PC advice

[Karl]

Ok, so there are a few PC freaks out there, and I could do with a little advice. I have VERY limited PC knowledge, so bear with me.

My laptop is about 5 years old, running Windows XP SP3. Broadband is via Tiscali, and the connection icon shows connection speed of around 3.5mbps.

Anyway, the problem is that I frequently experience a complete shutdown of my internet connection. Probably happens a couple of times a night - I say "night" as it predominantly happens in the evening.

I also regularly receive a message from my laptop saying "windows memory running low - increasing memory size". Or something like that.

Any suggestions on what the problem might be - it can be a bit annoying when the connection goes down and/or the laptop is running really slowly.

Is it more to do with the ISP, or the laptop???

I only use the laptop for internet browsing and spreadsheet use.

Cheers

Karl

 

[TrimTheKing]

Karl

I'm knackered and going to bed, but will PM you my number, give me a bell tomorrow and I'll talk you through some checks to troubleshoot it if you want.

 

[lurker]

Karl,

I bit of advice.................

When you are trying to get advice from people its not a good idea to call them freaks even if they are

Now I know naff all about computers but had a similar problem a few weeks back.
My tame freak finally tracked it down to faulty memory chips, even though the computer said there was pleanty of spare memory.

After he had bunged in fresh chips ( left over from an upgrade off his own machine) everything has been hunky dory

 

[Karl]

I bit of advice.................

When you are trying to get advice from people its not a good idea to call them freaks even if they are

It was meant in the nicest possible sense - much better than PC Nerd's... :lol:

Cheers

Karl

 

[Dibs-h]

You said it all - Internet browsing, enough to stuff a perfectly well behaved machine.

If your pc is running low all of a sudden on memory - my suspicion is that you've somehow acquired something which is consuming memory.

1. Is you anti-virus upto date and have you run a full scan? If you don't have any one - AVG Free is good.

2. Have you checked for malware? Download and install Spybot Search & Destroy. Also worth trying Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

Initially I would suggest you install Hijack This and do a Scan. This will tell you what processes are running in memory and are set to start on start up. Alot of rubbish can be picked up here and then the appropriate solftware (usually free) used to remove it. You'll need to save the scan log to text file and either email it or as it's text post it. Remove anything that might be sensitive - although I don't think it shows anything sensitive.

HIH.

 

[Paul.V]

Ok, so there are a few PC freaks out there, and I could do with a little advice. I have VERY limited PC knowledge, so bear with me.

My laptop is about 5 years old, running Windows XP SP3. Broadband is via Tiscali, and the connection icon shows connection speed of around 3.5mbps.

Anyway, the problem is that I frequently experience a complete shutdown of my internet connection. Probably happens a couple of times a night - I say "night" as it predominantly happens in the evening.

When you say shutdown, do you mean
1 - internet explorer or firefox says page is not available
2 - you get an error from windows says that the connection has been lost

I also regularly receive a message from my laptop saying "windows memory running low - increasing memory size". Or something like that.

This could be a low disk space error. try running disk clean up
( Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools )

Any suggestions on what the problem might be - it can be a bit annoying when the connection goes down and/or the laptop is running really slowly.
Is it more to do with the ISP, or the laptop???
I only use the laptop for internet browsing and spreadsheet use.

Its worth noting that from about 5.30pm till about 10ish, your internet connection will slow down, as everyone is loggin on, depending on how many users in your area will depend on how slow your connection gets

 

[Karl]

Karl

I'm knackered and going to bed, but will PM you my number, give me a bell tomorrow and I'll talk you through some checks to troubleshoot it if you want.

Cheers for that Mark. I have moved the PC downstairs, and it is now plugged in via a different socket, which seems to have cleared up the issues I was experiencing.

I'll keep your number though in case things go pear shaped in the future.

Cheers

Karl