Failing Computer
Bitwit Systems FAQ
Why is the computer not working as well as it used to ?
Yes there could be some hardware failure. Memory can go bad, a hard drive can even partially fail. Corroded or loose connections can cause intermittent failures. Heat buildup can wreak havoc.
One should always consider the possibility of a hardware failure. That is, check if the fan is running, is the environment too hot, wiggle and insure proper wire connections, has the machine been moved or jarred lately, does the hard drive sound normal. Find a utility program to check memory.
If there is no readily obvious hardware problem and the machine seems to boot up and run somewhat, the odds are much higher that there is some sort of a “software” problem.
What kind of software problem could it be ?
This falls into two broad categories – an external attack or failure to keep a tidy computer. External attacks encompass viruses, spyware and hijacks. Untidy computer encompasses lack of organization, cleanup, startup programs and inappropriate choice of programs.
More than likely if you had an external attack you were already guilty of operating an untidy computer.
Identifying the problem or more likely many problems.
What are the symptoms? Is the problem primarily associated with the internet? Is the problem that everything has just slowed down? Do you get excessive popups on the internet or are you going to sites other than the ones you are trying to reach? Can you update and run your anti-virus software?
Viruses, spyware and hijacks
SPAM - Complaints about too much “spam” i.e. unwanted e-mails are not actually computer problems per se. It results from having your e-mail address spread around too much as a result of giving it out too often on websites requesting you too register. Consider using another free e-mail account from somebody like “hotmail” or “yahoo” to register for all those free benefits and services that you encounter on the web. Yes, sometimes it results from hijacked email address books on yours or a friend’s computer.
Most Internet Service Providers have some sort of spam-blocking software as part of their service. Go into their configuration or preference section and activate it at some appropriate level. Be careful not to blindly choose the most aggressive level such as blocking everyone that is not in your address book which will block e-mail from places you order products and friends that change e-mail addresses. Think about how you want to handle this blocking.
One good practice is to access your e-mail via webmail as the first act of the day. Delete the obvious spam while it still resides on the ISP’s mail service. Then use your usual e-mail client to download and read the rest.
VIRUSES – Technically this is some kind of self-replicating code which attaches itself to other files and usually spreads through your hard drive or memory. More commonly it refers to any of the “bad things” that infect your system including worms and trojans.
Worms exist as separate entities and wend their way through the system usually attacking or taking over some normal computer function and some can replicate like viruses.
Trojans are hidden code that hides on a computer awaiting a time to do a bad thing like launch viruses and worms, collect and send information, using the host computer to attack other computers. They are not self-replicating. They can arrive independently or be imbedded surreptitiously in another program like pirated software or shareware.
SPYWARE – This is software which arrives embedded in other software usually shareware or is downloaded unwittingly from the internet. It usually gathers info about the user’s activity on the internet and sends this data back to the originator. Spyware code is usually independent executable code and it doesn’t replicate. Some spyware is intended by the producer to be useful and helpful to the user. Most probably involves advertising. But some is deadly and gathers inappropriate user data and activity information. All spyware consumes computer resources to some extent. An excessive amount of spyware can literally slow a computer down to the point of uselessness.
HIJACKS–This is a seizure of your communication channel. As an example – you type in your browser but instead of going to the google site you are taken to some other site which has some directory of subjects or products. If so, you have been hijacked. Hijacks are complicated attacks usually employing trojans and executable code that recreate any bad files that are deleted with new bad files with altered names. Hijacks also typically turn off and lockout anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. They also are usually impossible to delete from within Windows.
MALWARE – This is the broad name given to all the bad things above.
How did you get malware ?
There are many avenues to pick up malware. E-mails and e-mail attachments are common avenues for viruses. Surfing some types of sites on the internet picks up spyware and hijacks. File sharing, too good to be true priced software, freeware or shareware are other infection doors.
Actually, almost all the external problems could be avoided by the following:
1 Always have your anti-virus program enabled and up to date virus definitions
2 Have a firewall – preferably a hardware one but a software one will do if you’re on dialup.
3 Use an anti-spyware utility regularly (Ad-Aware or Spybot are free). Doesn’t have to be enabled but should be run often.
