Alright, I need help computer techies.... Windows Taskbar is freezing up.

[crashbb]

Because every one likes to take my topics completely way out of subject.

I'm not bugging about using her computer, she doesn't mind that I use her computer. She barely touches it. It's hers she has access to it any time she wants to use it.

This isn't about my computer/her computer. It's a computer problem that needs to get fixed. She would have me fixing the problem even if she was the one to download the updates.

I'm asking if any one has a similar problem or would know how to fix the problem. My only solution is reinstalling Vista, but it makes it more difficult when I don't have a way to back her files up. I'm not going to knowingly reformat her computer and delete everything.

Actually, this is no longer true. She no longer has access (or at least good access) to her computer because you've broken it. I would be thoroughly annoyed if my house guest used my computer, downloaded updates, and rendered my computer unusable.

If I had not connected to the internet since May, I was clearly not missing the internet and the computer was working just fine for what I wanted. And now it doesn't. All because my guest "needed" to get onto the internet.

 

[SandrA9810]

Well, I have two ideas for you. The first is to download the newest version of Ubuntu-which is a free OS, (http://www.ubuntu.com/) burn it to a disc and run it to try to find the problem in there. Just make sure you only run it, not install. If you install it, it will wipe windows. (Though in my experience with Vista, that's not a bad thing )

The second idea is for backing up the files. I'd set up a dropbox account (http://www.dropbox.com/features) for your aunt. Then you could transfer her files to it and re-install Windows. (or Ubuntu if she likes it)

Thanks for the help. Never heard of Ubuntu though, so I'll be sure to back up the computer first. I wish I still had a copy of Windows XP, that would be helpful at this point. You'd think Windows could come out with a decent product after 20years...

And the computer isn't rendered useless, it's just being a PIA.

ETA: Ubuntu is part of Linux... yeah, I know about that. Although I don't think it'd fair well if I went with a linux base operating system. And I'm not about to go into dual booting Windows and Linux.

I will try to partition the hard drive to make saving of files easier. That way Windows can be reinstalled and loaded without so much back up.

 

[RitaE]

I was going to suggest dropbox too. I think the give you 2GB for free and then you can "earn" some additional space.

But to be honest it seems like her computer was working fine until you decided to get Internet going and messing around with her Windows Install. I'm sure you were trying to help, but I think that now that you've done the damage, you need to fix it.

If you can't do that yourself then get it to a repair shop.

 

[scbelleatheart]

Google Chrome is a major issue on Vista. Uninstall it. Do a search on all the issues it causes.
If that doesn't help go back to a resore point (You did set one up?) before you did all the updates. Lesson to be learned "Never touch another persons computer"

 

[SandrA9810]

Google Chrome is a major issue on Vista. Uninstall it. Do a search on all the issues it causes.
If that doesn't help go back to a resore point (You did set one up?) before you did all the updates. Lesson to be learned "Never touch another persons computer"

I never had issues with Chrome on Vista, I've been using it for about a year now. And it didn't update with the rest of the stuff.

I don't believe my aunt has ever set up a restore point. So that's not an option.

 

[bonoriffic]

Are you positive this problem did not occur prior to your recent updates? If you are sure the updates caused the problem, you can roll back to an earlier restore point. They are created automatically for you based on day and new application installation.

Roll back to the day before you updated the computer. In some cases, the changes have been so significant the rollback will fail, but just a few months of mandatory system updates shouldn't be a problem.

If that doesn't work, unplug the network connection and see if the problem is dependent on an internet connection to happen.

Check device manager and see if anything has a yellow exclamation point next to it.

Check the start up items folder and see if any items are there that shouldn't be.

Does the laptop not have a DVD/CD burner that you could use to save the data and reinstall? How much data could she have since it doesn't sound like she does much on it. A 4GB flash drive costs well under $10.

 

[SandrA9810]

Are you positive this problem did not occur prior to your recent updates? If you are sure the updates caused the problem, you can roll back to an earlier restore point. They are created automatically for you based on day and new application installation.

Positive, I used the computer on the internet last in May. I was then the one to reconnect to the net when I flew back out here in September.

