The General "Computer Issues" Thread

[staticblue]

Hey There people. Im hoping you guys can help solv my dilemma.
I have a Dell, running on Windows vista. A while back, It started acting up on me. Dont really know whats going on, but in a nutshell, sometimes when I start up the computer, a blue screen will pop up (this happens once every now and then. Hasent happened recently) also, I seem to have lost the ability to click on a program directly anymore. Lately if I want to click on something, say, internet explorer. I have to right click it and open it as administrator. Can someone help me out?

 

[defunctzombie]

For the mouse, go to the control panel and see if the left button is set as "primary click" or "left click". It might be reassigned, or maybe the actual mouse is broke. My one mouse button is broken when I need it but fine otherwise.

For your other problem, maybe there's some corruption somewhere. Run a malware check with ad-aware and see if you have anything fishy.

 

[Hanshotfirst1138]

For over a month now, I've been unable to update my two podcasts. They simply will not work. "The network connection times out." In addition, I've been playing my copy of Command and Conquer: The First Decade, and about 72 hours ago, the audio on it simply stopped working. It works on everything else I try to use it with (music, video, etc.) except, mysteriously, this game.

 

[Wonderwall]

For the last few weeks I've been trying to install Adobe Premiere CS3 on my comp but it's been giving me issues. After installing it when I open it restarts my computer automatically either while it's loading or when I'm doing my work on it. I decided to take off the automatic restart to see what happens then and I get a Blue Screen with a bunch of text on it. At the bottom I get this line of text.

***STOP: 0x0000000A (0x00000000, 0x0000001C, 0x00000001, 0x804FB03C)

Any suggestions on what it is and how to fix it is much appreciated.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

For the last few weeks I've been trying to install Adobe Premiere CS3 on my comp but it's been giving me issues. After installing it when I open it restarts my computer automatically either while it's loading or when I'm doing my work on it. I decided to take off the automatic restart to see what happens then and I get a Blue Screen with a bunch of text on it. At the bottom I get this line of text.

***STOP: 0x0000000A (0x00000000, 0x0000001C, 0x00000001, 0x804FB03C)

Any suggestions on what it is and how to fix it is much appreciated.

Here's a Microsoft article about troubleshooting the error.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314063

If the problem is that you can't boot at all, press F8 when you are loading and try to boot to "last known good configuration."

http://www.pctechbytes.com/2010/04/28/boot-using-last-known-good-configuration/

 

[Psychopulse]

The computer has trouble starting up!

About a week ago, the computer wouldn't boot on start up, and I had to use system restore whenever it acts up. Now, it's harder to even turn on, because I have to shut it off a few times whenever it wouldn't boot up until it got it's act together and finally uses system restore. It's a Dell PC, and the operating system is Windows Vista.

Also, my antivirus program, BitDefender, may be out of date. Should I update it? I'm only asking because it's been like that for a little while...

 

[G. Wen]

I'm using a Compaq with Windows Vista, and I think my computer deleted the CD/DVD drive because when I put in a CD or DVD, my computer cannot detect it. How do I fix this?

 

[Jave]

I'm using a Compaq with Windows Vista, and I think my computer deleted the CD/DVD drive because when I put in a CD or DVD, my computer cannot detect it. How do I fix this?

If you click on My PC, is the CD/DVD driver still visible when there's no disc on?

Also, when you put in a disc, does the light near the driver in the computer turn on?

 

[G. Wen]

If you click on My PC, is the CD/DVD driver still visible when there's no disc on?

Also, when you put in a disc, does the light near the driver in the computer turn on?

Nothing lights on when I put the DVD into the drive. I'm having a brain fart, how do I get to My PC again?

 

[Jave]

Nothing lights on when I put the DVD into the drive. I'm having a brain fart, how do I get to My PC again?

That likely means the physical DVD unit is busted. You'll probably have to take it to have it fixed.

 

[defunctzombie]

Go to Start, and right click on Computer. Pick Manage and look for Device Manager. See if your cd drive is listed under dvd/cd drives. If it is, right click on that and pick update driver (you may have to go to properties first).

 

[Hanshotfirst1138]

I can't get my podcasts or my iPhone status updated because my "my network connection has timed out." How do I time it in ?

 

[Light Lucario]

I've had a used Mac Powerbook for a little over a year and I just started to have some technical problems with it. Last night, I think that my laptop over heated. There was smoke coming out from the top left corner and the bottom was much warmer than usual. I turned it off immediately and I tried turning it on this morning. It seemed to work fine, but now, sometimes if I move the computer around, it will go black and then the screen would return, except it would be frozen. I should also mention that the left side of the screen is separated from the computer, but it hasn't been a problem until last night.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how to fix it. There is an Apple store close to my house, but I don't think that my Powerbook is covered by warnety and besides that, my dad didn't want to go to an Apple store. Would it also be better to see if I could get my big brother to give me his old laptop? Thanks again in advance for the help.

