shadowviper12 said:I was actually considering switching her over to Linux, but I’ve decided against it—I mean, she’s a retiree, and honestly, I’d like to keep at least a little bit of my sanity intact.
@Roger Rogers4: do you think WOT would be enough protection on its own?
The same thing keeps happening—I’ll wipe everything and reinstall, then the exact same mess starts up again. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to deal with another full reinstall. If I were going to try something else, maybe I'd give Windows 8.1 a shot, just so I don't keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome. I might even just go back to Windows XP, since she barely uses any modern software anyway.
One time I noticed Panda was eating up a ton of resources, and then suddenly it dropped off—probably just because it finished an initial scan or something.
I don't feel comfortable leaving her without some kind of AV, though, because she has this habit of clicking on things before she even realizes what they are. Does anyone have a suggestion for something lightweight?
@steelgull47: Service Pack 1 is already installed, do you happen to have the ID for that KB?
If you're running Panda Free, don't expect much. Most free antivirus programs tend to let viruses slip through anyway, so they aren't all that helpful if you aren't careful about what you click. For those older machines, WOT is actually plenty, provided you have a bit of common sense when browsing. By the way, back when I was using a free antivirus, I realized it wasn't worth much. Plus, it can slow down an older computer to a painful crawl.
An antivirus running in the background can really tank a whole system if you're working with a weak processor or limited RAM. Why not try uninstalling the antivirus entirely? If you know how to browse safely and don't feel like you need that extra layer, you might see a significant performance boost. Just install WOT in your browser and stick to trusted sites. You should also consider disabling Windows Update on a lower-end machine like that one. Lately, it seems like updates can take forever to run, which just drags the whole system down. If the slowdown is strictly caused by Windows Update, then go ahead and keep your antivirus active. Try installing CCleaner to clean things up and check which programs are set to launch automatically when the system boots. Make sure to disable the option for it to run constantly in the background. I’d also recommend running AdwCleaner and Malwarebytes just to rule out any viruses or malicious software.
I'm having the same headache with Windows 7 updates on a few machines I just did clean installs on. They simply refuse to download. It just sits there spinning for hours on "checking for updates"... it's an ongoing issue with fresh Windows installs right now. However, you can always grab Windows 7 ISOs from the Bell website that have all the updates integrated through May 2015.
I'm backing up what Larry Ortiz5 said here. I actually just helped a buddy install Service Pack 3 on his Windows XP Service Pack 2 laptop recently, and the whole process went off without a hitch.
Have you ever thought about clearing out all your old restore points through System Restore except for the most recent one? I actually managed to free up nearly 20 GB just by doing that recently.
Here is the link if you want to check it out:http://windows.microsoft.com/hr-hr/w...#1TC=windows-7
Run the scan and see if it picks anything up in the columns. If it does, just wipe it out using the Delete/Clean option, restart your computer through the program, and you should be all set.👍
If things are still acting up after that, there is one more thing you can try....
Install that, find the specific program that's giving you trouble, and perform a deep uninstall. Make sure to select every single item listed in the registry entries provided, and it shouldn't bother you anymore.
I ran into a pretty similar issue when I was using a mobile hotspot dongle, but it's actually a quick fix. First, grab a utility to tidy up your system; I usually just stick with CCleaner https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download . Once that's done, just head into your startup tools and disable the mobile internet connection from launching automatically when you boot up. That should do the trick.
Daniel Cruz28 said:For security, I’m running the latest version of Norton Security, Malwarebytes Free, and Malwarebytes Free. I actually tried disabling all three just to test things out, but the issue didn't go away.
Running both Norton Security and Malwarebytes at the same time isn't really a great idea. Both programs run in the background and launch right when you boot up your PC, which can cause them to clash. Honestly, after you finish a scan, it might be best to just uninstall Malwarebytes and only use it when you specifically need it. You can definitely keep Malwarebytes alongside your main antivirus, though. That’s good to keep in mind, but I don't think that's what's causing the trouble you're having here.
Well, you actually answered that in your opening post—the Blue Screen of Death and all that. Though, honestly, that doesn't always mean one specific thing. Next time you go through with a Windows upgrade, maybe consider giving your C: drive a bit more breathing room? Why leave so little space for the partition where Windows lives in the first place?
If you’re looking for a solid way to manage your drives without a massive headache, check this out: http://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/epm-free.html
Look, just try downloading it directly from the original site. Honestly, it really should be working. My advice? Go ahead and wipe the old program off your system entirely, then install this one and give it a run. It’s possible the previous version was just glitching out on you.
I honestly have no clue; everything ran perfectly fine on my end right away... Did you make sure to grab the version specifically designed for your operating system, or does this one work across all of them? I can't quite recall myself.
🤔I think you might have missed a step somewhere. Maybe take another look at the tutorial? Did you remember to hit Apply at the end to actually confirm those partition changes? It worked perfectly fine on my machine without any hiccups... P.S. No need to get frustrated just yet. 😁
Why not give it a shot and expand your C drive by shrinking your D partition instead? (Assuming you actually have one available, of course.) You can use that little utility shown in this video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWThjaDt8a4
I actually tested this out on a laptop once, and honestly, the software was a lifesaver for the C drive when I was down to just a few gigabytes of free space.
I’ve been using Firefox for years, but about a year ago, things started getting glitchy. Suddenly, YouTube videos wouldn't play right, and even some simple little kids' games would just hang. It was the exact same headache over on Opera, too. In the end, my only real fix was switching over to Google Chrome, which is something I had gone out of my way to avoid until now.🍿