Error message on startup & v slow system

Bogof_Babe

Please can someone help me. For the last few days my Compaq laptop has been behaving very badly, loading websites and pages at about half the speed of dial up, although I am on an expensive Orange broadband package and have been for years. I have been able to manage as once up and running it speeds up a bit, although still not great.

Today it installed SP3 (I am on Windows IE, not sure which version but can check if nec.), and upon restart following the installation I got this message:

The procedure entry point apsGetInterfaceCount could not be located in the dynamic link library wlanapi.dll

Immediately after SP3 installation I also got a message about Dr Watson Postmortem Debu gger (space to prevent profanity filter!) which just asked me to acknowledge it, which I did.

It eventually allowed me to access the internet but is incredibly slow and there is obviously something wrong. I don't want to do a system restore unless I have to, as the SP3 install took about an hour so I don't want to go through all that again if it gets removed.

Can anyone advise how I can sort this out please? In layman's terms if poss as I am not at all techie. TIA.

shadowdragon

looks like the software that controls your wireless connection is corrupt. (wlanapi.dll). grab your recovery disks, unistall the wireless lan adaptor program, and reinstall it from the recovery CDs. There should be two CDs with the compaq (well there are with mine) ones a full recovery CD the other is just drivers (you want the drivers one).

Hope that helps.

shadowdragon

actually dont do anything yet, let me see if theres a way to repair it without reinstalling it.

Ok, can you supply some more info, such as the wirless connection model/version, what router are are connecting to, I ask because I have heard theres problems with this through Vista and the D-Link routers. Are you on Vista or XP?

aliEnRIK

Im sorry but it sounds as if there was a problem with the service pack installing so the ONLY thing I can suggest there is to uninstall it. Give it another go at installing (Make sure nothing else is running etc your firewall) and see how it goes. If it happens again its looking like youll just have to not bother with the service pack (nothing absolutely major so long as you have good protection on your computer)

Bogof_Babe

That's very interesting, because I don't use wireless any longer. Well I never really did, as when I installed the D-Link router it would never work without me having my original Freeserve modem connected too, so I abandoned it in the end. However it still shows on my task bar as "WLAN : On" even though the router is unplugged and in a drawer!

Also the little blue wireless symbol light on the keyboard is lit up. I am not bothered about wifi as I only use the laptop at my desk anyway, and don't know what else I can do to disable it. Perhaps I have to go into Control Panel and remove it from there?

Thank you so much for your help in pinpointing the problem. I will try to completely remove the router from my system if you think that will help.

Bogof_Babe

Shadowdragon, replies in my post above (yours wasn't there when I wrote it).

Alienrik (sorry no caps!) - eek I hope I don't have to do that, but if it is not important anyway I might uninstall it if need be and not bother.

Forgot to say, every day for the last week I've been getting an install updates prompt which always fails - it says it is trying and failing to update Powerpoint viewer. I rarely use this so not too worried, but might it be adding to the problems?

shadowdragon

It is a SP3 problem, but if you dont use it...

goto START > CONTROL PANEL > ADD REMOVE PROGRAMS.

Find the Wireless adaptor software and uninstall it.
Then in your network places (if thats what its called in Vista) find the wireless connection, right click it and then properties, and choose Disable.

Also the blue light is also a button if you press it, it should turn the wireless off.

EDIT: About the powerpoint viewer theres someone with the same problem and a possible solution here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1140697


Shadowdragon.

Bogof_Babe

Right, I'll go and do all that! I'm not on Vista thank goodness (from what I've heard) so was hoping not to have to get a new machine if I've wrecked this one, as I doubt you can get any that aren't on Vista nowadays.

Wish me luck......... .

Edit: Thanks re. powerpoint answer too, will go and read that thread.

shadowdragon

Good luck, and XP is fine, I aint going near VISTA until I really have to!!!

You dont need a new laptop LOL. Worst case scenario is to just to do a full reinstall of your system with the recovery CDs, which you shouldnt have to do.