? PC Fatigue

[Arthur Little]

And I'm not referring to that great British "institution" ... the "beat bobby" - a rare breed [when you need one] these days. Nor am I talking about the "battle-weary" officer who "never" struck Ian Tomlinson ... causing the latter to keel-over and expire.

No, ... I MEAN nothing less than my Personal Computer - a Microsoft 'Windows Vista' - purchased at PC World in June 2008.

The problem is difficult to describe ... especially for a non-tech geek like me. But for some time now - especially since my internet provider tiscali.co.uk was take over by 'TalkTalk' - the service has been abominably sluggish. Then, conversely ...when it finally DOES get going ... the monitor screen seems to about after a while, becomes hazy - and posts I've put a lot of thought and effort into, suddenly seem to disappear altogether - before the system returns to "dead slow & stop". This weird "behaviour" appears to intensify whenever I'm typing a longish spiel ... and, today in particular, it's been having a profoundly deleterious effect on my already frayed nerves.

So if, as many believe, computers are capable of being almost "human", I daresay they must get "tired" too, through overuse ...!

[James Hubbard]

It is an expensive computer (rather, was is expensive upon purchase)?

I find that cheaper computers tend to fatigue or even conk out earlier.

Perhaps it's a memory issue.

Do you watch movies on your computer?
Do you use youtube a lot?

these may be factors eating at your memory, causing your computer to slow down and not respond

also ...

are there files on your comp that you can delete? Call it pruning!


James "the pseudo-geek" Hubbard

[Arthur Little]

It is an expensive computer (rather, was is expensive upon purchase)?

I find that cheaper computers tend to fatigue or even conk out earlier.

... depends upon what you consider expensive ... THIS one cost nearly 500 quid [NEW] just over 2 years ago. You're most probably RIGHT about the cheaper models, though.

Perhaps it's a memory issue.

... could BE, I suppose.

Do you watch movies on your computer?
Do you use youtube a lot?

Movies? ... NO. When do you think I'd find the time to watch movies ANYWHERE, James? I'm on HERE 24/7 ... well ... almost!

Occasionally use You Tube, though.

these may be factors eating at your memory, causing your computer to slow down and not respond

also ...

are there files on your comp that you can delete? Call it pruning!

James "the pseudo-geek" Hubbard

Quite possibly. But as I made it clear to the Boss ... I ain't no great shakes with Computer Technology in general!

Your suggestions are appreciated, however.

[bornatbirth]

could be a host of problems, have you phoned talk/talk because my internet goes on and off all the time, do you know how to format your hard drive to restore it back to normal but will wipe everything on your pc, are you using firewall, virus and some form of spyware...have you tried to restore it back to a earlier date?

[Arthur Little]

could be a host of problems, have you phoned talk/talk because my internet goes on and off all the time, do you know how to format your hard drive to restore it back to normal but will wipe everything on your pc, are you using firewall, virus and some form of spyware...have you tried to restore it back to a earlier date?

... TalkTalk? ... 'nuff SAID! The s keep phoning ME up with offers of new deals. Which is all very well ... except they always seem to "need" my bank details *over the phone - and *THIS is most definitely NOT ON!

As for my 'hard-drive' :lol2: ... well ... being an ... the only thing that's gonna restore MINE, is for me to invest in a regular supply of a certain bluish-coloured pep-pill! And if it WERE perchance to be returned to its former glory then I'M likely to be and ... yes ... I'd NEED some form of [anti] spyware!

[KeithD]

Righty.... You're not the first I know with TT issues.... change providers to PlusNet it's easily done these days, and you won't lose connection.

Install Spyware Doctor free with Google Pack , and run a FULL SCAN. Delete anything it comes up with.

Now clean up you're computer. In Accessories>SYSTEM TOOLS .... find DISK CLEANUP and run that... delete everything it comes up with. Then before you go to bed run the DISK DEFRAGGER ... and let it run over night.

Putting an extra 1GB of memory in can help speed it up, how many do you have now?

[Arthur Little]

Righty.... You're not the first I know with TT issues.... change providers to PlusNet it's easily done these days, and you won't lose connection.

Install Spyware Doctor free with Google Pack , and run a FULL SCAN. Delete anything it comes up with.

Now clean up you're computer. In Accessories>SYSTEM TOOLS .... find DISK CLEANUP and run that... delete everything it comes up with. Then before you go to bed run the DISK DEFRAGGER ... and let it run over night.

for your helpful advice. Have to confess though, I know next to nothing about the "guts" of computer functioning; however my nephew - an IT graduate - will be coming through from Glasgow to visit his mum & dad next weekend so, hopefully, I'll be able to "pick his brains"!!!

