General Problems Thread: 2009 - 2015

[ricardogp]

If your hard drive really has 'died' then I suspect you will need to take it to a specialist who can do data recovery.

If however when you plugged into the other machine you were able to see it come up in the OS then you might be able to recover the data.

When you did that, did you hear the drive spin up? Did it appear in the bios?

 

[Maggie5]

If your hard drive really has 'died' then I suspect you will need to take it to a specialist who can do data recovery.

If however when you plugged into the other machine you were able to see it come up in the OS then you might be able to recover the data.

When you did that, did you hear the drive spin up? Did it appear in the bios?

Nothing came up on the screen except some message about where to boot from? Which I really didn't want to play around with. It was spinning but with a bit of a clunk in between.

 

[ricardogp]

Clunking is not a good sign. If you have valuable stuff on there then I would be taking it to a specialist.

 

[Maggie5]

Thanks, for your reply

 

[Ahern2Boof]

Have had my laptop for nearly two years. Recently (past two weeks) it has been going to sleep randomly as I use it. When I go to turn it back on, it switches off. Could it be a heating problem?

 

[Stratton_Gun]

On FB you know how you have a list of chat people online on the right side of screen. Someone I barely talked to is somehow gone to the top. How do I change this?
Cheers

 

[BotsMaster]

Have had my laptop for nearly two years. Recently (past two weeks) it has been going to sleep randomly as I use it. When I go to turn it back on, it switches off. Could it be a heating problem?

Could be a battery problem, how much wear does the battery have?

 

[The Passenger]

Anyone had an issue before where their adsl is not syncing with the phone line (adsl light flashing green on the modem)? this happened suddenly this afternoon and now cant get on the net. Have found troubleshooters on the net - disconnect all phones, check for lines noise etc but not gonna get a chance to do that till monday

seeing if anyone had it happen and had a quick fix. Resetting with factory settings? With a bit of luck will wake up and its fixed itself

 

[LB#16]

On FB you know how you have a list of chat people online on the right side of screen. Someone I barely talked to is somehow gone to the top. How do I change this?
Cheers

On the bottom of your chat should be an options button that looks like a cog, then advanced settings, then type the friend's name into "Turn on chat for all friends except...". This will block them from chat so they won't appear at all. If you leave it like that for a few days then unblock them from chat they shouldn't show up on the top again.

 

[magic_johnson!]

Hey fellas,
I have a very strange and unique problem on my computer (which i'm not expecting anyone to help) but around last Friday all of a sudden my computer turned to shit, and took 30 minutes to load programs and what not. Then all of a sudden it was fine again, zipping around like crazy. Then slowwwww again. It's not as if i'm using all my ram either, i could just be surfing the web and it'll come and go suddenly. I did a full virus check and performance check (well whatever norton does when you click these buttons [im not exactly tech savvy]) but the problems keep happening.

So, i think the easiest thing to fix my problemo is to just get my mate to re-image my computer for me, which is annoying not so much for my stuff which is already backed up, but for my programs (adobe suite, microsoft, norton, architecture progams), some of which are purchased under single licensed, it is not so great. I understand that they are set up to be able to be used on another computer if you do upgrade, but i'm not entirely sure how to 'unuse' a license before i go to use it again on my rebooted computer. Do i simply uninstall the programs before i reimage? Could i just install as normal afterward and all would be sweet? Also, if i went all official and got it done at a shop how much would they charge? I'm tempted to go this way so if it's a bigger problem i'll know asap 'cause i've got a few weeks left on warrenty... Any help apreciated!

 

[dylan123]

Sounds like a virus to me magic_johnson! You could try download this - http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html and see if it's able to find anything. I'm guessing it's something that's in a certain program that once you open it starts to slow your whole computer down, then again, it could be completely random.

Not much help with the licensing ones, sometimes they'll work if you install on another machine and I'm guessing uninstalling would also help. That said, if it's still under warranty I think your best bet would be to bring it back (see if that's covered by the warranty), tell them the issue and mention to them about the software you've got on and not wanting to lose the license/asking if they can re-install the programs, that way they can worry about it when they wipe it clean and return it to you.

Again, from what you've described I'm pretty confident that it won't be a hardware fault but more of a software one. Out of interest, when it went to shit, did you load up task manager to see if the CPU/RAM were maxed out? If it was to be a hardware issue (which I highly doubt it is) then it would surely be a hard drive fault (once had one that started clicking and the pc would freeze for a few minutes before it would work again). You can download this - http://download.cnet.com/CrystalDiskInfo/3000-2086_4-10832082.html which will tell if you the status of your hard drives. Your hard drive can function perfectly even if it says 'Caution' in yellow but if it's good then I guess it further helps confirm it isn't a hardware fault.

 

[Jimmybob]

Hey fellas,
I have a very strange and unique problem on my computer (which i'm not expecting anyone to help) but around last Friday all of a sudden my computer turned to shit, and took 30 minutes to load programs and what not. Then all of a sudden it was fine again, zipping around like crazy. Then slowwwww again. It's not as if i'm using all my ram either, i could just be surfing the web and it'll come and go suddenly. I did a full virus check and performance check (well whatever norton does when you click these buttons [im not exactly tech savvy]) but the problems keep happening.

