PCfreezes often - Not a "virus"....

My PC freeze's up quite a bit and I think it's due to not having enough power/memory...it only came with 512MB. Now, I hope I know what I'm talking about, like the "512MB" thing, please correct me if I'm a moron! All of my "protection" is saying "all is well" and I'm thinkin' it might be right. If I added another 512MB or more likely, 1GB of memory will it help noticeably with my freeze up's? My PC runs on Roadrunner (cable) and the speed is not that great either, which I figured/hoped that the extra memory would help with. Oh, Would I be correct in saying that memory is power in the "computer world"? Thanx for any help, info or just plain "computer knowledge"!!!

 

Yes, it should help with the operation of your PC...but it may not affect the freeze ups.
Normally the PC will start using your hard drive as memory when you get low...and that will slow things down, but not normally cause freezes.

When you say freeze....does it just stop then come back...or do you actually have to shut down to get back to work?

Any messages or warnings when it happens?

What model PC?

 

It's an ACER....I paid like $500 bucks which was the cheapest "PC Package" that I found! It sometimes has an error that says internet explorer has stopped working...sometimes it just stops working either way you have to shutdown manually. I run Vista Basic, if that is any kind of help?

 

Well...so it's not an old machine I guess? You didn't give the actual model number, but I'm guessing its not that old. You should have plenty of CPU power...the memory is prob pretty cheap. Most people recommend at least 1 Gig minimum, more if you can afford it. I have 1.5 Gig in this 6 y/o HP...and its plenty for my needs.

People have reported problems with IE locking up, I haven't really experienced it myself...but I use XP. Make sure you have all the updates to Vista and IE installed.

The simplest fix is to just download Firefox and use it, many less problems reported. They just released a new version recently. Supposed to be faster and more features.

 

It's about 2 yrs old. Everything's up-to-date so nothing there. I get a somekind of rating that rates how your PC's running, memory and the like...I get a 2 out of 5 stars. I'm going to try and add 1GB of memory and see what happens? Sounds like my only option...oh, what is that Firefox of which you speak? Thanx for lending me some help, it's really appreciated!

 

Firefox is an Internet browser by Mozilla. It's very popular as an alternative to IE. It works just fine with 99.99% of websites. I use it as well as IE. It has some nice features and takes a very short time to get used to. Theres also a new one called Chrome by Google and my wife loves how fast it is, but it's missing some features...only been out about 3-4 months I think...updates are coming.

Try downloading and installing Firefox...I think you'll be pleased....you can still have IE if you don't like it. It doesn't replace IE...it's just another browser available.

Yes..look at you specs and get the most memory you can afford and that your PC will support. This is a case of more is better.

 

Vista does like a lot of memory, plus if you turn off more of the visual effects it has then you can speed it up a bit (I have no idea which ones are included in basic). More memory sounds like a good idea anyway.

 

Thanx for all of the help! I'm going to another 1GB of memory and see how that goes. If I am still having my "freeze up" problems, I'll try adding Firefox, or another browser to see if that was the problem. I realize that PC's will have "freeze up's" from time to time but ours is starting to do it alot and it's time to fix it! I know my PC's as cheap as they come but I also know that I should be able to get it running much better if I had the right info....Thanx again to all and I'll check back with report 'cause I know you're all dying to know how this turns out (LOL)!!!!

 

When your computer freeze's, does the screen fade? I had this problem with using Yahoo toolbar and to resolve it, I had to delete it and re-install it. Before deleting anything, do a search to make sure you can download it. Your problem could be in the type of toolbar you use and something happened to it.

 

No it does not fade...lately, it says Internet Explorer either stopped working or is not responding. This usually does not require me to shutdown. It does say that the computer is looking for a solution to the problem but it never comes up with one. My PC also will just freeze and then a colored "brick pattern" takes up my entire screen...that's when I have to shutdown manually....

 

Does anyone think it could be something (virus, spyware etc.) that snuck through my protection?

 

Probably not...just try using FF for a day or 2...see if it quits doing it. Only takes a few minutes to download it and install.

 

[I had this problem with using Yahoo toolbar and to resolve it, I had to delete it".

I have Google AND Yahoo and would like to delete Yahoo - how do I do that? Please give me step by step as I am not
computer savvy. Tnx. Dixieflash

 

You can get rid of the Yahoo Toolbar in one of two ways.
You can just disable it, rather than delete it if you should ever change your mind, by clicking on "Tools" then click on "Manage Add-ons", then "Enable or Disable add-ons", then just find The Yahoo toolbar and click on it to disable.

You can completely delete it by going to your Start button at the left bottom corner, find "Control Panel", then "Add/Remove Programs", then go to the bottom of the list to find "Yahoo Toobar" and click on that. The Control Panel setup will be different depending on whether you have XP or Vista. If you have Vista, you'll see "Programs" listed first, so click on that. If you have XP, you'll just see "Add/Remove Programs" at the top.

 

If you're running Windows Vista, you definitely need more memory. 512m is way too little for most applications and operating systems on the market today. Also, what speed is your processor? How much memory can it handle?

VISTA is thusfar, the most memory consuming OS there is. Most consultants recommend at least 2GB for VISTA.

Here's a link to a site which explains it in greater detail, but I would recommend more memory regardless....

Microsoft Windows Vista: How much memory is enough? - PCSTATS.com

 

vista does require more memory.

on you taskbar, right click and select task manager.
click on performance and note the memory usage graph.
if it is hitting max then it will use your hard drive as memory.

if you suspect ie is causing memory problems, then click on Processes tab and click memory twice to view ascending memory usages.

you can play around and use end process to kill programs that you suspect is leaking memory. this is not permanent, if you lock up, just reboot and it all defaults back to normal.

-a|ex

 

Thanx all!! I plan on purchasing as much RAM as my PC will take and see how that goes...then if IE still is giving me problems, I will probably go ahead and try Firefox. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll probably be right back here asking for more help. Thanx again to all and I'll check back when I get going on this.....