Studying abroad, devastating weird laptop problem

I'm studying abroad in China and my laptop has a really weird problem,
so I apologize in advance but this is a bit long.

I moved in with a host family last week, and 5 minutes after getting
the internet to work and beginning to Skype chat people (without video)
my computer (Gateway laptop model MT3423 I think, Vista Premium, Dual
Core AMD Turion, ~2 years old in good condition) froze and hasn't been
the same since. Now, booting brings me to the recovery screen (of course
- Normal Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, etc.), but no Safe Mode works
- I can get to the login screen but after signing in the Welcome screen
with the loading circle stays up indefinitely. Normal Mode works though,
but it has major issues. After successfully signing in programs begin to
load but it quickly slows down to a crawl, and takes about a minute to
close the two program warning boxes that pop up (just the usual 'this
program is unregistered' sort of thing). After this, Windows Calendar
inexplicably loads, again painfully slow, and if the computer hasn't
crashed by this point then it does shortly thereafter. And the crash
varies - a few times it started with a "Server Busy - this action cannot
be completed" error message but it usually says euphemistically
"Microsoft Windows - this application is not responding."

I've tried several things but I haven't had any success. During this
loading window, I've tried running msconfig and unchecking nonessential
programs, but even after clicking Save Changes and Restart the changes
are not saved, and it'll still proceed to crash and load the programs
again next boot. I've tried loading the control panel, but it becomes
unresponsive after I try to click anything in it. I tried opening
accessories under the Start Menu and it bugged out, and instead of
showing the folder icon it showed a searching icon and wouldn't open.
The Command Prompt loaded but was too slow to execute anything. I also
tried opening Task Manager, even through Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and after a
few minutes it successfully loaded once but didn't show anything unusual
and then crashed.

I'm not sure what the problem is - the only things I can think of are
that I had just setup 3 identical automatic broadband internet
connections as I was troubleshooting the connection, the room was really
hot (about 90 degrees F), and I had an SD memory stick in when I booted
up the last few times before this. Also, I installed a Logitech Quickcam
a few weeks before (whose software loads in the tray automatically) and
one of the 2 popups that load is new, bugging me about registering
EarthDesk. It seem to me like any of this should cause my problem, but
it seems to me that it's a software problem, in part because I don't
have any real evidence of hardware failure (although it does get really
hot, but the fan is still working) and because while Windows will be
crashing and I can't use the Start Menu, I can still hover over programs
in the tray and have their name popup (but the battery status and volume
control won't).

Anyone have any advice/input? I'm going to try to get a copy of the
recovery CD, but that'll take at least a week and there are no
authorized Gateway repair centers in China, not to mention the language
barrier and risk involved, especially if I don't know what's wrong...
Thanks a lot everyone!


--
popular

In article <>,
popular <> wrote:
>
>
>Anyone have any advice/input? I'm going to try to get a copy of the

Just a SWAG but I bet it's a hard disc problem. Typical
behavior for a hard drive that's almost dead: lots of failed reads/writes
lots of retrys so the system sort of works but seems "slow"...

