[TreeSaw]

Ok, so my sister's computer is possessed!

It will work fine for a while, then go into sleep-mode and will not come out of it She asked me to take a look at it, so I did and I thought I fixed it (ran a system's scan and it found & repaired errors and seemed to be running fine for a couple of days) but it's doing it again.

Any of you techno-monkeys have another solution to try?

It's a Gateway, Windows XP and a Pentium 4 processor.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[splat]

First of all get rid of Winblows and Install fedora

Does it just go into sleep mode , while she is working on it or from lack of activity ?

have you gone into Control panel and checked out the energy saving options ? see how they areset and try just disableing all enegry saving options to start , and go from there ?

also if it goes into sleep mode whle she is working , she may have inadvertantly programed a key combo.

 

[Bicyclist]

Mine does that ocassionaly and I just restart it and everything's good. Energy save/screen saver options didn't help me. Although maybe you could try to check your moniter's settings.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Home or Professional XP?
Are service pack 2 and all critical updates installed?
Anti-viral and anti-spyware up to date?

 

[BigMike]

If the above things don't work (energy settings, checking keystrokes)

Install This,

This,

And if you don't have anti viral protection, This.

 

[jimmydean]

My wifes Dell used to do that, I turned Hibernate off and it was much better.

 

[Polandspring88]

My wifes Dell used to do that, I turned Hibernate off and it was much better.

Yep, my Dell 5150 laptop does that and will not come out of sleep mode sometimes too.

 

[GumbaFish]

this is simple just do these easy steps
1.) unplug computer
2.) firmly grab baseball bat using two hands
3.) pummel the computer with the bat
4.) plug computer back in
5.) you're done, happy computing!

 

[binary visions]

Well, the links BigMike gave you are good programs to have installed but they probably won't fix the problem.

The problem is that sleep mode sucks on many computers - often they won't come out of it properly, or if they do, they're slow and/or prone to freezing.

The answer is that there's no reason to have sleep mode enabled, so just turn it off. Right click on the deskop, click the Screen Saver tab, and look at the Power Saving section. You can disable it from there.

If it's a laptop and this happens when you close the screen, it might be in the BIOS too - in that case, when you boot up it'll say "Press <some key, e.g. DEL, F2, ESC, etc.) to enter Setup" or "Press <some key> to enter BIOS". Press the key and go hunting for an option that tells the computer what to do when you close the lid.

 

[TreeSaw]

this is simple just do these easy steps
1.) unplug computer
2.) firmly grab baseball bat using two hands
3.) pummel the computer with the bat
4.) plug computer back in
5.) you're done, happy computing!

Hmmm...you must know my sister because this is similar to what she suggested (although her's involved a hammper rather than a bat)

 

[TreeSaw]

Thanks everyone! I disabled the "hibernate" mode and things seem to be working well. I did get a service pack and Windows update and installed that a couple of days ago and checked her virus/spyware subscriptions too. I also plan on installing the links that BigMike gave me. Hopefully this cures the problem for her. If not, she may just push it out her 3rd floor window

 

[binary visions]

I might suggest installing Microsoft AntiSpyware instead of Ad-Aware. AntiSpyware is a great piece of software.

 

[TreeSaw]

I might suggest installing Microsoft AntiSpyware instead of Ad-Aware. AntiSpyware is a great piece of software.

Is there a link to download this software (pay or free I don't care)? I have Ad-Aware at home and would like something better.

Thanks!

 

[binary visions]

Is there a link to download this software (pay or free I don't care)? I have Ad-Aware at home and would like something better.

Thanks!

It's free, and you can download it from www.microsoft.com.

Direct link

 

[H8R]

I might suggest installing Microsoft AntiSpyware instead of Ad-Aware. AntiSpyware is a great piece of software.

I run MS Antispyware in active mode always, but I still run Adaware once a week. It will pick up the occasional thing that the MS ASW will miss.

So yeah, run both.

 

[binary visions]

I run MS Antispyware in active mode always, but I still run Adaware once a week. It will pick up the occasional thing that the MS ASW will miss.

So yeah, run both.

Just out of curiosity, have you ever had it pick up anything but a benign cookie? I was running Ad Aware once in a while on top of AntiSpyware but never had it pick up anything but the occasional cookie that wasn't causing any trouble, and I clear my cookies out regularly anyway so I quit bothering with it.

 

[H8R]

Just out of curiosity, have you ever had it pick up anything but a benign cookie? I was running Ad Aware once in a while on top of AntiSpyware but never had it pick up anything but the occasional cookie that wasn't causing any trouble, and I clear my cookies out regularly anyway so I quit bothering with it.

Hmm. Mostly just cookies, but I have my wife and kid on here too, so it helps to clear their cookies as well as mine.

Overkill is a good idea when you have a teen kid.

 

[BigMike]

Hmm. Mostly just cookies, but I have my wife and kid on here too, so it helps to clear their cookies as well as mine.

Overkill is a good idea when you have a teen kid.

Check out their internet cookies, you may learn some positions you never thought were possible

 

[MOTODH]

so using hibernate/standby is bad, i always use that and my computer does seem slower after waking up, hmm any way to shut the laptop off without messing things up?????

 

[Ascentrek]

Ok, so my sister's computer is possessed!

It's a Gateway, Windows XP and a Pentium 4 processor.

THANK YOU!!!

Your problem is the Gateway. Shoot it, and head to the bar for a drink.

Problem solved.

 

[Dartman]

I bought Webroot Spysweeper after the demo found a keystroke logger that Ad-aware, Spybot and MS Antispy ignored.

http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/spysweeper/

Anti-spyware probably isn't going to fix his sisters computer however.

Mike

 

[binary visions]

so using hibernate/standby is bad, i always use that and my computer does seem slower after waking up, hmm any way to shut the laptop off without messing things up?????

Just use Shut Down instead of standby/hibernate.

You can turn off Standby/Hibernate through the Power Saving settings I mentioned above, and often in laptops you also need to look at the BIOS - also in my post above.

 

[MOTODH]

Just use Shut Down instead of standby/hibernate.

You can turn off Standby/Hibernate through the Power Saving settings I mentioned above, and often in laptops you also need to look at the BIOS - also in my post above.

OK thanks