 

[Jave]

I've had a used Mac Powerbook for a little over a year and I just started to have some technical problems with it. Last night, I think that my laptop over heated. There was smoke coming out from the top left corner and the bottom was much warmer than usual. I turned it off immediately and I tried turning it on this morning. It seemed to work fine, but now, sometimes if I move the computer around, it will go black and then the screen would return, except it would be frozen. I should also mention that the left side of the screen is separated from the computer, but it hasn't been a problem until last night.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how to fix it. There is an Apple store close to my house, but I don't think that my Powerbook is covered by warnety and besides that, my dad didn't want to go to an Apple store. Would it also be better to see if I could get my big brother to give me his old laptop? Thanks again in advance for the help.

Smoke on a computer is never a good sign. That definitely sounds like broken fans, though. I remember when the fans on my laptop broke, it will quickly overheat and turn off itself (it's a security measure to stop it from burning and never working again, which seems to be what almost happened to you).

The only real solution is to take it to repair service (doesn't have to be Apple) so they can look at it and tell if the fans can be replaced or if it has any permanent damage. And yes, use your brother's old laptop for now. Better to keep yours turned off until you can get someone to look at it.

 

[Light Lucario]

Smoke on a computer is never a good sign. That definitely sounds like broken fans, though. I remember when the fans on my laptop broke, it will quickly overheat and turn off itself (it's a security measure to stop it from burning and never working again, which seems to be what almost happened to you).

That makes sense. When I was looking up information about smoke coming from a laptop, broken fans often came up. That does sound like what happened to me last night and my screen still freezes, even though there isn't any smoke. That might be because of the broken fans or other potential damage.

The only real solution is to take it to repair service (doesn't have to be Apple) so they can look at it and tell if the fans can be replaced or if it has any permanent damage. And yes, use your brother's old laptop for now. Better to keep yours turned off until you can get someone to look at it.

I thought that it would have to be an Apple repair shop, but at least that doesn't narrow down my options. I probably should have gotten it into a repair shop sooner since the sound doesn't work when I plug in headphones in my laptop either. I'm actually using my damaged laptop right now. It seems to work fine as long as I don't move the left side too fast or too sudden. I should still get it looked at, especially since the smoke last night freaked me out and I definitely don't want my laptop to freeze as I'm typing up a paper. I'll have to see when would be a good time to mention this to my brother. Thank you so much for your helpful advice.

 

[ThisGuyTony]

Here's what happened. I was online and then I decided to open another Internet Explorer page. When it opened a message that said there was malware appeared. It said to click "cancel" to stop the instillation. Yeah. That didn't make any sense either. So I clicked, "cancel" and then a screen showed up that said I had malware and a little red line quickly went from 0% to 100%. So then I did a System Restore and I was wondering if I should do anything else because I don't want to have malware or anything bad on the computer.

 

[Jacob]

I posted a few months ago about how my iPod Touch was beginning to suck, and well, I'm really hating it now. I would destroy it if I weren't so dependent on it.

Battery life sucks, its like a half hour now. That's just with music, if I tried to do anything else it probably wouldn't last ten minutes.

I can't really use it unless it's plugged into the computer or something. Every time it cuts off, I have to reboot it and the time and date reverts back to December 31, 1999 at 7PM. (Yeah, I dunno.) I have to go in and manually set the time and date if I want to have internet access.

 

[defunctzombie]

Here's what happened. I was online and then I decided to open another Internet Explorer page. When it opened a message that said there was malware appeared. It said to click "cancel" to stop the instillation. Yeah. That didn't make any sense either. So I clicked, "cancel" and then a screen showed up that said I had malware and a little red line quickly went from 0% to 100%. So then I did a System Restore and I was wondering if I should do anything else because I don't want to have malware or anything bad on the computer.

Anytime something like that happens, press the ESC key right away. Some pop-ups and ads make it look like Windows is the one telling you. If it's fake, it will go away. Never, NEVER install what the browser tells you to. Go to www.lavasoft.com and install Ad-Aware Free. Have it run a scan and you can trust those results. I've used Lavasoft for years.

I posted a few months ago about how my iPod Touch was beginning to suck, and well, I'm really hating it now. I would destroy it if I weren't so dependent on it.

Battery life sucks, its like a half hour now. That's just with music, if I tried to do anything else it probably wouldn't last ten minutes.

I can't really use it unless it's plugged into the computer or something. Every time it cuts off, I have to reboot it and the time and date reverts back to December 31, 1999 at 7PM. (Yeah, I dunno.) I have to go in and manually set the time and date if I want to have internet access.

Do the touch ones have an option to enable disk use? If it does, enable it and run Disk Defrag on the ipod. Sometimes that can improve battery life. I only have a 5th gen, so I can't give really specific advice.

 

[Rainbow Sharpie]

So hey guys, quick question.

I have about only three weeks on my Norton 360 subscription, and my current version is 2.0, since I bought a CD version of it back in 2008 when I first got my laptop. I was wondering if I buy a CD of the newest version, will that renew my subscription to Norton? Or should I just renew for the version I currently have?

Also, if I install the CD on my laptop, will it also extend to my sister's laptop?

Thanks!

 

[defunctzombie]

If you buy a cd, I think it will count as a new subscription. If it's for the same product you might as well go for the newer version anyways, unless it is incompatible with your computer.

I've never bought Norton, but usually the boxes say on the outside whether you can use it for more than one computer. I had Spy Sweeper and it came with three users.