The software that's in your computer can have bugs or is just poorly written, and when its run can cause all manner of trouble in the computing environment. The trouble caused by one program may not show up until yet another, unrelated, program is latter run. Some programs that make heavy use of memory may not release all the memory, that was assigned to it, when it is closed. This can cause fragmented memory. Fragmented memory can slowly grow as programs are used, eventually growing to a point where the free memory is insufficient to allow the computer to run properly.
Adbots, Parasites, & Spyware are a family of small programs that are installed in your computer, (usually without your knowledge), during the installation of some shareware/freeware programs. Hundreds of useful programs, some of which you may already have in your computer, carry an imbedded "spyware" program. Spyware allows advertising agencies to receive reports about where you are surfing and what web-ads you click on.
Most of these Adbots, or spyware programs, DON'T collect specific information about you, but only report general demographics, and therefore are NOT stealing your name, credit card, or other personal information.
The Real problem with these Parasites
The real problem with these parasites, "spyware programs", is that many are poorly written, "contain bugs or errors", and can cause problems with the normal operation of your computer. If your web-browser experiences periodic GPFs, "General Protection Faults", hangs, or freezes it may be due to one of these little buggy parasites. Click Here to learn more about Spyware, and test to see if you have any in your
Ad-Bots, Parasites
and Spy-Ware
What are they? And what are they doing in my computer?
Adbots, Parasites, & Spyware are a family of small programs that are installed in your computer, (usually without your knowledge), during the installation of some shareware/freeware programs. Hundreds of useful programs, some of which you may have in your computer, carry an imbedded spyware program. Spyware allows advertising agencies to receive reports about where you are surfing and what web-ads you click on.
Most of these Adbots, or spyware programs DON'T collect specific information about you, but only report general demographics, and therefore are NOT stealing your name, credit card, or other personal information.
The Real Problem!
The real problem with these parasites, "spyware programs", is that many are poorly written, "contain bugs or errors", and can cause problems with the normal operation of your computer. If your web-browser experiences periodic GPFs, "General Protection Faults", hangs, or freezes it may be due to one or more of these little buggy parasites.
The New Problem!
Legitimate software companies are now attempting to sell your unused CPU cycles without your knowledge or your consent, and without compensating you. Some cretins, such as Juno are now testing a new business model that steals from you. Juno, (and if this works, surly more to come), will sell time on your computer. They sell your unused computer time, much like FedEx or UPS using your car, at night while you are asleep, to deliver packages, and of course not paying you or filling the tank.
Weekly Highlight
VIPRE
Antivirus software slowing down your PC? Ditch your old software for high performance protection that IS NOT a resource hog!
Anti-Spyware Tools
These tools can detect serious spy activity like keyloggers, activity monitoring software, web site loggers and also common Adware, web bugs, tracking cookies and many other items that are frequently encountered on the web. Many people consider them an invasion of their privacy, even though they are mostly advertising related and usually limited to anonymous tracking, at least so they say...
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Snoop Prevention Tools
Your computer keeps track of your activities in many different ways. Usually, this is more convenient than harmful, however there may be times where you don't want other users of the same computer to stumble across your previous activities, whether by coincident, or by snooping around...
Internet Cleanup Tools
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Encryption Tools
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Update a-squared Free 4.5.0.27c
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Update Eraser 6.0.7.1893
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Eraser is a secure file deletion tool that allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with s ...
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Update SpywareBlaster 4.3
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SpywareBlaster prevents the installation of many so-called spyware, adware and malware programs by disabling the CLSIDs of popular spyware ActiveX c ...
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Operating System,Drivers & A Highly Likely Culprit
Operating System
Early versions of Windows have some bugs, (errors in the way it was written), that can cause intermittent problems. For instance, the first version of Windows 95 had a problem with one of its components called "Kernel32.dll" this error manifested its self on only some computers when trying to connect to the Internet. Subsequent upgrades cured this problem. Windows 98-SE, the second release of Windows 98 is by far the most bug free and stable version of Windows yet, (But only if it was professionally installed on your computer). Generally, if your computer came with Windows 98-SE, installed from the factory, It's more stable than an older machine that has been upgraded from Windows 95.
Windows 95 & 98 has a database of information "The Registry" that controls how windows and all the programs should operate and cooperate with each other. As new programs are added and old programs are removed, the registry can become damaged. Many times this damage will cause the computer to become unstable. More freezes and error messages. Some times the only solution to this kind of problem is to completely clean your hard drive and reinstall the operating system and all other programs.
( See: Starting Over )
Drivers
Drivers are little programs written by the manufacture of a given component like video cards, sound cards, modems and so forth. These drivers are installed in, and become part of, the operating system. Errors in drivers or older versions of these critical components can cause many intermittent problems.
