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Couple problems with my laptop. it has vista and would like it to be f


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#1
fix23

fix23

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Hey everyone, i got a new laptop at christmas and havnt really had any problems with it. but i gotta couple of problems now.

Okay here are my probs:

1) My touchpad goes randomly crazy sometimes. what i mean is that when i try to move the cursor around it will go everywhere and i cant controll it for a few seconds, its very irritating and it sometimes leads to clicking random things. very pain in the [bleep].

2) about 1nc in every 5 boot-ups my bootup will freeze on the Windows loading bar screen, and the slider will just freeze, so i have to manually turn off the laptop.

3) do laptop coolers really work? i have mine on alot and i can feel it getting really hot. whats the best laptop cooler you'd recommend?



thanks for all the help, hope to resolve these problems.
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#2
SRX660

SRX660

    motto - Just get-er-done

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Look for updates on the touchpad from the manufacturers website. Personally i hate the synaptics touch pad and use a Microsoft mini USB mouse on my Acer laptop. I've thrown a mousepad in the laptop carry bag for problem deskswhere the mouse can't see any patterns.

Freezing is at the bootup is not a good thing. First thing to look at is the event viewer for problems.

How to View Event Logs in XP
To open Event Viewer, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
2. In the console tree, click Event Viewer.

The Application, Security, and System logs are displayed in the Event Viewer window.

How to View Event Details
To view the details of an event, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
2. In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then click the log that contains the event that you want to view.
3. In the details pane, double-click the event that you want to view.

The Event Properties dialog box containing header information and a description of the event is displayed.

To copy the details of the event, click the Copy button, then open a new document in the program in which you want to paste the event (for example, Microsoft Word or notepad), and then click Paste on the Edit menu.


To view the description of the previous or next event, click the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW.

How to Interpret an Event
Each log entry is classified by type, and contains header information, and a description of the event.
Event Header
The event header contains the following information about the event:
• The date the event occurred.
• The time the event occurred.

• Event ID
An event number that identifies the event type. The Event ID can be used by product support representatives to help understand what occurred in the system.
• Source
The source of the event. This can be the name of a program, a system component, or an individual component of a large program.
_____________

If you still cannot find any problems in event viewer you may have to use a boot log to tell you where the problem lies.

Enable and read boot logs.

If it only hangs on a normal boot, you can boot with logging enabled. Once you know it's hung, press + hold the power button for approx. 10 seconds. Boot again into safe mode and look at the log; the last line should be the problem driver/service.

The boot log is written to %SystemRoot%\Ntbtlog.txt.

To enable Boot Logging on Windows XP and Vista, boot your Computer, and during startup continually press F8 until the menu screen appears.

Press F8 again to display the Advanced Menu screen and select Enable Boot Logging

You will be returned to the menu screen and you should see Enable Boot Logging in blue displayed at the bottom of the screen (don't worry if this screen is not displayed and Windows starts to boot):
__________________

If the problem does not cause Windows to crash, and after startup has completed, you can review the ntbootlog.txt file. Look for any signs of problems loading device drivers. If you find problems, go into Device Manager and disable the device or uninstall the program, then reboot again. If the problem does not occur then you know it was that device and you should check the vendor website for new drivers or known issues.

If your problem does cause Windows to crash, reboot into Safe mode by selecting Safe Mode from the Advanced Menu screen. When reviewing ntbootlog.txt file, look for events that were attempted to load but not completed. More than likely the problem will be toward the end of the file (since that was the last item logged before crashing). When you identify the problem, either uninstall the application or go in to Device Manager and disable the device. Reboot
your Computer and see if the problem still exist. If it boots without crashing, check the vendor website for new drivers or known issues.

If you are still having problems, enable Boot Logging again to see if new events are logged after you have disabled the device or uninstalled the program. If you are unable to fix the problem, you may need to have a Computer shop troubleshoot the problem for you.

Notes on Boot Logging:
Many things can cause boot problems. To start have you:

- just installed software before the problem occurred - if so, boot into safe mode and uninstall the program from Add/Remove in the Control Panel

- installed new hardware before the problem occurred - again, if you did, boot into Safe Mode and disable the device in Device Manager

- updated drivers - sometimes updating drivers will cause problems. you can roll back drivers from Device Manager (boot into safe mode)

- recently ran Windows update, if you did, you can remove updates from Add/Remove Programs (you know the drill, boot into Safe Mode….)

While you are in Safe Mode, take a look at the Event Log for any errors (click on Start / Run and enter eventvwr.msc), also run a virus check with your anti virus software.

Other than that, it's possible may hardware that is becoming faulty and will require your local Computer Tech service to take a look at it.


* Boot Logging can only be enabled from Safe Mode. Once it is enabled, it only logs during the current boot. It will not log during the next reboot unless you enable it again from Safe Mode.
* If an existing ntbootlog.txt files exist, the next time Boot Logging is enabled, Windows will append to the existing log file.
* It is a good idea to have Windows create a new log when there are no problems or after you have added new devices. This will allow full logging to occur and will let you compare with a log when problems exists.

SRX660
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