Hi,

Sounds more like you were hacked as soon as you went online. The
easiest/shortest resolution is to format and reinstall. Alternately, you can
spend time, hours or days, poking through the startup axis with tools like
malwarebytes and autoruns to detect and remove malevolent entries.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
Vote for my shoe: http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"popular" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> I'm studying abroad in China and my laptop has a really weird problem,
> so I apologize in advance but this is a bit long.
>
> I moved in with a host family last week, and 5 minutes after getting
> the internet to work and beginning to Skype chat people (without video)
> my computer (Gateway laptop model MT3423 I think, Vista Premium, Dual
> Core AMD Turion, ~2 years old in good condition) froze and hasn't been
> the same since. Now, booting brings me to the recovery screen (of course
> - Normal Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, etc.), but no Safe Mode works
> - I can get to the login screen but after signing in the Welcome screen
> with the loading circle stays up indefinitely. Normal Mode works though,
> but it has major issues. After successfully signing in programs begin to
> load but it quickly slows down to a crawl, and takes about a minute to
> close the two program warning boxes that pop up (just the usual 'this
> program is unregistered' sort of thing). After this, Windows Calendar
> inexplicably loads, again painfully slow, and if the computer hasn't
> crashed by this point then it does shortly thereafter. And the crash
> varies - a few times it started with a "Server Busy - this action cannot
> be completed" error message but it usually says euphemistically
> "Microsoft Windows - this application is not responding."
>
> I've tried several things but I haven't had any success. During this
> loading window, I've tried running msconfig and unchecking nonessential
> programs, but even after clicking Save Changes and Restart the changes
> are not saved, and it'll still proceed to crash and load the programs
> again next boot. I've tried loading the control panel, but it becomes
> unresponsive after I try to click anything in it. I tried opening
> accessories under the Start Menu and it bugged out, and instead of
> showing the folder icon it showed a searching icon and wouldn't open.
> The Command Prompt loaded but was too slow to execute anything. I also
> tried opening Task Manager, even through Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and after a
> few minutes it successfully loaded once but didn't show anything unusual
> and then crashed.
>
> I'm not sure what the problem is - the only things I can think of are
> that I had just setup 3 identical automatic broadband internet
> connections as I was troubleshooting the connection, the room was really
> hot (about 90 degrees F), and I had an SD memory stick in when I booted
> up the last few times before this. Also, I installed a Logitech Quickcam
> a few weeks before (whose software loads in the tray automatically) and
> one of the 2 popups that load is new, bugging me about registering
> EarthDesk. It seem to me like any of this should cause my problem, but
> it seems to me that it's a software problem, in part because I don't
> have any real evidence of hardware failure (although it does get really
> hot, but the fan is still working) and because while Windows will be
> crashing and I can't use the Start Menu, I can still hover over programs
> in the tray and have their name popup (but the battery status and volume
> control won't).
>
> Anyone have any advice/input? I'm going to try to get a copy of the
> recovery CD, but that'll take at least a week and there are no
> authorized Gateway repair centers in China, not to mention the language
> barrier and risk involved, especially if I don't know what's wrong...
> Thanks a lot everyone!
>
>
> --
> popular

Hmm... http://treehouse.ofb.net/go/en/voltage/China if it gets hot maybe
there's a voltage problem, I dunno about sizes but this plug design
looks like US 115V.

I don;t necessarily agree 100% with the text on this site BTW.


Rick Rogers wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Sounds more like you were hacked as soon as you went online. The
> easiest/shortest resolution is to format and reinstall. Alternately, you
> can spend time, hours or days, poking through the startup axis with
> tools like malwarebytes and autoruns to detect and remove malevolent
> entries.
>

it is common knowledge that 98% of software in China is stolen from USA &
WesternEurope, hacket, pirated, spywared, etc.
You got hacked and will continue to be hacked unless you denounce ever
visitign that country or buying its goods

In article <up44uAX#>,
Rick Rogers <> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Sounds more like you were hacked as soon as you went online. The

Oh, pfffttttt, what makes you think his problems are due to
"hackers" ???

Damn good point, JEWboy! ;-)
--
Computer/Software Tech.

Make it a great day!

Charles Richmond




"JEWboy" wrote:

> it is common knowledge that 98% of software in China is stolen from USA &
> WesternEurope, hacket, pirated, spywared, etc.
> You got hacked and will continue to be hacked unless you denounce ever
> visitign that country or buying its goods
>
>

Hi,


I think both Rick Rogers and Charlie Tame could be right.

However, I would suggest you to stop the troubleshooting process at this
point, and I found the following address from Gateway, USA by clicking
"China" on their main page:

http://cn.gateway.com/

You may want to have a local friend translate the page for you, and all you
want is a local support phone number.

PS: As pointed out by Charlie Tame, you may also want to ask your local
friends about voltage converter (which may not be required by newer models)
and plug adapters (as far as I can remember - very confusing).

Hope this helps and good luck.




