Windows XP: programs crashing on XP
programs crashing on XP
by gbv750 - 1/31/07 3:10 AMhi, i'm using XP Professional.
i've had lots of bizarre program crashes of late, and all of them started roughly at the same time. i've noticed five programs in particular that have given my fits.
they are:
internet explorer browser
(closes itself or stalls when i try to save or install an application)
roxio easy cd creator 5
(has worked fine up till a week ago. now it closes itself any time i click "save project" or "save project list as..." however, some functions work just fine. i can make cd's so long as i don't attempt to save the project.)
qcd player
(my music player. for some reason it closes itself any time i attempt to change my playlist from the "add files" option. but if i add songs on the player from the "add folder" option, it works.)
and opera (i had just recently downloaded version 9.10. it crashed a lot, too, and i downloaded it around the same time the first two programs began to malfunction.)
i had also recently downloaded gogodatatray for IE. At first i thought this was the culprit. but i uninstalled it and opera, and that didn't help.
i should also say that many aspects of my system work normally. mozilla firefox works perfectly; i can download, upload and save through it with no problems. the windows media player also plays music just fine.)
now, just so you know, here's what i've done to address the problem:
-I've run checkdisk (no errors found)
- tried system reestore to a date well before the problems began
-i've run regsupreme (it found about 570 unneccessary items, mostly from obsolete programs. i deleted those items, but nothing changed)
-and i attempted to defragment my harddrive. i had a huge amount of fragmented files - 39% of my hard drive. but each time the defragmenter stopped at 21% completion and said that the rest couldn't be defragmented.
-i've run adaware, norton antivirus, and spybot, and found no viruses. gogdatadray (before i deleted it) found folders on my system for bonzibuddy and a few other spyware folders. the other 3 programs had not detected these items, and a second scan with the gogodata scanner did not detect them anymore.
I would do more scanning
by MarkFlax
- 1/31/07 3:40 AM
In reply to: programs crashing on XP by gbv750
Often these type of program crashes are related to malware, so I would go online to Housecall, (http://housecall.trendmicro.com ), and run a scan there.
Then I would download AVG's free Antispyware, http://www.free.grisoft.com/doc/1 install, update and run in Safe Mode. Delete everything it finds.
Remember, anti-malware scans don't always scan System Restore points where viruses and spyware can hide, so I would toggle System Restore off then on to remove all the existing restore points first.
Mark
Yes, more scans but...
by R. Proffitt - 1/31/07 4:37 AM
In reply to: programs crashing on XP by gbv750
IE is not needed except for a few sites and Windows Update. Try another browser. Opera is hanging on my PCLinuxOS box as well so I bet you'll see an update there. For today, try Firefox.
Roxio 5 is "problematic." It initially didn't support XP and in fact caused boot failures in XP. I'd move to something else or a new version. For what I do, CDBURNERXP works for me.
Sorry but as presented I don't see more than this.
Bob
update
by gbv750 - 2/1/07 8:03 AM In reply to: Yes, more scans but... by R. Proffitt
okay, here are the results:
trendmicro's site found three spywares:
trak briss
abetterinternet
fasttrack
after i deleted them (and undid my restore settings), i ran the AVG scan in safe mode, but all it found was a bunch of cookies.
i did a second trendmicro scan after the AVG was finished, and the trak briss spyware came up again. i'm wondering if there's a program that'll remove it permanently, but more importantly, my programs are still crashing on me.
Which programs?
by R. Proffitt - 2/1/07 8:09 AM
In reply to: update by gbv750
If Roxio 5 then it may be the end of that old version as updates may have doomed it. Internet Explorer is hard to toughen up but share what BHOs (google that) you have installed. When I see IE crash I have a first response to scan with Free AVG AntiSpyware, eject all that it finds as well as all BHOs then I retest.
I haven't noted drivers. What Microsoft has never tackled is driver updates. You have to use your old ways for that. Your post lacks machine details. Who knows how old the machine is, if you cleaned the heatsinks in years, etc.
