My Computer (A.K.A: the heap of junk)

[Nirvana_Fan]

1] My computer has been making a bleeping sound, it isn't a stuck key as i bought a new keyboard. They are short constant beeps and are getting on my nerves, any suggestions?

2] Secondly, my computer has become really slow, i get constant pop-ups whilst on the net, even with a pop-up blocker. I haven't got an anti-virus either so it doesn't help.any suggestions?

3]  I went on to critical updates and i installed Outlook Express- i already had it but some stuff  got deleted so i had to re-install it. Anyway, it came up with a box saying put in your pop3 etc. i didnt know what they were so i copied the examples. So, when i tried to run it ,it wouldn't. The error said something like check your pop3 (or something like that, can't remember now because it was a while back. Is there any way of me finding these details out by checking my computer or something? because it won't run it without them.

4] Lastly, my computer,it keeps on restarting. On one day it restarted every time i turned it on and i couldnt go on it for the rest of the day, and when i do get on it the above problems happen. again, any suggestions?

 

Any help would be much appreciated, thankyou

[AngelofDeath]

1) The beeps could be your PC's Bios trying to tell you that something is wrong. It could also be something simple like the keyboard isn't plugged in properly. Try unplugging it and then plugging it in again. If it's the Bios trying to tell you something you'll need to listen to the pattern of beeps and look up what they mean. Try this link for Bios beep codes:-

http://tinyurl.com/ytlav

2)It is not recommended that you go on the net without a firewall or a virus scanner. A good Adware scanner is also higly recommended. You will need to download some software before you can do any more. It sounds like you may have Malware of some sort on your PC. Go to the following links and download Ad-Aware SE personal, Spybot search & destroy and AVG.

Adawre SE - http://tinyurl.com/7xwkf

Spybot - http://tinyurl.com/549aw

AVG - http://tinyurl.com/667g4

(If you haven't got a firewall try Zonealarm - http://tinyurl.com/7jggu

You will need to download the second one on the list as it is free).

[AngelofDeath]

Part 2.

When you download these programs they will talk you through the setup and will ask if you want to run straight away. Answer yes. When they have all been installed and have run I would recommend running Adaware, Spybot and AVG again from safe mode. Some Malware protects itself from deletion when it's running, however by running the removal tools in safe mode they won't be running. To find out how to get into safe mode try this link: -

http://tinyurl.com/pfca

After running all of these do a Disk Cleanup. You can find this by going to START > ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS > DISK CLEANUP. You will need to check the boxes against what you want to delete. I check them all.

Now run SCAN DISK. If you are using Windows 98 you will find this in SYSTEM TOOLS, as above. If you are using Windows XP click on START> MY COMPUTER. Now right click on (C:) drive, click on Properties, Tools and then click on the check now box under the heading of Error-Checking. It will probably say that it can't run yet and do you want it to run at next start up. Say yes to this and then restart your PC.

Now run Disk Defragmenter, again found in SYSTEM TOOLS.

Once these have all been run your PC should run more quickly and have less problems.

[bruce5755]

One word of warning before I start, (well more than one actually) I am by no means a computer buff!, but this may help.  Have you tried "System Restore", to turn your computer back to an earlier time, one where you know it was running O.K.?  It normally cures most problems but, you really should be using anti-virus software and an internet security programme.  I have a Norton Internet Security Package, but I know you can get a good anti-virus programme called AVG, which is free to download.  Also try clearing your temporary internet files and cookies as these take up space on your hard drive.  One other thing I have done is to "de-fragment" my files using the computer management tools in "my computer". 

Good Luck  I hope this may help! 

[AngelofDeath]

Part 3.

3) With your e-mail client (Outlook Express) you need to set your incoming and outgoing servers. This is so that the software knows who deals with your e-mail. i.e Hotmail, Yahoo or your ISP (Internet Service provider) e-mail account. These server details change from account to account. Go on-line and check out the web site for whoever provides your e-mail account. They should have a question page that will tell you the settings and how to set them. I am with blueyonder and my settings are:-

Incoming :- POP3.blueyonder.co.uk

Outgoing :- smtp.blueyonder.co.uk

 

4) Hopefully this shouldn't be a problem any more.

[AngelofDeath]

A good point made by bruce5755 is to clear your internet cookies file. If you are using the latest version the easiest way to do this is to open Internet Explorer, click on Tools, Internet Options and then click the DELETE COOKIES button that is about half way down the options window. 

I should have pointed out that all of the downloads I have recommended are free.

[stevie21]

It sounds like a lot of work, but I'd do everything that AngelofDeath has suggested (and probably more!).
This will involve rebooting your PC LOADS after each spyware scan and update etc. and very quickly becomes tiresome and tedious.
Stick with it and your PC will get better.

Another thing that slows down your PC is just all the general junk that accumulates. The easiest way to wipe this is to format your entire hard drive and reinstall Windows.
If you ever do this (last resort?) then make sure to save important documents to a separate drive/partition/CD beforehand.
This is guaranteed to remove all nasties (well, it removes EVERYTHING on the hard drive) and also speed things up too.

[AngelofDeath]

Hi Nirvana_Fan, I hope you're having some success with your heap of junk. There are a couple of points that I should have mentioned before.

1) Some Malware (like tracking cookies) take up residence in your Cookies file, this is why it's a good idea to clear the file. However, various bits of user information from sites you visit are also stored as cookies. These include auto log-ins and other personal settings you may have on a web-site. Clearing the cookies file will delete all cookies and you will have to personalise these sites again. Your log-ins and passwords won't change, you just won't log in automatically if you had that set before.

2) When you install Adaware SE, it will only be set to 'Perform Smart System Scan'. This does a quick scan, but does not scan all files. I would recommend running it again, this time after clicking on Start select 'Perform Full System Scan' and then Next. This will stay set at that now and will perform a deep scan of all files on your PC.