I'm having severe computer problems! Please help!?

Question

I have a Dell Inspiron (1720) And from the day I got it out from the box, it freezes! And it's getting worse, along with the freezing happening 1-2 times every 20 minutes, the pages keep refreshing on their own. I had Google chrome for a while,and undownloaded it due to slight dislikes and issues, and after i did it, the computer quit freezing up so often, but went SLOW. So I re-downloaded it, the slowness is gone, but it's just god-awful. I cant do anything with out it freezing, or restarting, or something crashing! Any suggestions? Thank you, I'm desperate!!

Answer 1

1 Restart the computer. To do this, click Start → →Restart.

2 As the computer restarts, press until the Advanced Boot Options

menu appears on the screen.

NOTE: You must press the key before the Windows logo appears on the

screen. If you press after the Windows logo appears on the screen, the

Advanced Boot Options menu will not appear on the screen. If you do not see

the Advanced Boot Options menu, restart the computer, and then repeat this

step until you see the menu on the screen.

3 Press to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced

Boot Options menu, and then press .

4 Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.

5 Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.

6 Click Dell Factory Image Restore.

7 In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.

8 Select the Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory

condition checkbox.

9 Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.

10 When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the

computer.



From page 136 of the Manual.

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_inspiron_laptop/inspiron-1720_owner%27s%20manual_en-us.pdf



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Check temperatures.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html



Watch this video to see where your fan is. Spray in the vent with compressed air to loosen the lint and dust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_lV8pvQTtc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWF5zaIgapo

Consider disassembly so you can clean it better.



You can try external methods.

http://www.edgrochowski.com/articles/laptopdust.html

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=compressed+air+laptop+lint+dust&FORM=HDRSC2

Answer 2

I would highly suggest calling Dell Customer Support and/or taking the PC back to the original store you bought it from. While it is possible that there's a defective part, it's also entirely possible that you (albeit unintentionally) downloaded and/or exposed yourself to malicious software which is now causing the sluggish performance.



If you'd like to do some troubleshooting on your own, I suggest downloading MalwareBytes and doing a full scan of your PC. Be sure to download it from a reputable location - I will provide a link in the source section.



Could you provide us with more information? I'd suggest: where and when you bought it, whether or not you have a service plan (outside of the standard manufacturer's warranty), what programs you've installed, and what antivirus you are using.



Edit: I see now that the computer is 7-8 years old. Honestly, it would be more cost-effective for you to simply buy a new computer. I realize that budgets can be an issue, but there are financing options available at nearly every store and computers can start as low as $300. Your computer's processor is likely so far out of date that nearly anything will perform slowly.

Answer 3

Suggestion: take it back where you bought it and demand that either they fix it, or give you a new one. This is most likely a hardware problem.



Edit: first of all, you should not have accepted the 'fix' when they did not fix it at all. A 7-8 year-old computer is almost a hopeless story, as you'll get no spare parts for that. Try taking it apart and clean it from dust (use some canned air, no vacuums or compressors!). If this does not help, try finding a loal computer shop that could fix it. It might be some trivial problem they will be able to fix.

Answer 4

Since it is out of warranty long ago, no matter who you take your laptop to you will have to pay for the work and repairs.



This could be due to a defective hard drive:



Make sure you copy all your important files /data to CDs or DVDs



Read the following:



Overheating:



Heat will slow down your computer and can cause it to fail completely



Buy a can of Canned Air



Desktop/Tower:



Power off and disconnect all cables connected to the computer



Open the side panels (Do not touch the components inside the computer. Do NOT use a vacuum; as the vacuum can and will build up a static charge which will damage the components of the caomputer.)



Take it outside and use the Canned Air as directed (Do not use compressed from an air compressor as this air contains particles, moisture, oil, etc that can and will damage your computer.)



Blow short blasts of air on all components (Motherboard, CPU, Fans, Vents, Graphics Card, Power supply, etc).



If the Canned Air gets too cold take it and the computer inside to warm up.



After it has warmed up repeat blowing out the components as above outside.



Repeat until no more dust is dislodged from the computer.





Laptop and All-in-ones:



Same as above but do not dis-assemble. Also blow the laptop keyboard.



Do not place laptops on soft surfaces such as upholstery, clothing, bedding, carpet, etc as this insulates the bottom of the laptop and causes overheating.



Internal and Software cleanup:



Hello



What speed is your computer and what is the installed RAM?



What Operating System is installed on your computer?



Have you performed any major cleanup recently?



If your computer is below 2.5GH Pentium 4 running Windows XP or higher any version with the RAM maxed (usually 2 or 3 GB for XP and Vista; Higer for Windows 7 and 8), you will likely start to notice efficiency degradation using FireFox and the Mod tool. This will be amplified if you have not performed regular computer maintenance such as deleting Temporary files from the TEMP folder; Running Clear Private Data under tools in FireFox; Removing any unused/unnecessary programs; make sure you only have necessary programs running at Startup; Running Error-checking on all Hard Drives except the Backup drive; Running Defragmentation on all Hard Drives except the backup drive. Error-checking and Defragmentation can take hours for each to run depending on the size of your Hard drive(s) and speed of your computer.



If you are running a Microsoft Windows version, you should have at least 20% free space on the drive/partician Windows is installed onto. If you have much less than this your performance will reduce exponentially. If you have less then about 15%, Defragmentation will likley not run properly - not a good situation.



Virtual Memory should be set to 3 to 6 times the installed Ram.



There are 2 settings Initial (Minimum) size and Maximum Size in MB.



Check the Free Space on the Hard Drives - do not match or exceed the Free space. On a computer with 3GB RAM, set both to the Same - 9000MB in Minimum and Maximum to 18000MB Minimum and Maximum. This reserves a fixed allocation on your Hard Drive for file swapping which means the files does not have to resize when more or less space is requireds thus increasing the efficiency of the swap file.





Hope this helps

Answer 5

what variety of antispy ware and antivirus classes are you working? attempt to run your scans and notice if their is a scourge or undercover agent ware contemporary. I lnow you may type your problems into the handle bar at google or wondows and so directly to attempt to unravel it that is purely a question of looking out what is going on fantastically in case you have tried the reformat or a restoration > properly i understand this in all probability lots herlp yet solid luck and mabe somebody at here can assist you lots extra valuable. anywaty solid luck!

Answer 6

You should have immediately reported this to Dell, it could be a faulty hard drive. Leave it too long and they have the chance to claim it is your fault and make you pay for repairs.

Answer 7

Yes! take it from you get it from and ask for a new one oder get your money back. I don´t think that it

will be good if you ask to repair it. Get a new one. Do you have the receipt?