Garbage windows...

[esoteric]

this is the 3rd windows install that went to garbage this year i treat them differently and they all come out the same, complete and utter garbage

 

right now i am having a list of problems that i cannot figure out how to solve so i would appreciate input:

 

 

1. ftp clients work HORRIBLY on this computer, they crash, they dont connect, they lockup and use all of my resources, etc...

 

2. i CANNOT goto.tk sites PERIOD it doesnt work on this computer

 

3. sites (like this one) occasionally stop working until i restart my browser

 

4. i cant host a god damned thing on this computer

 

5. trillian stays logged into accounts but i cannot recieve messages (this happens ALOT)

 

6. i also have connection problems with ALOT of games and stuff like teamspeak like i LAAAAAAAG or it doesnt connect or i disconnect every so often

 

7. a host of other problems i cannot think of at this moment

 

 

i am thinking of switching to linux but im not sure which distro to get (yeah i have some mandrake and knoppix experience, dunno how far it will take me tho)

Edited December 28, 2004 by esoteric

[Samurai Edge]

Fast be some viruses or your hardware problem if I'm not wrong, I think the best way is to send your computer to the manufacture for a full check-up.

[esoteric]

manufacturer? i built this thing myself and i do a monthly virus scan with kaspersky and found nothing

[Agozer]

Forgive me for not contributing much to help you out, but daqmn, that's one f*ucked up computer you have there...

 

In any case, do you have an intergrated ethernet card? Was there any problems with the Windows install or device management?

[Daeval]

Since all your problems seem to be internet-related, what kind of connection are you using, are you using any firewall software or a router, etc?

[Samurai Edge]

kaspersky is the virus scan that can detect 100% virus, right?

[esoteric]

umm well not 100% but it has the highest detection rate of the virus scans out right now and i guess it could be my connection it does all of that except for the hosting thing and some other stuff i cant think of i ahve cable and i have a us robotics usr 8003 router

[Gryph]

Have you set your router up properly?

[gavin19]

Try linux then sir. Start

here and try a couple out.

[Daeval]

umm well not 100% but it has the highest detection rate of the virus scans out right now and i guess it could be my connection it does all of that except for the hosting thing and some other stuff i cant think of i ahve cable and i have a us robotics usr 8003 router

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The hosting stuff, if you're referring to hosting games and things over the internet, is also if not especially related to your connection.

 

The vast majority of that stuff could be caused by your router if it isn't set up properly, a poorly configured software firewall such as zonealarm, or even the Windows XP firewall if you're using that (you may not even KNOW you're using that, it's sneaky). You need to get the right ports forwarded and triggered for different programs.

 

The FTP program issue could be the programs responding ungracefully because they can't get through port 21 (I think it's 21 for FTP, it's been a while). Other than that, I can't think of anything that would cause multiple FTP programs to screw up.

 

The.tk thing is odd, but might have to do with a bad hosts file somewhere on your system. Try traceroute-ing to a.tk and see what happens.

 

At any rate, none of the things you listed sound like the telltale symptoms of a windows install gone rogue. It sounds more like your internet connection is f-ed up somewhere along the line to me.

[esoteric]

well see, none of this was happening until about 2 months into this windows installations life (except the hosting thing but i understand that, this computer isnt the WAN on my network) and thanks for your input and i tried alot of stuff and the.tk thing is weird its like.tk doesnt exist i try pinging.tk stuff i try connecting i try using proxies, NOTHING no results its just like no.tk domains exist

[Daeval]

well see, none of this was happening until about 2 months into this windows installations life

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You hear this paraphrased ALL THE TYME when you're doing tech support, because people hear all sorts of horror stories about windows "going bad" and stuff. Don't get yourself hung up on it. Those stories are largely left over from Windows 95/98/ME and happen rather rarely in 2000 and XP. Most of the time, the problem is not on the "my operating system is rotting on my hard drive" scale. If the symptoms don't match your diagnosis (and they don't really in this case) then look for another diagnosis.

 

What software or even hardware have you installed since then? Even stuff you might have downloaded for a day and then uninstalled? Are you running or did you ever install any software firewalls (like zonealarm, blackice, etc) or spyware/adware scanners or blockers? Do you have the XP firewall disabled? It's more likely to be something like that that's messing you up.

 

For your hosts file, check here (assuming you're using XP):

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\

Open hosts in notepad. There really should only be one entry, a line that says "127.0.0.1 localhost". Anything else is potentially blocking connections. It should be safe to delete all but that line, save, and then reboot the system to stop blocking whatever else is in there.

 

Ultimately, a format and reinstall might fix your problem, but it's probably not the Windows install itself that has gone bad.

[esoteric]

i dont do software firewalls anymore and i always disable the XP firewall and i didnt get the bad windows thing from any rumor, just from experience

 

and last time i edited hosts i was educated on how to do it but i will check it out

[alexis]

there is a chance that your problem is hardware related, i will read the htread more carefully when i get some time, but in my opinion is due to a piece of hardware that is amlfunctioning and about to die

 

you can start checking the ram and the hd via software, there are some ram checkers on the net, microsoft has a free one, please make sure to check the hd via soft too and please post your current hardware specs

[esoteric]

which ones so i can be specific about them