Two Questions

[KJ]

I'm embarrassed to post this because you all seem to have such wonderful equipment but this is driving me nuts. My pc (@home) is running Windows 98. At least every other time it is in use, it will suddenly re-boot. I thought it was a blaster virus.....but is that possible on Windows 98? I have run Norton Utilities, defragmented, deleted all cache but nothing helps. A new system is not in my budget at this time.

Second questions. I'm running Windows XP @ work. I am running "spy subtract" which includes a history eraser. It does not erase typed in URLs. I cannot even erase them through internet options/clean history in Windows.

Anybody out there able to help this idiot?

Thanks, KJ

[Perry]

Re: Two Questions

I'm embarrassed to post this because you all seem to have such wonderful equipment but this is driving me nuts. My pc (@home) is running Windows 98. At least every other time it is in use, it will suddenly re-boot. I thought it was a blaster virus.....but is that possible on Windows 98? I have run Norton Utilities, defragmented, deleted all cache but nothing helps. A new system is not in my budget at this time.

Second questions. I'm running Windows XP @ work. I am running "spy subtract" which includes a history eraser. It does not erase typed in URLs. I cannot even erase them through internet options/clean history in Windows.

Anybody out there able to help this idiot?

Thanks, KJ

I'll try to answer #2 first but I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Do you want to stop Internet Explorer from 'suggesting' the URL as you type it in? That is done in a different panel of Internet Options.

To adjust AutoComplete settings

You can configure AutoComplete to save and suggest only the information you want. You can choose whether to use AutoComplete for Web addresses, forms, and passwords, or not use it all. You can also clear the history for any of these.

In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
Click the Content tab.
Under Personal information, click AutoComplete.
Uncheck Web Addresses.

[KJ]

Well, I tried that and still have about six urls in the drop down at the address bar. Is there something else I can do? We just got a memo at work about recreational surfing and some of these addresses are not "work-related". (Like ADBB...I bad) I read somewhere that this sometimes happen when addresses are stuck in the index.dat file. Does that make sense?

Does my home pc problem of re-booting sound like a hardware problem to you?

Thanks, KJ

[Omnivore]

Hi KJ,

To remove the pages history from the drop down, in Internet Explorer go to Tools and choose "Internet Options", then on the General tab find the Clear History button. Press that and it will clear your drop down of unwanted pages. You should also Delete Cookies and Delet files including offline content to get rid of more evidence.

[Perry]

You know that if they're cracking down on Internet (and serious about it) they already know the places you've visited. :yikes

Auto-rebooting is a tell tale sign of a virus. I'll do some research on that tonight for you.

[Elleth Faewen]

To verify you have no virus, go to http://housecall.antivirus.com. It will check your computer while online and clean any viruses you have. It will not prevent you from getting a new one, so it is always best to have up-to-date antivirus on your computer.

At my work, we record everywhere people go at the Internet connection. We record the IP address, username, date, time, and URL. If your work is anything like mine, then it doesn't matter what evidence you remove at your computer.

[KJ]

Thanks all for the advice and website. I'm not running through my work's server. Oh well, I'm a pretty tame surfer, I just have to visit this place a couple times a day. Kind of addicting! KJ

[Perry]

KJ, if you don't find any viruses on your Win98 PC then it very well could be hardware related. A component could be going bad, the fan might not be working causing overheating, incompatibility issues, etc... any of these things could cause intermittent reboots. Did you install new RAM or anything else recently? Can you hear the fan running?

[sadie147]

KJ have you tried running the Blaster worm removal tool? Here's a link to it. I've removed it form several machines and they had the exact same symptom as you:

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html

Symantec (who btw own Norton) is a great resource for all things virus related fixes, info, removal tools etc. Make sure you are running the live update on your Norton AT LEAST once a week.

[higgies]

KJ, if you don't find any viruses on your Win98 PC then it very well could be hardware related. A component could be going bad, the fan might not be working causing overheating, incompatibility issues, etc... any of these things could cause intermittent reboots. Did you install new RAM or anything else recently? Can you hear the fan running?

Oh Perry, you stole my answer...I was just going to say that auto-rebooting is also a tell-tale sign of processor overheating or a bad power supply.

[Rhuobhe-]

Bad memory is also a cause of sudden reboots. The computer will run fine while usinging the good memory sectors and as soon as it tries to access a bad sector it will crash. I had this problem before and replacing the memory did the trick. You might be able to get some memory at a local staples (or some other store with a liberal return policy) and try it out; if it doesn't help, just return it.

[KJ]

Well, I can hear the fan running....I mean REALLY hear it; it sounds ill. I will try the blaster removal tool. I'm a little skeptical that it is an over heating problem since it will often reboot as soon as win98 loads. A kid at Best Buy told me Win98 was not susceptible to a blaster virus. Is that bogus? Again, thanks everyone. KJ

PS If someone would just type "Geesh, KJ, you need a new computer" I would appreciate it. I'll print it off and show DH.

[sharbur2002]

Geesh, KJ you need a new computer!!!!!! :yes

Ok, the one problem with Win98 is that it is know to be a very unstable operating system. When I had Win98 it crashed on me all the time.

Another known problem is that Win98 does not reconize any memory above 64 MB so no matter how much memory you have in that computer you are only using 64 MB. So you may be running out of memory.

It's been a long time since I used Win98 so I had to do a google search on the known problems. Another problem is that the resource memory for Win98 is limited to only 64kb (yes, that's right, 64 kb!!!) and there is no way to fix that problem.

Have you tried checking your MSCONFIG to see what you are running in the background? You can get rid of a lot of programs that load automatically when Win98 starts up and it may help some. Go to start, click on run and then type in msconfig, hit enter and then go to startup. Check to see how many programs are running in the background that are eating up your resource memory.

My suggestion is still.....get a new computer!!!! If you have everything you need...monitor, printer ect. then all you really need is a new CPU. (tower) It's cheaper to upgrade that way.

Sharon

[higgies]

Well, if you can REALLY hear the fan, and that is a new development then it's possible it can overheat in a short period of time if the fan is rubbing and not spinning very fast.

I agree that it's TIME TO GET A NEW COMPUTER! LOL

[KJ]

An Update

I think Rhuobhe & Sharbur hit the nail on the head. First I uninstalled several programs no longer needed, like the last couple years of TurboTax. Then I looked at the config file and was able to get rid of a few programs running in the background. The computer hasn't rebooted on it's own yet. Thanks again for everyone's help. It is humiliating not to have a good understanding of computer in this age! I'm glad I could ask my questions of you young'ins! KJ

PS I still need a new puter.