GRRRRR Stupid Computer Crashes

Hi everyone! I'm trying to get a computer straightened out so it doesn't crash every five seconds. The computer is running windows 98SE and seems to run fine until its connected to the internet. When it's connected it will just freeze up for no reason, requiring the little button thing to be pressed in order to reboot. It's been thoroughly checked for spyware and I don't think thats the problem. It does seem to freeze up a little more frequently when any kind of voice chat service is used. Any ideas about how to get this straightened out would be appreciated. Thanks, any and all ideas are appreciated!

 

umm, system specs please?

 

Hey Ryuduo,

It's a 888Mhz pentium processor with 256MB SDRAM.....Um not sure if you need anything else, if you do just ask and we'll figure it out. Thanks for your reply!

 

Actually, I think Ryuduo is asking for what type of machine do you have? We need more information about your configuration...

When your system crashes, what messages (if any) do you see?

What version of Internet Explorer are you using? Do you have any toolbars installed? Do you have all the updates from Microsoft?
Do you have the latest drivers for your modem? Also, what is your modem? Is your modem on board with the sound card? Sound drivers, etc. etc.

There are various things that can be tried but wait for answer first.

 

Thanks for your reply Maxwell, the version of IE being used is 6.0.2800.1106 (I.E. 6.0 SP1), There are no toolbars installed and the machine has all updates from microsoft. The modem is HSP56 MicroModem. I believe everything is onboard, the motherboard is a PCChips M766LMRT. Ive attached a couple of screenshots from everest too. I appreciate and and all suggestions on where to go with this.

 

Oh I think I forgot to mention this previously, but there are no error messages, the computer simply freezes up and need to be rebooted.

 

It also freezes solid mid dial-up and I have to hit the reboot button AGAIN. Its taken me two hours just to get online to post this and ask again please, can someone help? Thank you.

 

this response is way(yyy) general

I would first suggest running Spybot Search & Destroy, then running Adaware (both free -and Puh-leeze: run them independantly -NOT at the same time....and make sure you UPDATE each program before running them.
I would also suggest running a virus scan -an UP TO DATE scan -meaning you should tell your antivirus to update it's reference files. -You can also use an 'on-line' virus scan (ex: http://housecall.trendmicro.com/) .
If these suggestions don't help you should start a new topic -the body of your message should include all the steps you have tried (ex: all the suggestions *I* have mentioned. Plus you should tll us your PS Specifications; see http://forums.majorgeeks.com/announcement.php?f=33 -and keep in mind the System Specs section.
Hope this helped!
Yours,
522.

 

Sudz_Guy,

Just a few other things you might try:

1. Right click My Computer and select properties then Performance and check your System Resources, should say something %. If it's real low, that might be some of your problem.

2. Defrag and ScanDisk. I would suggest using Diskeeper Lite here, http://majorgeeks.com/download1207.html it does a better job than 98's built-in defragmenter.

3. Check processes you have running before you go online. Press and hold down Control > Alt > Delete to bring up Task Manager and see how many processes you have running. Select the ones you are not using and hit end task to stop them from running. Then connect to the internet and see if you still experience freezes.

4. If you think it might be a particular program like "when any kind of voice chat service is used" look for updates, disable it in startup, or uninstall and see if that helps.

Steve

 

Sorry fiver, didn't look before I put that up.

Who is Teeker? Same user.

Steve

 

Re: this response is way(yyy) general

Thank you for your quick response 522 and I do appreciate it. Unfortunately I dont know how to post as your sugggested, I am not very savvy when it comes to this kind of thing, which is why sudz_guy is helping me out. The specs that he gave earlier in this thread were of my machine and as far what I've done, tis everything you all at major geeks have suggested. I have gone thru crap cleaner, spy blaster, spybot, adaware, scandisk, and defragment ... I have done this daily, repeatedly ... I have updated them and even done them in safe mode. I have also done the online scans but will try it again of course. I dont know what is happening.

 

Hi guys, thanks for all your replies, as for virus scans everything that I've thought of has been run as well as all the scans available in the Spyware forum in the Sticky located there. To me it seems like there may be some kind of device conflict, but no conflicts are reported anywhere. The startup has been gone through, and theres nothing starting that should cause the problem. Basically it seems that Internet + Sound = hang. Since it's onboard sound and modem, could it be a hardware problem? Anywho, anyone and everyone keep throwing ideas our way please, all suggestions are appreciated!

P.S. Is there any kind of event logger or similar thing in 98 that will tell us what the computer is doing when it freezes? Thanks again!

 

I would try disabling the onboard sound and/or modem in your bios and replace it with a pci sound card and/or modem.

 

Not a bad thought Syncro, and it would definitely fix it, the computer is going to be used as a 2nd computer, mostly for browsing, chatting and god-willing homework (no gaming or other "intensive" activity). It's basically a hunk of junk and the goal is to get it working reasonably well without sinking any more cash into it. The things that we're trying to do with it, we've been able to do previously, so I'm not sure why the freeze issue is happening now, but hopefully we can get it cleared up to the point that the pc will function. Thanks for the reply.