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Laptop freezing up :(

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  • 11-07-2010 6:58pm
    #1
    vonniec
    Closed Accounts Posts: 63 ✭✭


    I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 for the past two years, lately it's been freezing up, my only option is to turn it off, which apparently is damaging the hard disk everytime.

    More often than not, I'm watching online tv... The image freezes, but sound continues. Pressing Ctrl - Alt - Delete does nothing but turn the screen an opaque white... After a minute or two of this a message comes up;

    'failure: security options'

    After rebooting, another message will come up from Microsoft saying my WLAN Wireless Card stopped working...

    It's driving me mad! Can anyone help??
    Tagged:


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    #2
    Stuxnet
    Registered Users Posts: 3,735 ✭✭✭Stuxnet


    backup your stuff and do a factory reset, no harm once every year or two in your case, its a dell so just hit f8 as it boots to re-install the system, it'll be factory new again, you ll have to run all the updates etc and install stuff you lost again ! but it'll be worth it, youll see massive improvement in performance


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    #3
    corkcomp
    Registered Users Posts: 5,114 ✭✭✭corkcomp


    vonniec wrote: »
    I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 for the past two years, lately it's been freezing up, my only option is to turn it off, which apparently is damaging the hard disk everytime.

    More often than not, I'm watching online tv... The image freezes, but sound continues. Pressing Ctrl - Alt - Delete does nothing but turn the screen an opaque white... After a minute or two of this a message comes up;

    'failure: security options'

    After rebooting, another message will come up from Microsoft saying my WLAN Wireless Card stopped working...

    It's driving me mad! Can anyone help??

    is it running windows vista OS? i've seen that message a lot when certain av / firewall software is installed.. what antivirus you running?


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    #4
    vonniec
    Closed Accounts Posts: 63 ✭✭vonniec


    I'm running Norton only on it now... I took off McAfee so I would just have one, like the other forums recommended, but with no avail... It's still freezing!

    I'd really prefer not to restore to factory settings because I have alot of engineering software on it, I'll have to dig out all the licenses again, it would take an age!


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    #5
    corkcomp
    Registered Users Posts: 5,114 ✭✭✭corkcomp


    vonniec wrote: »
    I'm running Norton only on it now... I took off McAfee so I would just have one, like the other forums recommended, but with no avail... It's still freezing!

    I'd really prefer not to restore to factory settings because I have alot of engineering software on it, I'll have to dig out all the licenses again, it would take an age!

    hmm so there were two at one point? try norton removal tool from norton www site and remove all traces of all av / security products and try it then.. be careful on net in meantime obviously.


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    #6
    ricman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭ricman


    try Reboot pc, PRESS f8, safe mode,SELECT directory services restore mode,it trys to fix windows basic files, that may be damaged or deleted.ITS NO HARM TO TRY IT.use arrow keys up,down,,enter to select which safe mode choice you want.


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    #7
    corkcomp
    Registered Users Posts: 5,114 ✭✭✭corkcomp


    sfc /scannow is what you want to run for a win xp client.. no point using DS restore mode - works with domain controllers only


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    #8
    ricman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,559 ✭✭✭ricman


    well it worked on my toshiba laptop,running windows xp.When it was crashing randomly.IT stopped the crashes.


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    #9
    Hill16 Fan
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭Hill16 Fan


    I have a similar issue on my Dell 1525 also. However, when I start up the computer it freezes on startup.

    Any advice on what I can do?

    Thanks


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    #10
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,235 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    vonniec wrote: »
    I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 for the past two years, lately it's been freezing up, my only option is to turn it off, which apparently is damaging the hard disk everytime.

    More often than not, I'm watching online tv... The image freezes, but sound continues.

    Need specific details and run diagnostics. Otherwise we are just guessing.

    Had a Dell desktop ages ago. It started acting weird before it eventually failed to boot. We had tried reformatting but that did not solve the problem. The drive was replaced and the problem was solved.

    A cousin had a laptop that started to overheat, and often crashed during gaming, or other graphics/video intensive activities after about 2 or so years. He took it in for maintenance. They cleaned the dust and crap out of it, re-thermal greased its heat sinks, and it ran fine after.

    I know gamers that use cool pads under their laptops when playing on their older rigs. Excessive heat can cause all sorts of problems, including crashing or freezing.

    There are some performance enhancement techniques that you could employ to make your 2 year old work better, but I am uncertain if it would mitigate or otherwise solve your problem. For example:
    • How often do you clean with an app like ccleaner?
    • Do you periodically defrag?
    • Have you removed all the programmes that you do not use?
    • Do you keep all your OS and apps up-to-date with fixes and security patches?
    • How often to you do a total system virus/malware/spyware scan?
    Hill16 Fan wrote: »
    I have a similar issue on my Dell 1525 also. However, when I start up the computer it freezes on startup.
    Once again, without more details and diagnostics, just guessing...

    Boot your system and push F8 several times while its loading. Select safety mode and run a total virus scan. After scanning, reboot normally to see if you still have the same problem.


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