Anyone want to help me kill my computer?

Published on January 16, 2006 By lifehappens In Personal Computing

I dont' really want to kill my computer but I am having EXTREMELY irritating problems with it. I don't know where the problem lies and I need help.

I have Vonage and get phone service without interuption, so I know the modem and router are working fine. But somewhere between the router and the computer it all goes to heck. The computer says I have a LAN connection, but I can't access the internet. The only think that works is turning everything off and rebooting....to include unplugging the modem and router.

I've tried everythingk I know to figure out the problem. Sometimes i get a warning that no IP connection can be established and than other times I see a warning about a gateway. i am very frustrated. HELP!

And for bonus credit, I could use advice on whether I really need to upgrade. I run Adobe Photoshop CS2 and I'm locking up the computer constantly. I've tried to not mulittask too much, but I'm still running very slow. I have 1gig of ddrsdram and a 200 gb hd I have an AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (Emachines T6520) Do I really need a new graphics card and more Ram? I know I have 2 512 sticks so I'd have to buy 1 gig sticks and lose out on the money I paid for the 512s.......right?

I confess, I'm an idiot when it comes to the magic workings of computers....I know they work, I'm just not big on knowing how. But if you could explain it to me or give me an affordable recomendation.....I'd really be grateful.

Comments (Page 3)

AerosolFun

on Jan 22, 2006

I would doubt very much that you've had the misfortune of two bum modems. Midget has a very good point about checking your port connections, Microsoft's Firewall will similarly block programs from connecting to internet servers and such, but MS Firewall usually alerts you to allow the connection.

If you're running Norton, AdAware and Spybot now, those are enough to keep your system clean of most bugs. Scorpio had a good point in running only one scan at a time, that in itself will bog your system down. I'd also recommend adding SpywareBlaster to your arsenal, check download.com for that. Make sure those programs are always up-to-date otherwise they're mostly useless.

If you haven't already, you should also set up a daily schedule to run a Norton scan, Microsoft Automatic Update, and a defragment. If you've never set up a schedule before, you can find the Scheduled Tasks folder in your Control Panel. The Add a Scheduled Task wizard is pretty straight forward. Pick a convenient time (usually during the night) and place those about an hour apart on a daily basis. This is a nice way to automate most of the grunt work in keeping current. When you set up a defragment, add the drive letter you want to defragment to the end of the Run: field, it should look like this "C:\WINDOWS\system32\defrag.exe C:".

While completely reformatting is always a last resort, it's become much easier recently, most factory assembled machines (I'm assuming eMachines too) come with a recovery disc that'll wipe and reload your basic system. It's probably the most reliable way to nix whatever problems you're having that originate from software issues.

There was a new worm going around a week or two ago, Microsoft released an Auto-update to block it, but if it's on you PC already, there's only one way to get rid of it...

Tom Harmon

on Jan 23, 2006

As a Vonage user, the only time I had connectivity issues was when the router went *through* the phone adapter. Once I used the alternate setup of having the phone adapter plugged into the router, I had no further problems.

ryvon

on Jan 23, 2006

Just for anyone else who really wants to smash up a computer I started a company a few months ago. We charge $10 for you to step inside a plexi-glass room and smash the crap out of an old computer. So far it been fairly lucrative..................

Dr Guy

on Jan 23, 2006

Where you located? Sounds like it would be worth the trip!

Jafo

on Jan 23, 2006

plexi-glass room

That'd make it America....

Otherwise it'd be 'perspex room'...

Dekissfan

on Jan 27, 2006

I may have an answer to your network problems....Try this ONLY if you have Windows XP Service Pack II:
Go to the Control Panel and look at it through the classic view.
Select "Windows Firewall"
Make sure it is OFF
Go to "Start"
Select "Run"
type "cmd"
enter "netsh"
enter "winsock"
enter "reset"
You will the have to restart your machine.
This pretty much just sends Time Warner a swift kick in the nuts, thus telling them to get in line...Works like a charm for when you are getting bad connections, or not connecting. It also does well whenever they limit you ISP usage, which they have a tendancy to do. It's a good idea for everyone to do it once in a while.
-TT

HaremGirl74

on Feb 07, 2006

back up

format

reinstall OS

UPDATES ( autoservicepack)
RUN firewalls & antivirrus BEFORE you install any of your backed up files..

cmdr1handr

on Feb 17, 2006

Sometimes it is a good idea to just start fresh and reinstall the O/S, but the problem maybe your router. Having done thousands of home network setups I have always found that you MUST update the firmware on your router (See your routers owners manual and/or website). The routers manufacture comes up with updates every so often and you will need to check back evey so often to see if there is an update.

Good luck!

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