Okay - another computer problem

[kbkids]

You guys came through so quick this morning with my friend's computer problem, let's see if you can help me.


Everytime I open up Internet Explorer, the error window, "Internet Explorer has experienced a problem and needs to shut down . . . ." I click "Don't send' and then my home page pops up. I then go on with no problems. Occasionally, that window will pop up again, but just goes away when I click "don't send." IE never shuts down. I've rebooted, and it doesn't make the problem go away.


Any clues?

 

[bicker]

Sorry to say that problems like that indicate OS corruption, and are typically only can be remedied by either an OS repair, upgrade (and then, only sometimes) or replacement (my typical approach). No easy answers there.

 

[mickman1962]

Sorry to say that problems like that indicate OS corruption, and are typically only can be remedied by either an OS repair, upgrade (and then, only sometimes) or replacement (my typical approach). No easy answers there.

I second this suggestion but will add why not try this browser Firefox or this one Opera both are free and imo better than Internet Explorer

 

[bicker]

Well, "better" is relative. Some web applications rely on Microsoft IE add-ins and built-ins, so if you have to use one of them, you really want IE working.

Furthermore, IE is so embedded into the OS that, while you can use Firefox and Opera to surf the web, there are parts of the operating system itself that use and therefore rely on IE components. I'd be concerned about those error messages even if I wasn't using IE for surfing the web.

 

[kbkids]

Sorry to say that problems like that indicate OS corruption, and are typically only can be remedied by either an OS repair, upgrade (and then, only sometimes) or replacement (my typical approach). No easy answers there.

Okay, let me give you a little more history. We've had this computer for about 30 days. It's a Dell - I didn't listen. I know they've been given a bad rep on this board, but everyone I knew personally has one and loves it, so we bit the bullet. Well, they refuse to do anything about it (we do have a one-year warranty), but they are saying it's not a hardware issue, and in order to try to help us figure out what's wrong - they think it's a software issue - they want to charge us another $200. They refuse to talk to us any further without this. My DH is out of town right now, and I just don't have time to get into this with them - so hopefully, he'll get further with them when he gets home. But I'm livid. I refuse to give them another dime since it was doing this the first week we set it up.

I was hoping it would be something simple, like maybe something (software) not installed correctly that I could uninstall and then re-install it again.

Any suggestions? By the way, you're speaking Greek to me What is OS corruption?

 

[kbkids]

Can anyone help?!?!?

 

[jfulcer]

Well, "better" is relative. Some web applications rely on Microsoft IE add-ins and built-ins, so if you have to use one of them, you really want IE working.

Furthermore, IE is so embedded into the OS that, while you can use Firefox and Opera to surf the web, there are parts of the operating system itself that use and therefore rely on IE components. I'd be concerned about those error messages even if I wasn't using IE for surfing the web.

Wow, even though I agree with you about figuring out what is wrong, based on this and other threads you sure are a Microsoft flunkie.

kbkids - what Dell is trying to do is hand you off (I think) to Microsoft for 'Operating System' support, and of course you pay Microsoft to fix it. I recently fixed a friend's dell that was 30 days old and had literally stopped working.

What Bicker is trying to say is there is a good chance that your Operating System (Windows) is having trouble. I agree with the tech's assesment that it does not sound like a hardware problem. What you may need to do is something called a 'repair install' of your Windows. The first thing I'd do is try to find a geek friend that can help you do this. If you have no geeks available, do some web searches on "Windows XP Repair Install". One of the links that come up is here. Before you do ANYTHING, make sure you have important stuff backed up, like any audio files you may have downloaded from music services, pictures, documents/etc. There is a good chance these could get lost during the repair.

And like another poster had said, from that point on, I'd use Firefox. Much faster, safer, and less (IMHO) error prone. (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/)

 

[bicker]

they are saying it's not a hardware issue - they think it's a software issue

Yup, so they agree with my earlier assessment.

But I'm livid. I refuse to give them another dime since it was doing this the first week we set it up.

However, not the day it arrived? That being the case, the most likely culprits are either some software you installed, or a system crash.

Any suggestions?

Honestly, at this point, I'd look for a local store willing to do the fix for you, if the OS repair doesn't work.

By the way, you're speaking Greek to me What is OS corruption?

The operating system software is made up of thousands of components, little pieces of software code and data configuration that make up the instructions for running the computer. What happens is that the software and/or the data can get deleted or changed (either by careless programming on the part of something you installed, or simply by happenstance due to some power-related event or system crash). With anything other than OS components, you simply reinstall the software and the bad data or bad software is overwritten with a new copy of the good data or good software. OS components can also be remedied this way -- sometimes -- that's the repair I mentioned ealier. It is a program Microsoft provides that checks most of the main system software for numerical differences from what Microsoft actually shipped. If it finds a variance, it replaces the software with a copy of the corresponding original from the installation disks.

In the end, your beef is with Microsoft, not Dell, though. No PC manufacturer covers OS corruption after the computer leaves the factory. It would be insane to do so, since the problem is so common and so much out of their control. Good luck!

 

[NJBlackBerry]

Download two programs and give them a shot:

1) Spybot Search an Destroy. Do a Google search for it and download it. Follow the instructions and let it update itself and then run. Delete anything it detects. After Spybot runs,

2) Download and install "Ad-Aware" Personal. It is available from www.Lavasoftusa.com - same deal; update the signatures (I guess on this board they would be called siggies) and then let it run. Delete all critical items it finds.

