Internet browser crashes and problems installing new software

Hi,

I am hoping you can help me... (and that I have put this thread in the right place)

My Dad's computer is driving him (and subsequently, me) mad!
It is an Acer Aspire T650 which has been upgraded to 2GB RAM.

There seem to be 2 main problems...

1. The internet crashes regularly - this seems to happen most on Ebay or YouTube. I have tried different browsers and they all crash, usually after about 20mins. I've checked for viruses and spy/malware, with no problems found.

2. When we try to install new software (latest iTunes, stuff of CD-rom, etc.) it almost always encounters problems during some part of the install and doesn't complete, which means I can't uninstall it properly either.

Please help!!!
Bek

 

What is the OS and when did the problems start.

 

Hi - It's Win XP, (home)

Problems started about 2 months ago, I first noticed real problems when trying to install some software that he got with his camera. It said the files were corrupt (on the disc) but it works fine on another machine - this has happened with several software items.

I think it might have started after this...
He also had an old version of Kaspersky which was well out of date, so we installed AVG. He didn't like it, so I removed and replaced with Avast, but that wouldn't install (I rebooted, etc inbetween installations/removals) and then he decided to buy the latest Kaspersky instead. We paid for and downloaded it from their site, it didn't install the first time, but did the second time and now seems to work perfectly fine.

PS. I've tried web-browsing with Kaspersky closed down, but it still crashes.

 

Does your entire operating system or just the program crash when your browsing the web? In other words, can you still somewhat use the computer when it crashes?

 

Its just the browser that crashes. I can reopen it and start again. Sometimes it crashes after 5 mins, sometimes you can go for half an hour before anything goes wrong.

 

Ok, does it happen on sites that have a lot of flash advertisements and are heavy on graphics? And you said it happens a lot on youtube?

 

It has happened on YouTube and Ebay, based on my own surfing on my Dad's machine. He says it happens on 'all sites' (such as news type pages, which as far as I can see are text and still graphics only for the sites he views) but I don't think that is a reliable fact as he's not the greatest computer user in the world!!!

My thought was that it could be some plug-in or something that works within a web browser, but I have tried reinstalling the flash player and it still happens.

 

Go to your video card manufacturer's website and download the newest video card drivers. Once they are downloaded restart your computer and continually press the F8 key. A screen will come up asking you how you want to boot windows; choose "safe mode" (keep in mind your computer will look different). Then install the video card drivers you downloaded and restart the computer normally. Tell me if that doesn't work.

 

Thanks - I'll try that, but probably won't be able to post back until tomorrow evening.

 

Ok, things are getting worse!

Went to do the video drivers but the computer won't even load up windows. I get the Acer screen and then a black screen which says that it can't start windows because the following file is missing or corrupt...

WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

HElp!!!

Dad says he's been on today and it didn't go wrong at all. He promises me he didn't try to install anything, download anything, or open any weird emails.

 

You need to reinstall windows. Did the computer come with Windows disks?

 

Nope.

What do I do now?!

Even if I had a disc, I don't know how to do this. Can you point me in the right direction? I am sure lots of people have to do this!

 

First thing I need to do is get hold of a WinXP home disc then.

Will I lose all the files off the PC hard drive when I do this reinstall?

 

Do you need the windows serial number for any of this, coz I don't recall seeing the serial sticker on the case (although I am going to have a proper check tomorrow when i go there)

 

Well I borrowed an XP disk, but I couldn't get to any recovery console, or booting from the cd. It just kept coming up with the error message as before.


Anyway, dad has now bought a new machine, so I don't have to worry about getting windows working on the old one, but he wants/needs data off the old drive (photos, mp3's). I'm trying to connect the old harddrive to my laptop, using a SATA to USB cable. I can see the drive in Disk Management, but cannot assign a drive letter to it. I get an error message saying that it's not up to date, please refresh and try again, but it won't work. A google search has shown me that lots of people have posted similar problems online, but I can't see a solution anywhere. I even installed SP1 on my laptop (Vista Ultimate) to see if that helped. All it seems to have done is waste 2 hours!

PS. When I connect the drive to my XP desktop machine (old and slow) it can see the drive and gives it a letter, but when I double click or right click on it, it crashes explorer.