"popular" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> I'm studying abroad in China and my laptop has a really weird problem,
> so I apologize in advance but this is a bit long.
>
> I moved in with a host family last week, and 5 minutes after getting
> the internet to work and beginning to Skype chat people (without video)
> my computer (Gateway laptop model MT3423 I think, Vista Premium, Dual
> Core AMD Turion, ~2 years old in good condition) froze and hasn't been
> the same since. Now, booting brings me to the recovery screen (of course
> - Normal Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, etc.), but no Safe Mode works
> - I can get to the login screen but after signing in the Welcome screen
> with the loading circle stays up indefinitely. Normal Mode works though,
> but it has major issues. After successfully signing in programs begin to
> load but it quickly slows down to a crawl, and takes about a minute to
> close the two program warning boxes that pop up (just the usual 'this
> program is unregistered' sort of thing). After this, Windows Calendar
> inexplicably loads, again painfully slow, and if the computer hasn't
> crashed by this point then it does shortly thereafter. And the crash
> varies - a few times it started with a "Server Busy - this action cannot
> be completed" error message but it usually says euphemistically
> "Microsoft Windows - this application is not responding."
>
> I've tried several things but I haven't had any success. During this
> loading window, I've tried running msconfig and unchecking nonessential
> programs, but even after clicking Save Changes and Restart the changes
> are not saved, and it'll still proceed to crash and load the programs
> again next boot. I've tried loading the control panel, but it becomes
> unresponsive after I try to click anything in it. I tried opening
> accessories under the Start Menu and it bugged out, and instead of
> showing the folder icon it showed a searching icon and wouldn't open.
> The Command Prompt loaded but was too slow to execute anything. I also
> tried opening Task Manager, even through Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and after a
> few minutes it successfully loaded once but didn't show anything unusual
> and then crashed.
>
> I'm not sure what the problem is - the only things I can think of are
> that I had just setup 3 identical automatic broadband internet
> connections as I was troubleshooting the connection, the room was really
> hot (about 90 degrees F), and I had an SD memory stick in when I booted
> up the last few times before this. Also, I installed a Logitech Quickcam
> a few weeks before (whose software loads in the tray automatically) and
> one of the 2 popups that load is new, bugging me about registering
> EarthDesk. It seem to me like any of this should cause my problem, but
> it seems to me that it's a software problem, in part because I don't
> have any real evidence of hardware failure (although it does get really
> hot, but the fan is still working) and because while Windows will be
> crashing and I can't use the Start Menu, I can still hover over programs
> in the tray and have their name popup (but the battery status and volume
> control won't).
>
> Anyone have any advice/input? I'm going to try to get a copy of the
> recovery CD, but that'll take at least a week and there are no
> authorized Gateway repair centers in China, not to mention the language
> barrier and risk involved, especially if I don't know what's wrong...
> Thanks a lot everyone!
>
>
> --
> popular

Definitely looks like you've been got at. I am assuming you are okay with
voltage as this would cause different problems. (All this applies when on
battery too, yes)?

A clean install seems your only option. Get it right first time and it
should only take a couple of hours. Hunting for malware etc could take days.

Two things...
1: I suggest disabling Autorun. Any viruses etc are often self loading and
Autorun does the job for them.
2: So you don't have to go hunting on your slow machine, I have copied the
instructions here.

Good luck

Ed

Perform a clean installation
There are two ways to perform a clean installation of Windows Vista. The
first method is to install Windows Vista by running the Setup program from
the current version of Windows on your computer. The second method is to
start the computer from the Windows Vista DVD. First, try method 1. If it
does not work, try method 2.

Warning In a clean installation, existing data on your computer is deleted.
This data includes personal data, settings, hardware driver information, and
software programs. After you install the operating system, you must also
reinstall all programs. Make sure that you back up personal data to disks or
other external storage devices before you perform a clean installation.
Method 1: Perform a clean installation of Windows Vista by running Setup
from the current version of Windows
To perform a clean installation of Windows Vista from the current version of
Windows on the computer, follow these steps:
1.. Start the computer and make sure that the current version of Windows
has started.
2.. Insert the Windows Vista DVD into the DVD drive and then close the
drive tray. Wait a moment for the Setup program to start automatically.
3.. If the Setup program does not start automatically, follow these steps:
1.. Click Start and then click Run.
2.. Type Drive:\setup.exe and then click OK.

Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive.
4.. When the Setup program starts and the Install now screen appears,
click Install now.
5.. When the Which type of installation do you want? screen appears, click
Custom (advanced). The follow the instructions to install Windows Vista.
If Windows Vista is now running on your computer, you have completed the
installation successfully.

If the installation does not finish or you receive an error message, and you
are comfortable trying to troubleshoot the problem, go to the
"Troubleshooting" section for more information about common issues and their
resolutions. If you are not comfortable trying to troubleshoot the issue, go
to the "Next Steps" section.
Method 2: Perform a clean installation of Windows Vista by starting the
computer from the Windows Vista DVD
Note The computer must be configured to start from the DVD drive. For
information about how to configure the computer to start from the DVD drive,
see the documentation that is included with the computer. Or, contact the
computer manufacturer.

To perform a clean installation of Windows Vista by starting the computer
from the Windows Vista DVD, follow these steps:
1.. Start the computer.
2.. Insert the Windows Vista DVD into the DVD drive and then close the
drive tray.
3.. Restart the computer.
4.. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a
key.
5.. Follow the instructions to install Windows Vista.
If Windows Vista is now running on your computer, you have completed the
installation successfully.




"popular" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> I'm studying abroad in China and my laptop has a really weird problem,
> so I apologize in advance but this is a bit long.
>
> I moved in with a host family last week, and 5 minutes after getting
> the internet to work and beginning to Skype chat people (without video)
> my computer (Gateway laptop model MT3423 I think, Vista Premium, Dual
> Core AMD Turion, ~2 years old in good condition) froze and hasn't been
> the same since. Now, booting brings me to the recovery screen (of course
> - Normal Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, etc.), but no Safe Mode works
> - I can get to the login screen but after signing in the Welcome screen
> with the loading circle stays up indefinitely. Normal Mode works though,
> but it has major issues. After successfully signing in programs begin to
> load but it quickly slows down to a crawl, and takes about a minute to
> close the two program warning boxes that pop up (just the usual 'this
> program is unregistered' sort of thing). After this, Windows Calendar
> inexplicably loads, again painfully slow, and if the computer hasn't
> crashed by this point then it does shortly thereafter. And the crash
> varies - a few times it started with a "Server Busy - this action cannot
> be completed" error message but it usually says euphemistically
> "Microsoft Windows - this application is not responding."
>
> I've tried several things but I haven't had any success. During this
> loading window, I've tried running msconfig and unchecking nonessential
> programs, but even after clicking Save Changes and Restart the changes
> are not saved, and it'll still proceed to crash and load the programs
> again next boot. I've tried loading the control panel, but it becomes
> unresponsive after I try to click anything in it. I tried opening
> accessories under the Start Menu and it bugged out, and instead of
> showing the folder icon it showed a searching icon and wouldn't open.
> The Command Prompt loaded but was too slow to execute anything. I also
> tried opening Task Manager, even through Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and after a
> few minutes it successfully loaded once but didn't show anything unusual
> and then crashed.
>
> I'm not sure what the problem is - the only things I can think of are
> that I had just setup 3 identical automatic broadband internet
> connections as I was troubleshooting the connection, the room was really
> hot (about 90 degrees F), and I had an SD memory stick in when I booted
> up the last few times before this. Also, I installed a Logitech Quickcam
> a few weeks before (whose software loads in the tray automatically) and
> one of the 2 popups that load is new, bugging me about registering
> EarthDesk. It seem to me like any of this should cause my problem, but
> it seems to me that it's a software problem, in part because I don't
> have any real evidence of hardware failure (although it does get really
> hot, but the fan is still working) and because while Windows will be
> crashing and I can't use the Start Menu, I can still hover over programs
> in the tray and have their name popup (but the battery status and volume
> control won't).
>
> Anyone have any advice/input? I'm going to try to get a copy of the
> recovery CD, but that'll take at least a week and there are no
> authorized Gateway repair centers in China, not to mention the language
> barrier and risk involved, especially if I don't know what's wrong...
> Thanks a lot everyone!
>
>
> --
> popular

Translate.google.com may help you with the translation. It is mostly
word-for-word translation, which means that many words will be out of place.