There is nothing wrong with Dell. Dell did not make Windows or IE.

 

[Blondie]

And like another poster had said, from that point on, I'd use Firefox. Much faster, safer, and less (IMHO) error prone. (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/)

Sorry to barge in on your thread kbkids, but I'm wondering why FireFox is considered safer than IE?

 

[bicker]

FireFox is used by much fewer computer users, so FireFox specific exploits aren't as lucrative of a path to follow for malevolent programmers. For the same reason, Macintosh is considered "safer" than Windows.

 

[kbkids]

However, not the day it arrived? That being the case, the most likely culprits are either some software you installed, or a system crash.



Actually, it started 2 days after we set up the computer. Not being that computer literate, I assumed my DH had not set up something correctly. He works out of town alot and when I mentioned it, said he would look into it when he got back. I lived with it until he got back - by then, the problem was much worse. So, my beef is that when we set up the computer, it had this problem. No other software (other than what Dell installed) was put on the computer until two weeks later. So, the problem was there from the beginning, but I'm really not "bright" enough to figure that out.

Regardless, it gives me a bad taste for Dell. If we had still been in our 21-day return period, believe me, it would have gone back because the "customer service" we received was awful. Only one person was actually polite and helpful (he was in hardware support) and felt that software support should try to help us since the computer was only 30 days old. He said he put those comments in our case history, but he really couldn't make them do it - obviously. Software people couldn't care less. No apologies for a two-day old computer not working correctly, wouldn't even transfer my DH to a supervisor. Trust me, we did not get vocal with them, but we were upset, and they really just didn't care.

So, yes, I have a neighbor that can come work on it, but I still think I shouldn't be dealing with this with a 2-day old computer. Our 8-year-old 64K desktop that we replaced worked better than this.

 

[NJBlackBerry]

Return it and buy something else. It will also get corrupted in 24 hours. Unpatched Windows machines (NOT DELL - WINDOWS). According to the Internet Storm Center, a non-profit group of security professionals, it now takes 20 minutes for an unpatched Windows PC to get infected with something once it is connected to the Internet.

Sorry; not a Dell problem. Here is an excellent document on Surviving Windows XP - http://www.sans.org/rr/whitepapers/windows/1298.php

 

[Dan Murphy]

If the PC is that new, may just be a corrupt item in the OS. If you have little or no items added into the PC, being so new, it is easy to do a system restore (remember, as said, a system restore will set PC back to original configuration, any data you have added will be erased). It can be a big thing if PC is older, lots of things you have added over the months, on a new one, not usually a big deal. You do have a restore CD.

As for dealing with Microsoft or Dell, Dell is the one for OS problems, since the OS was installed by them, and not purchased directly from Microsoft or a new OS system purchased in a store, it is OEM.

 

[kbkids]

Okay - not trying to argue the point with you because I really don't know what I'm talking about - but why did we never have these problems with our old computer (which had Windows XP on it)?? We only bought a new computer because I needed more memory, and well, I just wanted a newer, prettier computer.

It just really burns you up when you spend over $1000 on a system and then when it doesn't work, they want you to spend another $200 to help you fix it. From where I sit (not a computer-techie type person), sounds fishy to me!

 

[kbkids]

If the PC is that new, may just be a corrupt item in the OS. If you have little or no items added into the PC, being so new, it is easy to do a system restore (remember, as said, a system restore will set PC back to original configuration, any data you have added will be erased). It can be a big thing if PC is older, lots of things you have added over the months, on a new one, not usually a big deal. You do have a restore CD.

As for dealing with Microsoft or Dell, Dell is the one for OS problems, since the OS was installed by them, and not purchased directly from Microsoft or a new OS system purchased in a store, it is OEM.

So, I'm forced to spend $200 to get it fixed??? I'm looking at the disks that came with it - one for printer, one for Corel, one for monitor, and then just one with nothing on it (meaning just a CD-R Imation disk- maybe a copy they made of something) - let me guess which disk is the problem

There's not much on the computer right now. I have added some word files, but they can be saved and put back on our old computer right now. Everything else can be deleted and no big deal.

 

[Tinijocaro]

Okay - not trying to argue the point with you because I really don't know what I'm talking about - but why did we never have these problems with our old computer (which had Windows XP on it)?? We only bought a new computer because I needed more memory, and well, I just wanted a newer, prettier computer.

It just really burns you up when you spend over $1000 on a system and then when it doesn't work, they want you to spend another $200 to help you fix it. From where I sit (not a computer-techie type person), sounds fishy to me!

Why didn't you just add more memory?

 

[Dan Murphy]

http://support.dell.com/support/top...duct_support_hub?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Check here, following the steps. Look for how to do a system restore. As for the need to do a restore, I am relying on Jeff's expertise.

 

[kbkids]

Why didn't you just add more memory?

Honestly - just wanted a new computer with the flat screen.

But, they wanted $75 for more memory. My printer was coming close to being shot. Our scanner stopped working a long time ago. And I figured I had to be on borrowed time with an 8-year-old computer.

But again, see first sentence.

 

[kbkids]

http://support.dell.com/support/top...duct_support_hub?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Check here, following the steps. Look for how to do a system restore. As for the need to do a restore, I am relying on Jeff's expertise.

Okay, this will be DH's job when he gets home again but, I don't need the restore CD you mentioned earlier?