You can try that but if it is a virus and its already on their alot of time Norton will not get rid of it. Plus if you cant get online you cant update the definitions once you install. Really bout the only 2 things you can do are A. take it to a compter repair shop pay 100$ and have them fix it or B. Reinstall windows. If you have XP its super easy, Yea you lose all data but man after you reinstall the PC sure does run smooth.

 

But I can back everything up now, before I reinstall Windows right?? So I wouldn't lose it; just have to put it all on CDs. This sucks. I hate my damn computer.

 

And if THAT doesn't drive you to drink.....

(but if it does, take pics)

 

Well even if I did take pics, if it didn't work, you'd never see them!! LOL I'm hoping to get the computer fixed tonight so I can talk to Brian without killing my cell phone bill. Getting ready to change cell companies. Anybody had a bad experience with AllTell??

 

Maybe I'll make friends with Brian, then I'll see them...lol....

 

I've been with alltel for about 8 years with no real problems. Early on there was some billing confusion. Reception is good, no dropped calls. I've been with them so long, they were GTE when I started with them.

 

OK a couple questions what brand of cable modem do you have and what is the model # . To answer your question no the modem shouldnt effect the OS on your computer at all. all it does is provide an internet connection. If your pc starts losing track of the time it can be caused by a coupe of things the first thing would be the battery on you motherboard that keeps track of the time is going dead. How old s your computer? anohter thing that could cause that to happen would also be some type of virus. A good antivirus program that you can get for FREE is AVG antivirus. Just go HERE to DL it. Now usually the cable light on the modem should be solid but i wont be able to tell for sure till i know what brand of modem u have. if it is not solid the only thing you can do is pull the power cord out of the back of the modem (thin black wire) for 5 seconds and plug it back in. wait about 2 minutes for the modem to boot up and see if the cable light comes back on solid. If it doesnt there are 2 possible causes. 1. ether the modem is malfunctioning or 2. there is a problem with the signal coming across the cable line to the modem. Something else you can try is there may be something running in the backround on the PC that is causing it not to boot properly sometimes. Luckily XP has a utility that lets you turn off everything your pc doesnt need when it boots up. Just click on the START button and then click on RUN, in the OPEN box type in MSCONFIG, click OK, this will bring up the SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY, across the top the last tab says STARTUP, click on the STARTUP TAB, then click on the DISABLE ALL button in the lower right hand corner, click APPLY, Click CLOSE, it will say you have to reboot you pc, when it gets done rebooting you will have a box come up saying that you have used the system config utility to make changes, just click OK on that, then the system config utility will open back up just click CANCEL. Now any extra software that loads and runs in the backround on your computer wont be running. see if you have the same issue. Just to let you know extra software also includes and anitvirus or firewall SW that you may be running but you can also find them in that startup tab and just put a check mark next to them and then they will be back on. to turn everythng abck on in the startup tab just follow the directions to turn everything off again but this time there will be an ENABLE ALL button and presto its all back on. Hope this helps. anymore questions just let me know!

 

Could also be caused by Adware/Spyware so try to look for Ad-Aware 6 and Spybot 3.1 or higher versions, both free and searchable on google. As far as the modem I agree on both points. Mine sometimes drops the connection for no reason and I just cycle the power to it and it works fine. If it happens all the time there might be line noise which a tech from the cable company should be able to figure out. I'd also try a new ethernet cable if you have one, very unlikely but it's something to try. Reseat the cable on the modem end and also the pc end. Go to Add/Remove Programs and look at the various programs installed on the pc, sometimes AdWare comes up as ad-supported programs, internet optimizer, network optimizer, etc. Also, google hijackthis and run the file and save the text. Post here or pm the results and we should be able to figure what's in your registry that more or less shouldn't belong.

 

Ok I'm printing out all this info to take home with me; since I don't have internet at the house currently. I picked up a new modem from TW Cable today. I had a Toshiba (blue one, have no idea on the model number). They gave me a new RCA one. I have a VPR Matrix that was purchased five years ago, almost to the day. No warning signs of problems from the computer. I was streaming videos, and went to check my email. Page never loaded.
Then I lost connection with AIM.

At this point all lights were solid except a blinking data light (which is good!). So I called tech support, they had me unplug and replug various connections on the back of the modem. When I reconnected the power to the modem, the cable light started blinking. I disconnected and reconnected the cable, and still blinking! So I restarted the computer and the first two times, I wouldn't boot. When I did a hard boot, instead of a restart, I got windows up, all my settings were as I left them (desktop pics, startup programs etc), except that the time and date were wrong when I got it started. I reset the date and time this morning before I left, disconnected my modem so i could trade it and when I get home tonight the first thing I'm doing is taking off all my important pics and conversations and such and putting them on cd. Looks like it's gonna be a long night before I get internet back again. ****!!!

Guys I appreciate all the help. It just sucks that there's tons of resources available online to help me, but if I can't get online, I'm pretty much SOL until Brian gets here next weekend.

 

When you get that RCA modem home it should get 2 solid and 2 blinking lights on it. 2 solid and 1 blinking means it has a good connection to the network and the second blinking light will be the pc activity light it should come on when you connect the pc or turn it on. if it only gets 2 solid lights that mean it booted up into standby and u will need to press the button on the front then it should be OK. let us know how u make out. If you dont get at least 2 solid lights and 1 blinking they will probably need to send a tech out to your house because the chances of another bad modem are slim to none.