed yourself with just a few clicks and keystrokes. Totally pointless. Then they leave behind residue, too.

One other word of advice... don't assume the problem is software. Sometimes failures like the ones you describe occur because hardware is beginning to fail. If you know how to look at the system error logs you can determine whether that's happening. If not, you're really just guessing at what might be happening. If your computer is more than 5 years old, consider updating or replacing it. Most computer components have been designed to last 3 - 5 years. We call it "Mean Time To Failure". They will generally last longer in some systems, and less time in others... but 5 years is about the point at which you should expect failures to start becoming more of a problem. When my computers get to their 5th birthday, I build new ones.

- Greg
 
Greg, thank you, that was very helpful. More than likely, reloading the software is beyond me, since I don't even know where to start. I never even thought about a computer just getting old and starting to fail. This one is about eight years old. And I have been looking forward to getting a new one. But, these problems seem to have started when I switched from McAfee to kaspersky. Probably no link to these problems though.
 
Actually, I have seen a number of problems reported against Kaspersky on servers, but haven't paid attention to whether similar reports show up on client OSes. Suffice it to say, I won't load Kasprersky on any system I use. On the rare occasion I think I have reason to worry, I load AVG Free, run a scan, then IMMEDIATELY remove AVG Free. I don't like having residue on my systems.
 
Greg, well, I've decided it's time to get a new computer. Any suggestions on a good basic computer with lot's of memory?
 
It's hard for me to be objective, since I work for HP and build my own computers. In general, the answer usually depends on what you want to do with it. If all you do is read emails and knife forums, pretty much any box will do. If you play video games, it becomes a whole different conversation. Doing CAD or other memory intensive things also changes the equation.

Most of the systems I build use previous generation processors (not the latest top of the line... last year's top of the line). That way I get great performance without paying a premium price. Memory is cheap these days, so like you said, I recommend getting more than you need. One advantage of doing so is you can turn off memory paging (if you like). I also like getting powerful graphics cards and BIG monitors. My current monitor is 27" and it's already feeling small to me. I want a 30 inch now. The more pixels I can process the better. Not because I play games, but because it allows me to have multiple spreadsheets open at once... or a couple of other apps going simultaneously.

As a general rule, I prefer systems with Intel processors over AMD. There's not MUCH difference in functionality, and the AMD systems ARE cheaper, but I just have a long standing preference for Intel processors. Currently I have a Core I7 based system (which is getting pretty old now.... pre Sandy Bridge, so only 1366 pins). What you want to look for here is number of cores and core speed. Quad core or better with >> 2 GHz is what I prefer. Also pay attention to L3 cache sizes, as this has a lot to do with how efficiently the processor handles repeated instructions and prefetching.

Yeah, I know... I just went over the geek cliff. But that's what I do. Maybe the best thing is for you to take a geeky friend with you when you go to buy one. Most of the geeks I know get called into this sort of service by family and friends. ;)
 
tryppyr said:
Maybe the best thing is for you to take a geeky friend with you when you go to buy one. Most of the geeks I know get called into this sort of service by family and friends. ;)
Click to expand...


Whew! I'm going to take your advice, Greg. Take a geeky friend along. Seriously, thanks for all the info!
 
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