Roll back to the day before you updated the computer. In some cases, the changes have been so significant the rollback will fail, but just a few months of mandatory system updates shouldn't be a problem.

That's good to know. I'm doing a system back up now, just incase I mess up some how in the process of all this. If I do roll it back, isn't it gonna wanna update again??

If that doesn't work, unplug the network connection and see if the problem is dependent on an internet connection to happen.

Didn't think to try that. I didn't think it would have a connection to using the net.

Check device manager and see if anything has a yellow exclamation point next to it. Check the start up items folder and see if any items are there that shouldn't be.

I used to be smart at this stuff... now I draw a huge blank when facing a problem on the computer. But I also didn't use a home computer for over 6 years. So many changes have happened, that I have yet to catch up on.

Does the laptop not have a DVD/CD burner that you could use to save the data and reinstall? How much data could she have since it doesn't sound like she does much on it. A 4GB flash drive costs well under $10.

Well Drop Box allows 2 gig. It says there's over 50 gigs of hard drive used. But going through all of her documents, there's really not a whole lot. Her other problem, is she likes to save a million email fwds to her hard drive, rather than just leaving them in her email folder. So there's a ton of images and video clips that downloaded to the computer. Working with limited space, she's gonna have to decide what she needs or wants.
There is a burner, and just a few blank cds. But i'm gonna have to go through and make sure I can reinstall some of her programs, whether from the net or if she has the original disc.

It bugs me when it happens, but I can still deal with it till it gets working without rebooting every time. I doubt she'd even use the computer long enough to have the problem encounter. If it did, she'd be say "fly back here and fix it"... I've got 3 weeks to figure it out and fix it. I hope it's enough time. If not, I might have to take it with me back to California, and have my bf fix it.

 

[RitaE]

you're going to take your Aunt's Computer back to California with you because you can't get it running right now that you've messed it up?????

Let me just say it for everybody:

GOOD GRIEF!

 

[SandrA9810]

If worse comes to worse, I will take it with me and ship it back. It's a whole lot cheaper than giving it to a repair person, or buying a new laptop.

 

[crashbb]

If worse comes to worse, I will take it with me and ship it back. It's a whole lot cheaper than giving it to a repair person, or buying a new laptop.

And in the mean time, she's without a laptop. Sometimes doing the right thing does not mean doing the easiest/cheapest thing.

 

[scbelleatheart]

You should have set up the restore point, not your aunt, prior to doing any installs. I'll probably get banned fo life for this one but if you can't understand if you do new installs, you always do a restore point and simple back up first just in case, to take you back to step one. Shouldn't need more than an 8 GB flash drive. Then sort thru the installs to see which is causing the problem. Long process, yes. Screwing up some one else's computer, NO.

 

[scbelleatheart]

Your answer? Simple search.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Chrome/thread?tid=1622abb79c8d5c6a&hl=en

 

[bonoriffic]

Go to add remove and uninstall any application that was installed after May. I would also uninstall google chrome and AIM. Uninstall java and any other similar programs that would have auto updated once connected to the internet. If that doesn't fix your problems, uninstall any Windows updates. You may need to select a box to show updates as patches are usually hidden by default. Finally do the system checkpoint restore to a point as far back in time as it will let you go.

Assuming if at any time you solve the problem, add programs back one at a time and disable auto update temporarily. Add Microsoft updates back first. I wouldn't install chrome or AIM, these are two applications it sounds like only you would use and have a high frequency of updates that your aunt doesn't need to deal with.

 

[neodymm]

This is from my nearly asleep, but I woke him when I saw this, DH...he has been a network engineer / IT God / Toshiba certified for years:
***
One thing it sounds like you haven't considered yet is that you may have a program or malware that is causing conflicts with windows explorer. One way to check for this is to look in add/remove programs for multiple anti-virus or anti-malware applications.

There is an application that will stop all malware processes and help get the laptop back to a basic running mode. The application is called rkill, here is a link to download the file:

http://www.technibble.com/rkill-repair-tool-of-the-week/

Toshiba Satellites are known for having driver compatibility issues (among other things) as well and may be arguing with one of your recent updates. However, try the above first.

