Freezing up on the internet

16 years ago

I am having a problem with my computer freezing up while on the internet. I have a HP Pavilion 061 desktop, Version 2002 Service Pack 3, AMDAthlon XP, 2.2 GHz 512MB of RAM, F-secure internet protection. I also run SUPERAntispyware and Malwarebytes on a regular basis. I use Firefox as my browser, my provider is Charter Cable, and my wireless connection is Netgear.

When the problem of the computer freezing up first started, I thought it was because of a virus. I did a manual F-secure scan, downloaded the Superantispyware and the Malwarebytes and ran those as well. The problem still continued. I thought my problem may be with the wireless, which at that time was Linksys. A sales rep suggested it was because my wireless phone may be interfering because of the wavelength frequency, so I bought a Netgear wireless system that supposedly bypasses the phone/wireless frequency issue. The computer still continued to freeze up. Called Charter, they claim that they can "see" that I am not having any connectivity problems. An IT specialist at work suggested that I add more RAM. Bought a 1GB card and added to the current 512MB RAM already in the computer. Guess what--still freezes up. A couple of hundred dollars later, and I have yet to resolve the problem. When the computer freezes, the screen is still displayed, but the mouse and the cursor does not work. I try CTRL-ALT-DEL, it does not work either. I can't even get the ON-OFF button to work, I have to unplug the D@mn thing! Any suggestions besides taking a sledgehammer to it?

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Comments (4)

owbist
16 years ago
First possibility is heat. When was the last time you removed the left side panel and cleaned out all the dust bunnies? Hopefully your tower does not sit on the floor where it gathers far more dust than if it was even 6 inches off the floor.

Remove the side with the computer still running but touch nothing! Look to see the fans are all running, being an HP I suspect you have one fan sitting over the CPU (processor) and another housed inside the power supply. Once you have determined both are running freely shut down. Now look for dust and crud built up either on the fans or in the case of the CPU fan it will also be on the cooling fins directly underneath.

You can buy a small can of compressed air to clean but take the tower outside and blow out the dust. Be sure to hold your finger on the CPU fan to stop it spinning wildly. With the power supply fan use a toothpick or any small non metallic item to stop the fan. DO NOT remove anything and go inside the power supply, it holds power and might bite if you go in there.

Another thing might be to check your Event viewer. Click Start, Control panel, Administrative tools, Event viewer. Click System on the left side of the new window and look down thew right side for any red error messages, scroll down as needed. Double click on any for an explanation. Often there will be a link there, click that to see if a fix is offered.

Any of that help at all?
bpgreen
16 years ago
Sometimes if there's a bad spot on the disk, it can cause issues like this.

Go to the start button, then click run. In the box that shows up, type cmd then press enter.

A black box will open up (a command prompt). Type Chkdsk /f and press enter. You'll be prompted that it can't lock the disk and asked if you want to run when you restart. Answer Y and press enter. Then restart Windows. It will take longer to start as it checks the disk for errors. If there are bad spots, it will try to lock them out, but it may be a sign that the drive is getting old, so make a backup ASAP.
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shay13
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks owbist, when I added the memory card, I did see a lot of dust had accumulated, so I gave it a good shot of compressed air. My computer sits in a cabinet on the very bottom shelf, but there is no back to that particular space so dust can accumulate there. I'll try the event viewer as well.
Thanks bpgreen, I'll try the chkdsk/f as well and back it up before I do.
owbist
16 years ago
Shay what ever you do refrain from closing the back of the tower enclosure. Your fans are set to suck air in the front of the tower and expel it through the rear. That opening allows the warmer air flow to escape. Also if you have a door on this area it would be a great plan to remove it to allow free air intake. Unless there is a means to allow the air to enter of course, not trying to ruin your furniture :~)

Did you pay particular attention to the cooling fins under the CPU when you used the compressed air to clean inside the tower? This is the most critical area of all and if it gets plugged the computer automatically shuts down at a certain temperature to protect the CPU from frying.

Freezing up on the internet

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owbist

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Freezing up on the internet

Comments (4)

owbist

bpgreen

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shay13Original Author

owbist

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shay13
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