[Arthur Little]

... however, I HAVE taken on board, your suggestion about changing over to PlusNet ... and am, in fact, looking into it right now ... since the sluggishness, in particular, is driving me !

[Arthur Little]

Putting an extra 1GB of memory in can help speed it up, how many do you have now?

That's worth knowing ... but ... ... not sure how it's done. And, I realise this must seem ... well ... daft, to an experienced computer buff like yourself ... but ... to be honest ... I don't even have a clue as to how to check the number of ?'gegabites' there are at the moment ...

[somebody]

Righty.... You're not the first I know with TT issues.... change providers to PlusNet it's easily done these days, and you won't lose connection.

Install Spyware Doctor free with Google Pack , and run a FULL SCAN. Delete anything it comes up with.

Now clean up you're computer. In Accessories>SYSTEM TOOLS .... find DISK CLEANUP and run that... delete everything it comes up with. Then before you go to bed run the DISK DEFRAGGER ... and let it run over night.

Putting an extra 1GB of memory in can help speed it up, how many do you have now?

On top of that I would ask Arthur Sir what AV and anti spyware do you use at present?

Do you run updates for Vista automatically or have you checked if upto date?

Also Especially this site I would ask what Browser yo use? If its IE 8 then have a look at FIrefox, Google chrome or Opera all free and all far better at least for browsing this particular website and most mainstream websites.

Also I find far quick is ASUS defrag rather than the bulit in defrag option.

As well as Spyware DOctor which is very handy worth downloading anti malware again free for the basic version and very handy.

If your not a computer Whizz or even if you are your most useful tool is a pen and notepad. to record each step you make.

When you say its a Micosoft windows vista machine what device is it from PC world? Not all brands are the same it seems and some add there own software to the mix.

Have you added many programs over the time of ownership? DO you have programs running at start up and in the background a good place to look is in the bottom right hand corner at all the icons. Its amazing how many programs can be added over a period of time.

Also press ctrl alt del keys and go to task manger whats click on the performance section and what is it saying.? Are the graphs full or? I always advise people to look at the processes as well click on cpu and it should put up the processes taking the most resources from this people have discovered they have software good or bad running which is slowing the device down. I take it you get no error messages or any messages appearing at all on the screen you dont remember seeing until recently?

All it needs is a spring clean and possible a bit of a malware hunt and it will be most likely as good as gold.

[Arthur Little]

If your not a computer Whizz

Ah ... now, therein lies the the problem! If you look a wee bit further back on this thread, you'll see that Keith asked me earlier if it was the computer or the *browser. And I don't quite know how to answer this question, because I'm able to "browse" the site okay ... I'm just not sure of the technical definition of the *word in terms of it being a noun! But the trouble I have, is when - midway through typing a post and/or reply - it suddenly "freezes" ... starting with the 'smilies' [which I have a habit of using proliferously] followed by a clouding over of the monitor screen on which the typescript is still visible but hazy and, seconds later, vanishes irretrievably. What frustrates me most about these "shenanigans" is that I tend to THINK as I type ... since it inspires my train of thought ... and if I lose it all ... well .. it's back to square 1 - which, of course, can be extremely time consuming.

All it needs is a spring clean and possible a bit of a malware hunt and it will be most likely as good as gold

I WISH ... oh, if only! Many's the time lately, I've felt like

for your helpful suggestions, though, my friend.

[JimOttley]

Ah ... now, therein lies the the problem! If you look a wee bit further back on this thread, you'll see that Keith asked me earlier if it was the computer or the *browser. And I don't quite know how to answer this question, because I'm able to "browse" the site okay ... I'm just not sure of the technical definition of the *word in terms of it being a noun! But the trouble I have, is when - midway through typing a post and/or reply - it suddenly "freezes" ... starting with the 'smilies' [which I have a habit of using proliferously] followed by a clouding over of the monitor screen on which the typescript is still visible but hazy and, seconds later, vanishes irretrievably. What frustrates me most about these "shenanigans" is that I tend to THINK as I type ... since it inspires my train of thought ... and if I lose it all ... well .. it's back to square 1 - which, of course, can be extremely time consuming.



I WISH ... oh, if only! Many's the time lately, I've felt like

for your helpful suggestions, though, my friend.

Hi Arthur, I hope you got this sorted out in the end, I'm a bit late commenting on this one.

The "Browser" as a noun is the computer program which provides the window which you use to view this site.

The problem you are experiencing is a freezing of that program, the "clouding over" effect is either a temporary lockup of the programs internals or it is the death throws of the current instance of the program.

When it disappears from the screen that means the program did something that it should not do and the operating system (the computer) decided to terminate the Program and it's Window.

You can of course restart the program but the chances are it will do the same thing again.