So, i think the easiest thing to fix my problemo is to just get my mate to re-image my computer for me, which is annoying not so much for my stuff which is already backed up, but for my programs (adobe suite, microsoft, norton, architecture progams), some of which are purchased under single licensed, it is not so great. I understand that they are set up to be able to be used on another computer if you do upgrade, but i'm not entirely sure how to 'unuse' a license before i go to use it again on my rebooted computer. Do i simply uninstall the programs before i reimage? Could i just install as normal afterward and all would be sweet? Also, if i went all official and got it done at a shop how much would they charge? I'm tempted to go this way so if it's a bigger problem i'll know asap 'cause i've got a few weeks left on warrenty... Any help apreciated!

Open task manager > processes > see what is hogging memory

It's most likely a virus & you shouldn't need to format your pc to fix it.

 

[magic_johnson!]

Thanks for your replies fellas; i'm 95% sure it's a virus. Performance/ processes seem normal even when it's crashing, and it happens whether i have lots of programs or no programs open. I'll get it checked out by someone smarter than i and hope all is good.

 

[BotsMaster]

Hey fellas,
I have a very strange and unique problem on my computer (which i'm not expecting anyone to help) but around last Friday all of a sudden my computer turned to shit, and took 30 minutes to load programs and what not. Then all of a sudden it was fine again, zipping around like crazy. Then slowwwww again. It's not as if i'm using all my ram either, i could just be surfing the web and it'll come and go suddenly. I did a full virus check and performance check (well whatever norton does when you click these buttons [im not exactly tech savvy]) but the problems keep happening.

So, i think the easiest thing to fix my problemo is to just get my mate to re-image my computer for me, which is annoying not so much for my stuff which is already backed up, but for my programs (adobe suite, microsoft, norton, architecture progams), some of which are purchased under single licensed, it is not so great. I understand that they are set up to be able to be used on another computer if you do upgrade, but i'm not entirely sure how to 'unuse' a license before i go to use it again on my rebooted computer. Do i simply uninstall the programs before i reimage? Could i just install as normal afterward and all would be sweet? Also, if i went all official and got it done at a shop how much would they charge? I'm tempted to go this way so if it's a bigger problem i'll know asap 'cause i've got a few weeks left on warrenty... Any help apreciated!

This is your virus.

 

[Off The Couch]

Hi all, my wi fi keeps dropping out. Will work fine for a day or so but then for no reason then initially drops in and out for a while and then stops working completely. A recent chat with iinet said the connection needed to be rebuilt - followed the instructions and it worked for a few days but problem has returned. Any help would be great

 

[BotsMaster]

Hi all, my wi fi keeps dropping out. Will work fine for a day or so but then for no reason then initially drops in and out for a while and then stops working completely. A recent chat with iinet said the connection needed to be rebuilt - followed the instructions and it worked for a few days but problem has returned. Any help would be great

Is the Wi-Fi dropping out for all your devices that connect to it?

You can always check the system log within your router to see what's going on.

 

[dav3]

Hi all, my wi fi keeps dropping out. Will work fine for a day or so but then for no reason then initially drops in and out for a while and then stops working completely. A recent chat with iinet said the connection needed to be rebuilt - followed the instructions and it worked for a few days but problem has returned. Any help would be great

Change the channel, there might be congestion on the one you're on.

 

[Off The Couch]

Is the Wi-Fi dropping out for all your devices that connect to it?

You can always check the system log within your router to see what's going on.

Change the channel, there might be congestion on the one you're on.

Thanks for your responses - I think the issue is with the number of devices using Wi-Fi within the house as when there is only one or two logged on there is no issue but after that forget it. It was recommended that I get a netgear router as they are able to handle more traffic. For the last two days the Wi-Fi light has just been a constant orange/red regardless of how many times it's been reset so wondering if it's a problem with the router itself and maybe a new one isn't such a bad idea as prior to that it has never been a problem.

 

[dav3]

Thanks for your responses - I think the issue is with the number of devices using Wi-Fi within the house as when there is only one or two logged on there is no issue but after that forget it. It was recommended that I get a netgear router as they are able to handle more traffic. For the last two days the Wi-Fi light has just been a constant orange/red regardless of how many times it's been reset so wondering if it's a problem with the router itself and maybe a new one isn't such a bad idea as prior to that it has never been a problem.

Another router may do the trick, especially a higher end one, alternatively you could get an additional access point and split your devices between the two.

 

[Off The Couch]

Another router may do the trick, especially a higher end one, alternatively you could get an additional access point and split your devices between the two.

They also recommended this as we apparently have a 'black spot' in our home even in relation to just being able to access our internet - may just bite the bullet and get it done - drives me nuts otherwise.

 

[Ahern2Boof]

iPhone 4s's wi-fi function is greyed out.

Like so. Anyone know how to fix this? Has been like this since I got it, just never bothered to do anything about it because I never had wi-fi until recently.

 

[dylan123]

Have you pulled the thing at the top right to the side to turn it on?

 

[Jimmybob]

/snip

Firstly try:
Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings (this will reset all network settings. ie, bluetooth record, wifi passwords, vpn etc)

If that doesn't work:

Settings > Airplane mode and Do Not Disturb on > Turn phone off and turn back on after 5-10 mins > Go to settings and turn Airplane mode and Do Not Disturb off.

Also make sure you're updated to the latest software

 

[Ahern2Boof]

Have you pulled the thing at the top right to the side to turn it on?

It's greyed out, meaning touching it does nothing.

 

[Ahern2Boof]

Firstly try:
Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings (this will reset all network settings. ie, bluetooth record, wifi passwords, vpn etc)

If that doesn't work:

Settings > Airplane mode and Do Not Disturb on > Turn phone off and turn back on after 5-10 mins > Go to settings and turn Airplane mode and Do Not Disturb off.

Also make sure you're updated to the latest software

Thanks mate, will try this.