4 Avoid using Microsoft Internet Explorer or clone as a browser. Use Firefox, Opera, Mozilla or any browser that doesn’t allow ActiveX controls or executable code to run from a website. Hijacks usually make use of ActiveX controls and the ability to run executable code to grab your computer and there is nothing you can do to stop it other than stop using IE as your primary surfing browser.
What do I do to fix these problems ?
Anti-virus programs work great at eliminating viruses. If you have up to date anti-virus definitions run full system scans. Go to the anti-virus websites such as Norton, etc. They have tools you can download to remove certain viruses. They have instructions for manual removals. They can also do a scan for free from their website.
Spyware keeps showing up from web surfing. A little advertising spyware is ordinary and not of much concern. A lot causes slowdowns and some is really bad stuff. Use the free programs Ad-Aware from Lavasoft and Spybot on a regular basis ( every few hours of internet use) and eliminate spyware routinely. Be careful – read the instructions for these programs. For Ad-Aware remove (delete) only the “critical objects” it finds. For Spybot do not use the advanced mode. Delete only the items the program shows up already checked.
Hijacks are the worst to deal with. They usually have already crippled the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. They usually have fouled up internet access from which you would like to get help. Typically a novice can’t fix them. It always seem to take a man-day’s worth of time to get one resolved. They require tools and advice from the internet folks who fight these things daily or have had similar problems. There are no magic removal programs. They require the use of anti-virus, anti-spyware and hijack specific utility programs as well as manual file deletions and restorations to clean up.
What non-malware problems may be present ?
Cookies and caches – Sometimes problems can be cleared up by merely clearing or deleting the cookies or cache in your browser. Look under tools or similar menu – all common browsers have some option to clear these items. The only downside which is very minor is that you might have to type in your username or logon on some sites you revisit. While you are there make sure your cache size is not set for more than 50MB – you don’t need it any bigger.
Chkdsk, Scandisk, Error Checking – Microsoft keeps changing the name of the program to check the integrity of the hard drive. Depending on the operating system you need to run the appropriate one on a regular basis. We use Norton’s Disk Doctor in System Works which does the same thing.
For Win 98 and Me you should run a defragmentation program quite often as well. For Win 2000 and XP you can probably run a defrag program 2 or 3 times a year.
Files in Temp Folder – Installation programs and applications often use a “Temp” folder as they work. They should cleanup (delete) the temporary files they create after they are finished but for various reasons this does not always happens. Temporary files build up in the Temp folder over time and they should be manually deleted regularly.
Do not delete the “Temp” folder itself only the files inside the folder. On Win 98 systems this folders is simply under the “Windows” folder. For Win 2000 and XP look under the following as an example: C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Temp where Username is the name you are signed onto the computer as.
Drive Space – Check the properties of your hard drive to make sure you have adequate free space. You can run low on free space which will cause you grief. If you need to get more space, eliminate no longer needed data, picture, music files. Remove programs you never use. For XP eliminate all but the last system restore point. These days if you have less than 1 GB of free space you are skirting close to trouble.
Updates – It is presumed that you are keeping your Microsoft critical updates patched on a regular basis. Failure to keep these patched can leave security holes or problems with other applications.
Startup Programs–This is an area which causes many people to have sluggish computers. Many programs have the strange notion that they are the most important program in the universe and you want to have them on standby all the time. They therefore set up themselves to load at boot up. Some people end up with a dozen or more programs loading at startup and grabbing precious system resources.
Use MSCONFIG or get a startup program manager to discover what programs are loading at startup and disable all that you possibly can. The only necessary programs at startup are Explorer, Systray and your virus program. You don’t need a weather program or cutesy anything else to load at startup. Skip all the monitors and even carefully examine those programs you do use and you will find that you really don’t need them to load at startup. You can always launch a program when you need it later.
A lot of times you cannot readily identify what the program is that is loading at startup. There are a number of internet sites that list various startup programs and give advice as to whether to allow it to load or not. Just write down the name of the program entry in your startup list and check it at one of those internet sites.