Nobody makes all their own parts. Not even IBM, Compaq, Dell, or any other computer manufacture makes all the parts in their computer systems. Every computer manufacture buys their video cards from one manufacture, and their modems from another, and their main boards and memory from yet other manufactures. This can, and does, cause problems. A manufacture of say a video card ships thousands of a given model to a major computer manufacture, then the computer company uses these to build thousands of computers. Well after the computers are built and sold to the end user, the video card manufacture discovers a bug in their drivers. The owner of this computer is now stuck with buggy drivers. Do you think any of the big guys are going to go out of their way to inform all their customers of the faulty drivers and help them obtain new ones? Unlikely.
An odd problem related to drivers and background programs may cause your computer to seemingly boot up OK, but when you move your mouse to, and double-click an icon, nothing happens. Try uninstalling your printer, then test your computer. If all is well, contact the printer company for new drivers. (If you have an HP InkJet, ask the company how to install the drivers in the "Non-Bi-directional mode.".)
A Highly Likely Culprit
If you're experiencing Fatal Exception Errors, what we call the "Blue Screen Of Death" or BSOD, more times than not it's due to the video driver. Often after installing a new program or upgrading an old one, the new code will make demands on the video driver that the original driver can't handle properly. This results in a very unstable computer. Finding the EXACT make and model of your video card, then downloading, and installing, the latest drivers from the company's web site may fix the problem.
Use Caution!
Backup all your important data before installing any drivers. Wrong or buggy drivers can turn a running computer into a doorstop.
Early versions of Windows have some bugs, (errors in the way it was written), that can cause intermittent problems. For instance, the first version of Windows 95 had a problem with one of its components called "Kernel32.dll" this error manifested its self on only some computers when trying to connect to the Internet. Subsequent upgrades cured this problem. Windows 98-SE, the second release of Windows 98 is by far the most bug free and stable version of Windows yet, (But only if it was professionally installed on your computer). Generally, if your computer came with Windows 98-SE, installed from the factory, It's more stable than an older machine that has been upgraded from Windows 95.
Windows 95 & 98 has a database of information "The Registry" that controls how windows and all the programs should operate and cooperate with each other. As new programs are added and old programs are removed, the registry can become damaged. Many times this damage will cause the computer to become unstable. More freezes and error messages. Some times the only solution to this kind of problem is to completely clean your hard drive and reinstall the operating system and all other programs.
( See: Starting Over )
Drivers
Drivers are little programs written by the manufacture of a given component like video cards, sound cards, modems and so forth. These drivers are installed in, and become part of, the operating system. Errors in drivers or older versions of these critical components can cause many intermittent problems.
Nobody makes all their own parts. Not even IBM, Compaq, Dell, or any other computer manufacture makes all the parts in their computer systems. Every computer manufacture buys their video cards from one manufacture, and their modems from another, and their main boards and memory from yet other manufactures. This can, and does, cause problems. A manufacture of say a video card ships thousands of a given model to a major computer manufacture, then the computer company uses these to build thousands of computers. Well after the computers are built and sold to the end user, the video card manufacture discovers a bug in their drivers. The owner of this computer is now stuck with buggy drivers. Do you think any of the big guys are going to go out of their way to inform all their customers of the faulty drivers and help them obtain new ones? Unlikely.
An odd problem related to drivers and background programs may cause your computer to seemingly boot up OK, but when you move your mouse to, and double-click an icon, nothing happens. Try uninstalling your printer, then test your computer. If all is well, contact the printer company for new drivers. (If you have an HP InkJet, ask the company how to install the drivers in the "Non-Bi-directional mode.".)
A Highly Likely Culprit
If you're experiencing Fatal Exception Errors, what we call the "Blue Screen Of Death" or BSOD, more times than not it's due to the video driver. Often after installing a new program or upgrading an old one, the new code will make demands on the video driver that the original driver can't handle properly. This results in a very unstable computer. Finding the EXACT make and model of your video card, then downloading, and installing, the latest drivers from the company's web site may fix the problem.
Use Caution!
Backup all your important data before installing any drivers. Wrong or buggy drivers can turn a running computer into a doorstop.
Aluminum Migration & ESD
Semiconductors do wear out! Contrary to the beliefs of many, integrated circuits grow old and die, or become intermittent. How they do that varies; modern "chips" as used in computers, have literally millions of transistors printed on a small "chip" of silicon no bigger than your fingernail. Each microscopically small transistor is connected to the others, on the surface of the chip, with even smaller aluminum or copper wires. These wires are only a few thousand atoms wide. Over the years, the thermal stress of turning the computer on and off can cause tiny cracks in the wires. As the computer warms up the wires can part and cause the computer to stop working. Even a few seconds of off-time can cool the system enough to allow the wires to re-connect, so your computer may work just fine for a few minutes, or hours, then after it warms up, it may fail, letting it cool off can bring it back to life for a few minutes or more.
