Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Technical Help and How To's Laptop Acting werid

My laptop has been acting werid lately. It started with almost everyone page I connect to has to be refreshed before I can't load it (I always get a windows error page that it's not there) Then this morning it just froze up no reason I wasn't downloading anything. I just was at ff.net reading a story only that one window open.

I had to shut it down manulaly then when I turned it back on at first it didn't want to let me back online then when I clicked on IE the page won't load it was just a blank white page no error message are anything.

I ran a test on my wireless card and it passed then clicked off my connect like it's supposed too. Then once it connected again everything was fine. The laptop seems fine now expect it still doing that error messages again and I have to refresh the page until they come in.

Could I have a virus on the laptop? Does anyonoe know any good free virus scans?

There is AVG Anti-Virus . It is free for home, non-commercial use, and it looks for updates daily online. It's what I have on my laptop, and I haven't had a problem since I installed it (a few years back).

Do you have a firewall installed in your computer also? How about anti-spyware? A few suggestions:

- Lavasoft Ad-Aware (download the free version on green button on right)
- Spybot - Search & Destroy (another anti-spyware)
- Zone Alarm Firewall

These are all free (Ad-Aware has some limitations, but works well), and may help find malware in your computer and keep the new ones out.

Good luck!

If you have any other questions, please post.

malu

Let me ask a little about the laptop and the wireless card.

What is the laptop's model, and what is the wireless card's model? Is the wireless card new to the system, or have you been using it for a while?

Also, do you have problems with ALL pages you try to access, or just a particular few?

Take a look at this page . Try following the instructions and see if it helps.

I do think that the freezing thing was just a coincidence. It might be malware, though.

malu

I've used AVG for some years now and it's been great. Never given me any hassles, it works away quietly on its own in the background and I have access to regular updates.

LabRat

At first it was only a few pages like different yahoo pages. Now it's like once it starts it does it to all pages at some point. I just turn my laptop back on and it hasn't had any trouble as yet.

I have a Dell Inspiron B130 with a built in wireless card.

Have you tried checking for viruses and malware?

What about what that last link I posted said?

I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 with an internal wireless card, and every now and then when I use my wireless connection stops working, and I have to either restart the computer or disable and enable the card. It seems Dell doesn't have a good wireless card (apparently the antenna is not very good), even though the signal may be excellent. I don't know if there is a fix for that.

Let us know if none of that helped.

malu

I ran a traco scan last night took over 2 hours to get the whole scan done. It found one adware and would malware one then I deleted all my tracking cookies.

Once I was done I restarted my computer and I'm still having trouble with the blank pages. So far it hasn't froze up yet.

(It did it again last night before I scaned it. This time it happened when I closed the lid and came back to get it out of sleep and it just won't woke up. So I had to manullay shut it down then when I went to turn it back on at first it woundn't instead one of the lights at the top the middle one A just kept blinking then stopped and I had to turn it on again then it turned on)

So far today it's running. Maybe the blank pages are the wireless card messing up. I hope that it's something like that that will just happen and I can just refresh the page not something that will break the whole computer. I'm saving up money now for a new laptop.

I'm having trouble though I keep spending some of it on my neice and nephew. I can't help it though I keep running into good sales for them.

But I have to stop that now because I really need to save up if this keeps happening incase I have to get the new laptop before chirstmas. I trying to having enough money for when the sales on laptops start at christmas time.

It froze up again on me. All I did was lift it off my laptop sat it down then came back about five minutes later. When I came back it was froze up no one touched it are anything.


I'm gonna have to try to find another virus scan and scan it again.

You know, it might be some other program that is having a conflict in your system and is freezing it.

Do you have a way of using your Internet without the wireless (I mean, do you have access to a "wired" Internet that is not dial-up)? If so, try to use it with the wireless card disabled, and see if you still have these problems.

If the freezing problem continues, it may be some other program installed in your computer not related to the wireless connection that is making the computer freeze.

What other programs are you usually running when it freezes?

It might also be that the computer is getting too hot and so the system freezes. Is the bottom very hot when it is frozen?

malu

My USB hub doesn't work and my laptop does get really hot on the bottom so I usually have a fan pointed at my laptop when I'm on it because if I don't it gets to hot. I have noticed that it froze up when I lift if off my lap and the fan isn't pointed at it any more.

I ran a second scan and nothing but a few cookies showed up this time.

Maybe the air isn't circulating properly inside your laptop and it is overheating.

When you put it down (not on your lap) while it's on, do you put it over a soft place, like a sofa, or do you put it over a table? If over a soft place, you might be blocking the fan and the computer isn't cooling off. Also, make sure you don't work with it when the air temperature is too high, or hot air will be going into the computer and not help cool it off (that's why the outside fan works; helps circulate cooler air).

Also, while on your lap, make sure you are not covering the fan. Try finding some hard surface (maybe a tray table) that you can set the computer over when on your lap, between the computer and your legs. Maybe something like this .

malu

I have it on a hard surface I always do (right after I got my laptop I went to buy a wireless mouse and saw the computer fans and asks about them and they said that as long as I didn't put it on a soft surface I wouldn't need one) So I've always had it on a hard surface I got a lap desk to sat it on.

I think it might be over heating though it started getting hot some time during like one day in June then since then I've always kept a fan by it because of my USB hub not working.

It does get really hot and the fan does kick in sometimes but I don't think it is keeping it cool. It was like once my laptop met the year mark it started this.

I'm right now trying to save up just to get a new one I think I got a lemon. I'm just sick of the trouble I've been having with this one.

I'll rather send the money that it would cost on fixing this towards a new one without the problems of this one.

If you want to check the temperature that your computer is running at (CPU, hard drive, memory, etc.), there is this program for Dell Inspiron/Latitute/Precision that measures the temperatures of the system and can control the fan.

Look here .

I don't know if this would help, but at least you'll know for sure if the computer is overheating.

My computer has the following temperatures (average, in Celsius):
CPU: 43
GPU (related to graphics): 64
Memory: 43
Chipset: 45
Hard Drive: 44

I don't know if these are high or normal, but I don't have problems with my laptop.

When I open Google Earth, all temperatures increase *A LOT*, so the temperatures depend on what you are running on your computer.

malu

This reply is if your problem is in anyway from heat. I have a laptop that I bought in January 1999 that I just use for word processing or reading stories I've downloaded. I keep it in my bedroom because it is the only room I air condition in the summer. I would get really and I mean really hot on the bottom even though I had it on a hard surface and had it raised up on two small pieces of wood so air could circulate. After the post about the external fan for a laptop I went to Staples and bought an external dual fan. It works great. I've had it running for hours and stuck my hand under it a number of times and it is always cool where it was normally hot to the touch. So I would recommend anyone with a laptop to get an external dual fan unit for you laptop.

PS: This means your not going to be running the laptop from the battery. Don't know if you can get batteries for the fans but since my old machine has a short battery life I never run it from the battery anyway.

Also, check the air vents underneath and vacuum them out (or use canned air to blow them clean) - this may entail undoing some of the plates on the underside to get access - the internal fan may be clogged with dust. (It happened to me - a can of air and it was good.)