From your earlier responses I am pretty sure you are only using the computer for Browsing so I doubt you have many other programs installed, so chances are that it is just your Browser that is acting up.

I use multiple browsers both Internet Explorer and Google Chrome and recently I have found that Internet Explorer has been pretty flaky, Microsoft sometimes make things worse rather than better when they release "fixes" that get automatically installed on your computer.

I am guessing from what you have said that you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer if you are still having problems the easiest thing to do would be to install another Browser and as Keith recommends Firefox you should go with that.

All Browsers and indeed all programs can crash like this, it is ultimately always the fault of a programmer like me somewhere occasionally it can be the hardware at fault but it's usually the programmer


Jim

[Arthur Little]

Hi Arthur, I hope you got this sorted out in the end, I'm a bit late commenting on this one.

Jim

Don't worry, Jim ... "better late than never", as the saying goes! Things SEEM to have greatly improved ... your diagnosis turned out to be SPOT-ON ... as you will note from my next response below! But I'm still a bit wary, and don't want to risk becoming too "complacent" at this stage.

[Arthur Little]

The problem you are experiencing is a freezing of that program, the "clouding over" effect is either a temporary lockup of the programs internals or it is the death throws of the current instance of the program.

When it disappears from the screen that means the program did something that it should not do and the operating system (the computer) decided to terminate the Program and it's Window.

You can of course restart the program but the chances are it will do the same thing again.

From your earlier responses I am pretty sure you are only using the computer for Browsing so I doubt you have many other programs installed, so chances are that it is just your Browser that is acting up.

I use multiple browsers both Internet Explorer and Google Chrome and recently I have found that Internet Explorer has been pretty flaky, Microsoft sometimes make things worse rather than better when they release "fixes" that get automatically installed on your computer.

I am guessing from what you have said that you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer if you are still having problems the easiest thing to do would be to install another Browser and as Keith recommends Firefox you should go with that.

All Browsers and indeed all programs can crash like this, it is ultimately always the fault of a programmer like me somewhere occasionally it can be the hardware at fault but it's usually the programmer


Jim

Jim ... ... it's ME that's late this time - with my promised follow-up! Anyway, the story IS - as luck would have it - I discovered that my equipment is still covered by an extended warranty until September 9. So I called in the 'Tech Guys' ... who sent round an engineer one Saturday forenoon recently. And d'you know what ...? As far as I can remember [from my limited knowledge of computers] HE came up with an explanation that (to my inexperienced ears) sounded like something along the lines of what you've mentioned in your post ... hence my comment about your diagnosis being spot-on!

It's good to know, therefore, that - in the event of any further problems - all I need do is refer back to the helpful suggestions you've shared with me here.
a million, Jim!

[KeithD]

Start Button>Control Panel>System ... it'll tell you on there how much memory you have

[Arthur Little]

Start Button>Control Panel>System ... it'll tell you on there how much memory you have

...

[James Hubbard]

you're welcome, but listen to keith rather than me, coz most of my advice stems from my own stupid mistakes lol

cheers arthur

[Arthur Little]

you're welcome, but listen to keith rather than me, coz most of my advice stems from my own stupid mistakes lol

cheers arthur

WILL do! ... , mate.

[LEAHnew]

Boss I think Moderators deserves new PC

Sir Art I hope you sorted it quick...good luck

[KeithD]

Boss I think Moderators deserves new PC

So do I .... very kind of you to offer

[LEAHnew]

So do I .... very kind of you to offer

inspired by Mr. James the Scatologist

[KeithD]

inspired by Mr. James the Scatologist

How the hell did you get a pic of my office???

[LEAHnew]

How the hell did you get a pic of my office???

I was a member of Spy girls

[James Hubbard]

inspired by Mr. James the Scatologist

Glad I am an Inspiration ng tae

[raynaputi]

Boss I think Moderators deserves new PC

Sir Art I hope you sorted it quick...good luck

This is the best suggestion you have ever said Ate Leah! for my own sake anyways..hahahahahahaha

[bornatbirth]

new alienware laptops all round for the mods

[Arthur Little]

Aaarrrgh ... this computer of mine ... it's getting worse! Gonna [reluctantly] have to give it a rest for the time being ... and read my latest crime thriller!

[KeithD]

Is it the computer or the browser?

[aromulus]

Is it the computer or the browser?

Perfect solution..



Disaster%20WaterProof%20Matches.jpg computer_on_fire.jpg

[raynaputi]

Don't worry Arthur, my computer keeps on shutting down..just imagine, i was upgrading my cellphone's firmware the other day, i opted to connect it to my pc to do the updates online since the updater in my phone doesn't seem to work at that time..then in the middle of the installation, my pc shut down and i can't switch on again my phone! so in short, i sent it to the service center again and paid P560 for another software update!