Some chips are much more prone to premature failure than others. Intel, one of the best chip manufactures, designs their parts to be very robust and tolerate heat and mishandling better than others. (This, of course, costs time and money.) Some of Intel's competition tries to garner market share by building cheaper or faster chips. Cheaper and faster means hotter and shorter-lived parts. All manufactures, from houses to toasters, walk a narrow line between quality and price. Too much quality and the price goes up and nobody buys their products. Too little quality and the product dies of old age too early and they get a bad name, and can't sell their product. Most modern computers, especially the lower priced ones, are constructed from the cheapest parts available. When the big names in the computer industry promote their products by price alone, they just can't put too much quality in them.
By far the most common failure mode of a modern integrated circuit is aluminum migration. The small aluminum wires of a chip are arranged in parallel rows very close to each other. Heat, electricity and time, can cause the aluminum of one wire to slowly flow across the gap between the wires, and eventually short out the chip. Most quality chips are designed to minimize this migration, and usually will run for decades before they short out, but many things can speed this failure process. Cheaper parts, excessive heat, marginal circuit design, or bad handling, can cause the premature death of a chip through aluminum migration.
Integrated Circuit (IC)
Over sized & colored to better show areas of the chip. The Intel Pentium 4 is about the size of your thumbnail and contains over 43-million transistors, and many thousands of exceedingly small wires.
The faster a computer runs, (higher megahertz or gigahertz) causes the chips to create more heat, and heat will speed the migration of the aluminum. Some computer designers, in order to save a little money, may push the chips past their design limits. Running a chip just a small amount faster, or at a slightly higher voltage than its design limits can speed its demise. Many of the cheaper computers are designed in such a way as to maximize the manufacture's profits but minimize the lifespan of the product.
The most insidious and least understood cause of chip failure is ESD "Electro Static Discharge". Chips can be electrocuted by very small amounts of static electricity (much smaller than can be felt) can kill, or make a computer chip intermittent. Us human beings create lots of static electricity. All the dozens of people who have touched the chips inside your computer, from manufacturing the chip, building or repairing your computer, or adding new parts to the inside of your computer, have had the opportunity to touch, or mishandle, the chips inside your computer.
ESD Damage
Before
After
The above is an electron-microscopic picture of one of 43-million transistors in the Intel Pentium 4 computer chip. Each transistor is smaller than a microbe. (And getting smaller each new generation.) One small touch from the finger of a careless person can damage or destroy hundreds of these microscopic transistors in an instant.
One klutzy computer technician mishandling the insides of your computer can easily cause one of the hundreds of integrated circuits in your computer to become prematurely aged through ESD. Simply taking the covers off your computer and touching its internal components can cause a chip that should have lasted for decades to die, or become intermittent, in just a few weeks or months. Did someone take the covers off your computer a year ago? Well… That could be the cause of your problems today! Don't allow anyone that doesn't understand ESD, or work in an ESD safe area, to touch the insides of your computer! (That includes most of the so-called professionals.)
Some chips are much more prone to premature failure than others. Intel, one of the best chip manufactures, designs their parts to be very robust and tolerate heat and mishandling better than others. (This, of course, costs time and money.) Some of Intel's competition tries to garner market share by building cheaper or faster chips. Cheaper and faster means hotter and shorter-lived parts. All manufactures, from houses to toasters, walk a narrow line between quality and price. Too much quality and the price goes up and nobody buys their products. Too little quality and the product dies of old age too early and they get a bad name, and can't sell their product. Most modern computers, especially the lower priced ones, are constructed from the cheapest parts available. When the big names in the computer industry promote their products by price alone, they just can't put too much quality in them.
By far the most common failure mode of a modern integrated circuit is aluminum migration. The small aluminum wires of a chip are arranged in parallel rows very close to each other. Heat, electricity and time, can cause the aluminum of one wire to slowly flow across the gap between the wires, and eventually short out the chip. Most quality chips are designed to minimize this migration, and usually will run for decades before they short out, but many things can speed this failure process. Cheaper parts, excessive heat, marginal circuit design, or bad handling, can cause the premature death of a chip through aluminum migration.
Integrated Circuit (IC)
Over sized & colored to better show areas of the chip. The Intel Pentium 4 is about the size of your thumbnail and contains over 43-million transistors, and many thousands of exceedingly small wires.
