Computer Error, Big Time!

I really need some help.

[naitsirhc26]

First of all, I have an Emachine computer, and it is running off windows home edition. Whenever i turn my computer on it says its recovering from a serious error. Next, when i turn off AOL, my computer restarts itself. These are really starting to bug me and I don't know whats wrong. Should I uninstall Aol and install it again? What should I do? Please help.

[naitsirhc26]

Anyone?

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

I would not know what is causing this but if you search in Google for the exact string of text produced by the error (Use quotes if necessary) I am sure this will lead you to info on it.

[jessejump]

>>>>> if you search in Google for the exact string of text produced by the error (Use quotes if necessary) I am sure this will lead you to info on it.

I agree. This is what experts even do since they can't know everything at any given time.

[asquithea]

Start by giving it a thorough virus scan. If that comes up clean, and the restart is very abrupt (no warning at all), it's probably a driver or hardware fault.

If you feel confident doing so, look under Control Panel > System > Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Settings and uncheck Automatically restart.

This will probably result in the "Blue Screen of Death". Hopefully, the screen will have some text on it identifying an individual .sys file. If so, and the crash screen is reasonably consistent, you can use that information (use Google) to find out which piece of hardware is causing the problem; graphics and sound drivers are common culprits.

If the machine's not under warranty, remove the hardware from the computer if you can. Otherwise, try uninstalling and/or reinstalling the drivers. You can usually download updated drivers from the manufacturer's website.

Note that there are many other possible causes of instability -- faulty memory or overheating might cause random crashes in certain applications, too. Look inside the case for stopped fans or loose boards. Memory issues can be diagnosed using MemTestx86.

If that all sounded like gibberish, I'd suggest two steps:

Firstly, try backing up all your data onto CD and reinstalling Windows... actually easier than it sounds. You'll need the Windows XP Home installation CD for this.

If that doesn't work, you've really not much choice than to take it to a computer shop to be repaired.

[youfoundjake]

Try running msconfig from start>run and disable all the startups on the far right hand tab, then reboot and see how the machine performs, check your event viewer in the system log and take note of anything that has big red x's on it. while you are there, do a check disk and defrag. uninstall aohell and reinstall if you must, using an older version if avaible, 7.0?
how long has it been going on? what has changed recently? does that fact that its an emachine have anything to do with it? as recommaned before, make a backup of everything if you can, you can always use the file and settings transfer wizard that comes with xp home. is it service pack 2?

[Philosopher]

All of the above are good suggestions, but I would start with the easiest.

It sounds like the common problem is AOL. I that case uninstall the AOL software and reinstall it. If that doesn't work, THEN proceed to some of the other suggestions.

It's amazing how often an uninstall/reinstall of a program will fix an issue.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

But aren't problems compulsory with AOL? ;)

[naitsirhc26]

I will probably uninstall and install AOL. It seems to have so many bugs. Unfortanutely, we still have AOL. For the time being, AOL isn't restarting the computer. And I think that is the reason I was getting the System has Recovered from a Serious Error message. Thanks for all of the tips! I was also wondering which virus protection I should get. Norton, or Macafee. I don't really like Mcaffe very much. Please let me know.

[youfoundjake]

I would recommand Norton, more so than mcaffee, but mcafee more so than the rest. Its kind of like coke and pepsi, theres norton and mcafee, windows and not windows :) democrat and republican, ying and yang

[henry0]

It looks like a WGA mascarade
check HERE [webmasterworld.com]

[kaled]

which virus protection I should get. Norton, or Macafee. I don't really like Mcaffe very much. Please let me know.

That's rather like saying...
"Which gun do you recommend for blowing one's own brain out, the 9mm or the .357?"

Try AVG. It's free or you can buy it. There are others too such as Nod32 but I've not tried it.

Kaled.