Bob
don't overfocus on roxio
by gbv750 - 2/1/07 8:49 AM In reply to: Which programs? by R. Proffitt
roxio's worked just fine for 3 years. and when it stopped working, the only changes to my system were the additions of opera and gogodatatray.
in addition, the fact that roxio, IE, qcd, and opera all crash from the exact same actions (that is, trying to download items or save data) makes me doubt that roxio's age is the problem here.
when the problem began, i had 3 BHO's: google toolbar, ebay toolbar, and gogodatatray. everything was fine until gogodatatray was added (until i deleted it, i thought that it was the culprit).
the machine is a Dell Optiplex G260. Since it's a company computer, i doubt it's been cleaned, and i wouldn't know how to.
Sorry, Roxio 5 is a recurring theme at the office.
by R. Proffitt - 2/1/07 9:08 AM
In reply to: don't overfocus on roxio by gbv750
We aren't as kind about it there. We call it dead and remove it.
Bob
well, i did it
by gbv750 - 2/2/07 2:33 PM In reply to: Sorry, Roxio 5 is a recurring theme at the office. by R. Proffitt
i removed roxio, as well as my toolbar software programs.
i still have the problem.
Let's try the hardware angle.
by R. Proffitt - 2/2/07 5:37 PM
In reply to: well, i did it by gbv750
Pop the cover off and dust it out. If there is lint on the CPU heatsink, clean it off. Inspect the motherboard caps for bulges. Read http://www.badcaps.net/ to see what we are looking for.
How old are those CD/DVD drives? Just recently dad's machine was acting up. I visited and found a failing but not dead CDRW. Once I removed that it worked super.
Bob
lint free cloth?
by gbv750 - 2/5/07 6:40 PM In reply to: Let's try the hardware angle. by R. Proffitt
how do i safely clean it? i'm not familiar enough with how a motherboard looks to know if anything is abnormal.
the cd drive is about the same age as the rest of the machine, 3+ years.
I use a damp paper towel.
by R. Proffitt - 2/5/07 7:10 PM
In reply to: lint free cloth? by gbv750
Almost zero chance of ESD as I wipe out the dust from the bottom of the case. But since you don't know about cleaning a PC I think for now let's leave the cover off to sniff out a heat issue. As to the age of the drive, optical or CD/DVD drives do fail in that time period. Are you looking to fix your own PC?
Bob
gbv750
by tomron - 2/5/07 7:36 PM In reply to: programs crashing on XP by gbv750Maybe try some other programs,such as TREND MICRO,don't forget to disable norton first.Also install AVG ANTI SPYWARE,you could scan in safe mode.
Tom
Try this...
by fjord_fox - 2/9/07 2:08 PM In reply to: programs crashing on XP by gbv750I don't know about the Roxio, but whenever I run into problems with Internet Explorer, I follow these steps. 1) Close the browser and right click on the main Internet Explorer icon either on your screen or at the top of your startup menu. 2) Choose "Properties" 3) Delete the cookies, delete the temporary files--including clicking on the check box so a check appears, and delete the history. 4) Click on the "Advanced" tab and make sure that the option is checked off to "Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed". 5) Close all your program and save all your work that you want to be saved because the next step is to turn off your computer. 6) Hold your power button in for 4 seconds until the computer is forced to turn off without saving. 7) Turn off your modem or ADSL box and turn off your router. 8) Disconnect the Internet cables. 9) Reconnect your Internet cable to the modem or ADSL box and plug it back in. 10) Wait for the green lights to come on. 11) Reconnect the Internet wire to the router and plug it back in and wait for its lights to come on. 12) Start your computer again. This process usually does the trick for me.
Why do all these silly steps? Emptying out the Temporary Internet Files folder will clean out the spyware or adware. Turning off the computer gets it out of the memory, but if you simply turn it back on, it has been my experience that it may still go slow, because the ports in the router or ADSL box are jammed and overloaded by whatever it was that slowed down your computer. Turning off the power and restarting cleans it out of your system.
I knew I would forget something!
by fjord_fox - 2/9/07 2:13 PM In reply to: programs crashing on XP by gbv750To clean your CPU heatsink, it is best to buy a can of compressed air and use that to blow out the dust from all those narrow grooves. Then while you are at it, blow the dust off all the fan blades of all your fans, including your power supply fan. If you are doing the job right, you should be having a lot of dustballs flying everywhere!
(NT) What is gogodatatray for IE/where did you find it?
by caktus - 2/9/07 2:52 PM In reply to: programs crashing on XP by gbv750
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