After you've run rkill, see if Vista seems to work more normal. If so, then download malwarebytes and run a full scan (this will remove malware apps that may be causing the computer to function improperly):

http://malwarebytes.org/

If rkill does not help, then open a DOS prompt (start => run => cmd) and type sfc /scannow. This will repair the system files if any are corrupt or improperly updated. You will need the Vista disk when you do this.

Another place to look for clues is to type eventvwr into the run command box and look for red x's in the event log. Then, google those event id's for ideas on what to do.

Also, the emails that she has saved, are they in the root directory (like C? If so, there is an old limitation on the number of files that can exist in that directory alone.

Hope that helps and Good Luck!!

 

[SandrA9810]

Your answer? Simple search.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Chrome/thread?tid=1622abb79c8d5c6a&hl=en

I wish it was simple as a search. I've been looking up all possibilities. Doing searches "x program taskbar freeze vista" to see if it's a program I use. But none of the questions/answers I find match the issue I'm having. And the taskbar flickering is NOT the issue. I'm also not finding any answers to "vista taskbar freeze" or "vista windows explorer freeze".

Go to add remove and uninstall any application that was installed after May. I would also uninstall google chrome and AIM. Uninstall java and any other similar programs that would have auto updated once connected to the internet. If that doesn't fix your problems, uninstall any Windows updates. You may need to select a box to show updates as patches are usually hidden by default. Finally do the system checkpoint restore to a point as far back in time as it will let you go.
Assuming if at any time you solve the problem, add programs back one at a time and disable auto update temporarily. Add Microsoft updates back first. I wouldn't install chrome or AIM, these are two applications it sounds like only you would use and have a high frequency of updates that your aunt doesn't need to deal with.

No programs have been installed since May, well except for DropBox yesterday. I was thinking about uninstalling most the extra programs and see what happens. But it's so frustrating because I can't always get the problem to happen. Since I restarted the computer yesterday, it hasn't froze once. I usually just close it and let it "sleep" at night. So it's hard to say "ohh I fixed the problem".... "maybe not". Which happened a couple times before. I usually get rid of Chrome and AIM prior to leaving, but I didn't do it in May. So unless it updated in the background, I believe it's the same version I was using before. But I will uninstall my programs before I leave.

This is from my nearly asleep, but I woke him when I saw this, DH...he has been a network engineer / IT God / Toshiba certified for years:
***
One thing it sounds like you haven't considered yet is that you may have a program or malware that is causing conflicts with windows explorer. One way to check for this is to look in add/remove programs for multiple anti-virus or anti-malware applications.

There is an application that will stop all malware processes and help get the laptop back to a basic running mode. The application is called rkill, here is a link to download the file:

http://www.technibble.com/rkill-repair-tool-of-the-week/

Toshiba Satellites are known for having driver compatibility issues (among other things) as well and may be arguing with one of your recent updates. However, try the above first.

After you've run rkill, see if Vista seems to work more normal. If so, then download malwarebytes and run a full scan (this will remove malware apps that may be causing the computer to function improperly):

http://malwarebytes.org/

If rkill does not help, then open a DOS prompt (start => run => cmd) and type sfc /scannow. This will repair the system files if any are corrupt or improperly updated. You will need the Vista disk when you do this.

Another place to look for clues is to type eventvwr into the run command box and look for red x's in the event log. Then, google those event id's for ideas on what to do.

Also, the emails that she has saved, are they in the root directory (like C: )? If so, there is an old limitation on the number of files that can exist in that directory alone.

Hope that helps and Good Luck!!

Thanks for the help. I'll print that out in the morning and give it a shot. The emails she saves are from her aol email, so it's not like she's using Outlook or any program based email. So she copies and paste the emails into word or something, then saves it to the hard drive.
Yesterday I was able to do a system back up onto 8 blank CDs. I thought I was going to run out since I only had one blank left. Plus it took ALL DAY to do. So since I have what I believe to be more important files saved in dropbox and the back up done. I'm not afraid to try any of this stuff.
She's also had a few things stop working on here after driver updates. One thing was her mouse, so if I wind up getting rid of all driver updates and installs, I might get the mouse working again.