The faster a computer runs, (higher megahertz or gigahertz) causes the chips to create more heat, and heat will speed the migration of the aluminum. Some computer designers, in order to save a little money, may push the chips past their design limits. Running a chip just a small amount faster, or at a slightly higher voltage than its design limits can speed its demise. Many of the cheaper computers are designed in such a way as to maximize the manufacture's profits but minimize the lifespan of the product.
The most insidious and least understood cause of chip failure is ESD "Electro Static Discharge". Chips can be electrocuted by very small amounts of static electricity (much smaller than can be felt) can kill, or make a computer chip intermittent. Us human beings create lots of static electricity. All the dozens of people who have touched the chips inside your computer, from manufacturing the chip, building or repairing your computer, or adding new parts to the inside of your computer, have had the opportunity to touch, or mishandle, the chips inside your computer.
ESD Damage
Before
After
The above is an electron-microscopic picture of one of 43-million transistors in the Intel Pentium 4 computer chip. Each transistor is smaller than a microbe. (And getting smaller each new generation.) One small touch from the finger of a careless person can damage or destroy hundreds of these microscopic transistors in an instant.
One klutzy computer technician mishandling the insides of your computer can easily cause one of the hundreds of integrated circuits in your computer to become prematurely aged through ESD. Simply taking the covers off your computer and touching its internal components can cause a chip that should have lasted for decades to die, or become intermittent, in just a few weeks or months. Did someone take the covers off your computer a year ago? Well… That could be the cause of your problems today! Don't allow anyone that doesn't understand ESD, or work in an ESD safe area, to touch the insides of your computer! (That includes most of the so-called professionals.)
Hardware
These Illegal operations or freezes can, many times, be related to bad or intermittent hardware, or simply mismatched hardware. Mismatched hardware is common, even some of the large computer manufactures do insufficient analyses and testing when they select the components that make up their systems. Many components that make up a computer just don't play well together. Some modems just don't work well with specific video cards. Some sound cards are incompatible with certain main boards. The list goes on. Many manufactures only look at the cost of a given part, not its compatibility, thus they can often produce unstable computer systems.
Hardware can become defective. Mishandling the internal components of a computer can prematurely age them, which reduces their lifespan from decades to weeks or months. Many hardware failures are subtle and will not cause the computer to completely stop working, but will cause intermittent problems. Adding new internal components to a computer, especially by under-trained technicians, can cause static electricity damage to the other parts of a computer. Electro Static Discharge "ESD" is similar to when you walk across the floor touch a doorknob and receive a shock, but it's a much smaller spark. An ESD created by a person just working on the inside of a computer is so small that we can't even feel it, but it can cause great damage to the computer's internal components.
Other hardware related problems could be caused by dirty or loose internal connections, stalled or slowly turning cooling fans, improper or loose heat sinks, bad or intermittent memory, or any of a thousand other things. Please Read This, before you open your computer!
Hardware can become defective. Mishandling the internal components of a computer can prematurely age them, which reduces their lifespan from decades to weeks or months. Many hardware failures are subtle and will not cause the computer to completely stop working, but will cause intermittent problems. Adding new internal components to a computer, especially by under-trained technicians, can cause static electricity damage to the other parts of a computer. Electro Static Discharge "ESD" is similar to when you walk across the floor touch a doorknob and receive a shock, but it's a much smaller spark. An ESD created by a person just working on the inside of a computer is so small that we can't even feel it, but it can cause great damage to the computer's internal components.
Other hardware related problems could be caused by dirty or loose internal connections, stalled or slowly turning cooling fans, improper or loose heat sinks, bad or intermittent memory, or any of a thousand other things. Please Read This, before you open your computer!
Why Does My Computer Crash, Freeze or Hang All The Time?
Do you see a lot of messages like, "This program performed an illegal operation and will be shut down" ? Or do you find that your mouse often freezes and you have to reset your computer to regain control?
This is a very common complaint for many computer users. Why this happens can be due to a number of things. The most common causes of these troublesome problems will be covered here. They fall into the following general categories:
Hardware: Defective or mismatched components in your computer.
Aluminum Migration & ESD: Premature ageing and “Electro Static Discharge” can make a computer very intermittent.
Operating System: Some versions of Windows have bugs that can cause these problems.
Drivers: Buggy or down-level drivers can cause many problems.
Software: Some programs have bugs in them that can cause these problems.
Memory Fragmentation: Do you often see the message, "System is dangerously low in resources" If so you are probably suffering Memory Fragmentation.
CMOS Settings: Improper CMOS settings can cause many problems. Changing CMOS settings can also be used to help diagnose some hardware problems.
Loading Order: The order in which the software components of your computer are loaded into memory, at startup each day, can cause a multitude of odd problems.
A Combination of the above: Defects in any of the above may only show up under specific circumstances.
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