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I really dislike Windows XP. It seems to me that there are more glitches in it than Windows 98. Anyway, you're right when you improperly shut down, there is no message with XP. The same thing happens to me when I have to shut down. Sometimes I get so angry with my computer when it freezes for no reason. I usually use control+alt+delete to end frozen programs. When I need to totally shut down, I usually just press the button. It is MUCH quicker shutting down that way than with the buttons.

I've never known of a way to shut down a computer properly once it freezes, regardless of what software it runs on. My computer doesn't freeze up(and it has Windows XP). My old computer(with Windows 98) for the last few months we had it would freeze up every 5 to 10 minutes. Very annoying.

Sometimes computers can be a pain in the ***.

The internet is slow here today. It's been like this for an hour and a half. Stuff loads, but it takes longer than it should. It's gotten better here recently. When it first started pages wouldn't load at all within 2 minutes or so. :mad:

sounds like you have a misbehaving program or driver - what programs do you have running ?

if Windows XP seems to be running less stable than 98, it is more likely to be as a result of the overwhelmingly greater amount of badly written spyware and number of viruses and trojans it has to deal with; it is a much more stable OS than 98.

When your computer freezes try hitting these keys.............W-I-N 4 times. It usually works for me! I don't know why but it does work!:crazy:

OS simply means Operating System which is Windows 98, Windows XP, etc.

Originally posted by Jen1989
Normally, I have running AOL and a large print program. I can't use the computer without the LP program. The computer only seems to freeze when I'm online. I haven't had it freeze in Microsoft Word. So, I wonder if it's an issue of conflicting between the online service and XP, it's hard to say though if that's the case. HOW do you connect to the internet - dial-up?
and do you use the AOL browser? could you try using Internet Explorer once you've connected, and see if that locks up (it might be a problem with AOL, your modem, or something else - it may help to isolate it by trying something different)
I hope it's not because of viruses, do you use an up-to-date Antivirus program?
if not you can click on one of the links in my signature for AVG or AntiVir - two excellent free antivirus programs
with the number of viruses and other nasty things out there, it really would be a mistake to NOT use Antivirus software
and I've never used spyware, so I don't think that's the reason.
you dont use Spyware - Spyware uses you, installing itself usually without your knowledge - click on one of the links in my signature for Spybot or AdAware, download and run it, you may be surprised to find out exactly how much Spyware you are running
What does OS mean? Operating System - referring to which version of Windows (or if you use Linux, Mac or something else) you use

There is a virus right now that is causing this situation more than likely

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1212&e=3&u=/afp/internet_virus&sid=96001018

Originally posted by Jen1989
I use a local connection. For the past five and half years I used dial up and finally had a local connection in Jan. so that means you are on cable or DSL, and you are connected all the time, but you said it only locks up when you are using AOL/ on the internet?

i still think you should check for viruses and spyware before you try anything else, they would be the most likely causes of the type of problem you are having

Defintely Dial-up. DSL/Cable requires no "connecting".

Another way to tell is if your phone is busy when your hooked up. If it is, it is dial-up(unless you have 2 lines).

Originally posted by Jen1989
I guess I still have dial up then. I don't have cable or DSL. I'm only connected to the internet when I sign on.

Are you sure? When you start to log on to the internet, do you have to click on a modem icon and then press "Connect" and then it says "Dialing..."? If so, you're on dialup. If you have cable or DSL, it's connected 24/7 so you don't have to click on a modem icon to connect :)


BTW, I have XP and have been using it since it was released in 2001. I got it in November 2001, and I had a lot of problems with it on my first computer at first, because my computer was really old (I should've known it wouldn't be able to handle XP correctly). I got a memory upgrade in 2002, and that seemed to help it a bit...but I still had a lot of problems. That same computer died in November 2003 and I'm on another computer I've had since December 2003 and I've had ZERO problems. :D

Originally posted by Jen1989
That's interesting, I had not heard about that yet.

quote: It attacks through a flaw in recent versions of Microsoft's Windows -- Windows 2000 (news - web sites), Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP (news - web sites) -- and causes the computer to shut down, then rebooting it, repeating the process several times. But it appears to do no lasting damage.

This happened to my computer three years ago in July 2001. I'll never forget, it was so strange. Scared the living daylights out of me. It kept shutting itself down and booting back up, and then opened up AOL, and signed on, somehow knowing my password, and I don't save my password, I type it in each time.

Anyone else have this happen?

What on earth? :crazy:

i always just turn off my computer without shutting it down. i've been doing it for years, i dont see why its so bad.