-Paul Randall

"xfile" <> wrote in message
news:%23chDhvY%...
> Hi,
>
>
> I think both Rick Rogers and Charlie Tame could be right.
>
> However, I would suggest you to stop the troubleshooting process at this
> point, and I found the following address from Gateway, USA by clicking
> "China" on their main page:
>
> http://cn.gateway.com/
>
> You may want to have a local friend translate the page for you, and all
> you want is a local support phone number.
>
> PS: As pointed out by Charlie Tame, you may also want to ask your local
> friends about voltage converter (which may not be required by newer
> models) and plug adapters (as far as I can remember - very confusing).
>
> Hope this helps and good luck.
>
>
>
>
> "popular" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>>
>> I'm studying abroad in China and my laptop has a really weird problem,
>> so I apologize in advance but this is a bit long.
>>
>> I moved in with a host family last week, and 5 minutes after getting
>> the internet to work and beginning to Skype chat people (without video)
>> my computer (Gateway laptop model MT3423 I think, Vista Premium, Dual
>> Core AMD Turion, ~2 years old in good condition) froze and hasn't been
>> the same since. Now, booting brings me to the recovery screen (of course
>> - Normal Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, etc.), but no Safe Mode works
>> - I can get to the login screen but after signing in the Welcome screen
>> with the loading circle stays up indefinitely. Normal Mode works though,
>> but it has major issues. After successfully signing in programs begin to
>> load but it quickly slows down to a crawl, and takes about a minute to
>> close the two program warning boxes that pop up (just the usual 'this
>> program is unregistered' sort of thing). After this, Windows Calendar
>> inexplicably loads, again painfully slow, and if the computer hasn't
>> crashed by this point then it does shortly thereafter. And the crash
>> varies - a few times it started with a "Server Busy - this action cannot
>> be completed" error message but it usually says euphemistically
>> "Microsoft Windows - this application is not responding."
>>
>> I've tried several things but I haven't had any success. During this
>> loading window, I've tried running msconfig and unchecking nonessential
>> programs, but even after clicking Save Changes and Restart the changes
>> are not saved, and it'll still proceed to crash and load the programs
>> again next boot. I've tried loading the control panel, but it becomes
>> unresponsive after I try to click anything in it. I tried opening
>> accessories under the Start Menu and it bugged out, and instead of
>> showing the folder icon it showed a searching icon and wouldn't open.
>> The Command Prompt loaded but was too slow to execute anything. I also
>> tried opening Task Manager, even through Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and after a
>> few minutes it successfully loaded once but didn't show anything unusual
>> and then crashed.
>>
>> I'm not sure what the problem is - the only things I can think of are
>> that I had just setup 3 identical automatic broadband internet
>> connections as I was troubleshooting the connection, the room was really
>> hot (about 90 degrees F), and I had an SD memory stick in when I booted
>> up the last few times before this. Also, I installed a Logitech Quickcam
>> a few weeks before (whose software loads in the tray automatically) and
>> one of the 2 popups that load is new, bugging me about registering
>> EarthDesk. It seem to me like any of this should cause my problem, but
>> it seems to me that it's a software problem, in part because I don't
>> have any real evidence of hardware failure (although it does get really
>> hot, but the fan is still working) and because while Windows will be
>> crashing and I can't use the Start Menu, I can still hover over programs
>> in the tray and have their name popup (but the battery status and volume
>> control won't).
>>
>> Anyone have any advice/input? I'm going to try to get a copy of the
>> recovery CD, but that'll take at least a week and there are no
>> authorized Gateway repair centers in China, not to mention the language
>> barrier and risk involved, especially if I don't know what's wrong...
>> Thanks a lot everyone!
>>
>>
>> --
>> popular
>