Laptop freezing - causes?

nesssie1702

Hi there

We've got a Dell Laptop that's under 2 years old and for some reason it's been playing up this week. Using MS Vista as the OS and use Firefox for internet access. Using Macafee as AV and it gets updated regularly and the PC is scanned regularly as well.

It tends to be when we're accessing the internet that it freezes. Any idea what might be the cause?

free4440273

nesssie1702 wrote: »

Hi there

We've got a Dell Laptop that's under 2 years old and for some reason it's been playing up this week. Using MS Vista as the OS and use Firefox for internet access. Using Macafee as AV and it gets updated regularly and the PC is scanned regularly as well.

It tends to be when we're accessing the internet that it freezes. Any idea what might be the cause?

could be any number of causes: definitely do run Malwarebytes and see if it finds any malware. Personally, I think Mcafee is awful -- I would switch to Avast or avg or mse (I would choose Avast ) .

Scho

Firefox can be a memory hog when you have lots of addons or tabs all open.
Try launching it in safe mode and see if the problems exists. It may be that clearing the history and cache and getting rid of some naff add-ons you never use might help.

Also run msconfig and get rid of any unwanted apps loading on startup. Don't kill anything you're not sure on as it may be OS related.

RussJK

Is the computer hot to touch?

When you say freeze, do you mean:

• that the mouse won't move and you are forced to turn it off?
• that it says something like 'program not responding', then works after a bit?
• that it 'pauses' and you can't do anything (including move the mouse), but then it unfreezes?

Does it happen every time, or just some of the time? Does it happen with Internet Explorer, or just Firefox?

1. If you can, a list of running processes and startup items would be useful (http://www.trendmicro.com/ftp/products/hijackthis/beta/HijackThis.exe). Save it to the desktop, right click and Run as Admistrator, then do a SCAN and SAVE LOG. You can post the log that comes up in notepad. Don't FIX anything yet.

2. A Malwarebytes QUICK scan as above won't hurt (http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam-download.php).

It also wouldn't hurt to look at the plugins/extensions in Firefox, but can get to that later. Also it's worthwhile clearing the list of downloaded items in Firefox as a long list does cause problems (CTRL J).

nesssie1702

Thanks for the replys

I don't have IE running as a web browser, only Firefox. (Had problems with IE on a previous machine, so took decision to use Firefox when we got the laptop)

When it freezes, the mouse won't move. I'm unable to bring up the Task Manager (Alt, Ctrl, Delete) and I end up having to switch the laptop off.

Accessing net at work just now, so not able to do anything til this evening. Will try and get a list of running processes up later.

nesssie1702

Should have added, laptop is warm, but not hot too touch.

sekrapa

I had the same problem with an 3 year old Acer Aspire. All of a sudden it stopped working and froze me out. I had to restart the machine. Eventually tracked it down to overheating, although it did not feel any hotter than it usually did. I dot the hoover with the long thin nozzle attachment and placed it by the vents and switched it on. It pulled some dirt from the fan area and it seemed to work. My friend also suggested to use some compressed air and blow it in, but did not s=do that as it would be blowing the dirt further into the machine. Dirt can cause the fans to not run as they should and when the chips overheat, they shutdown to protect them. This worked for me, nothing to lose in giving it a go.

RussJK

Be careful with using a vacuum cleaner, as they can create static and so potentially cause damage to components. You can open the bottom of the laptop, that way letting you blow compressed air out the vents. Also you can gently clean the rest of it too. I unplug everything and remove the batteries while doing this.

Can use SIW or any other temperature monitoring program to see what the temperatures are, http://www.pendriveapps.com/portable-system-information-diagnostics-tool-for-windows/

debitcardmayhem

Or as russjk says, speccy alos monitors lots of harwdare bits too, from piriform.com (of ccleaner fame) http://www.piriform.com/speccy

GunJack

you'll probably have to take the cover off the back of the lappy to reveal the fan, then take the top of the fan cover off to access the furry slug that's built up between the fan housing and the heatsink vanes. This can't usually be removed from outside the lappy (as the heatsink vanes only have very narrow gaps between them, hence why the furry slug builds up in the first place). Had several in the last couple of weeks

nesssie1702

Interesting stuff about the reheating! Thanks for the info.

I've done a system restore and taken it back to mid-July and for the moment that seems to be stable. Doing a back up of my data for the time being onto an external hard drive, then I'll run Hijack this and Malwarebytes to see what that reveals!

Should have added that I'm using IE to access the net rather than Firefox at the moment too. Not taking any chances!!

The joys of technology?!