I would do the following:

download a free spyware detecter and have it delete any spyware:

http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/

This one is good, free, and takes only a few minutes to download even on dial up. Then have it scan your computer and delete the bad files. I have found over 100 spywares since I downloaded it a few weeks ago.

go to the Microsoft Windows update page and download and install all critical security fixes for Windows XP

Update your virus and FIREWALL protection and run the anti-virus software to look for Trojans and viruses.

You shouldn't have any more problems unless it is an AOL problem or a basic computer problem.

Do you have a backup recovery disk??? I have had trouble recently in which my computer has frozen or I can't get on,so I turn the computer off and put in the recovery disk and wait about 20 minutes for all systems to come back and everything comes back to the way it was before.

Originally posted by FamilyTiesGOP
I would do the following:

download a free spyware detecter and have it delete any spyware:

http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/

This one is good, free, and takes only a few minutes to download even on dial up. Then have it scan your computer and delete the bad files. I have found over 100 spywares since I downloaded it a few weeks ago.

go to the Microsoft Windows update page and download and install all critical security fixes for Windows XP

Update your virus and FIREWALL protection and run the anti-virus software to look for Trojans and viruses.

You shouldn't have any more problems unless it is an AOL problem or a basic computer problem. I have tried this myself,but then it erased everything that was on the computer even my downloadable games and stuff.

Originally posted by safety pin
i always just turn off my computer without shutting it down. i've been doing it for years, i dont see why its so bad.

We leave ours on overnight. The only time we shut it down now is if we're going to be away for more than a few hours. We were shutting it down every night up until a couple of months ago when it acted really weird at startup. After a few minutes though, it would come up normally. Now it takes forever for shut down, but it will eventually. We only restart now if we have a Windows Update that requires it or a power outage, and we haven't had any problems. Thankfully! :D

Originally posted by BravesFan2004
I have tried this myself,but then it erased everything that was on the computer even my downloadable games and stuff.

You sure you didn't do a DESTRUCTIVE SYSTEM RECOVERY? That will ERASE EVERYTHING except what the computer had WHEN YOU BOUGHT IT. All programs, folders, archived links(favorites), files you installed are lost. You CAN do a NON-DESTRUCTIVE SYSTEM RECOVERY and that won't cause you to lose anything.

Originally posted by Brent88
You sure you didn't do a DESTRUCTIVE SYSTEM RECOVERY? That will ERASE EVERYTHING except what the computer had WHEN YOU BOUGHT IT. All programs, folders, archived links(favorites), files you installed are lost. You CAN do a NON-DESTRUCTIVE SYSTEM RECOVERY and that won't cause you to lose anything. Nope, I followed the instructions to find the spyware and then it frozed up the cursor and I had to use the backup disc and erased everything including my Dale Earnhardt Sr. screensaver and my games.

Originally posted by BravesFan2004
Nope, I followed the instructions to find the spyware and then it frozed up the cursor and I had to use the backup disc and erased everything including my Dale Earnhardt Sr. screensaver and my games. what type of computer do you have (Dell/HP/Gateway, etc..) this backup disk was probably a system recovery disk, what it does is wipe everything off your hard drive, and reinstalls everything as it was when you first got the computer

AdAware and Spybot should only remove spyware components , the only things that should stop working are programs that require spyware components - and BOTH Spybot and AdAware have undo and restore features if something goes wrong

Originally posted by Jen1989
I quoted part of the news article. It mentioned computers shutting down and rebooting several times in a row. I just mentioned that I've had that experience with my computer before. the rest of that story describes a trojan that attacks computers running Windows, if you update Windows regularily and use up-to-date antivirus and firewall software, you shouldn't have to worry about those too much

Do you think that it's that Sasser computer virus that's going around??? I'm glad that the virus isn't on my computer yet.

Originally posted by robyrob
what type of computer do you have (Dell/HP/Gateway, etc..) this backup disk was probably a system recovery disk, what it does is wipe everything off your hard drive, and reinstalls everything as it was when you first got the computer

AdAware and Spybot should only remove spyware components , the only things that should stop working are programs that require spyware components - and BOTH Spybot and AdAware have undo and restore features if something goes wrong Well,it was either that,or paying $50 to a computer guy telling me to use the backup hard drive to come back onto the computer. I have a Hewlett Packard with Windows 98.

Originally posted by BravesFan2004
Do you think that it's that Sasser computer virus that's going around??? I'm glad that the virus isn't on my computer yet. it doesnt matter WHICH virus, piece of malware, or combination thereof it is, as long as she runs some antivirus and spyware remover....