[parrot feet]

Hi, firstly I have already received a wealth of info off this forum, but I am really stuck now so I have to ask.

I have an Acer aspire 5741 laptop, which I use for web browsing, occasional Photoshop and Nikon photo processing. It has been grand, but last week it suddenly became really slow, painfully slow! Every minute a program would say 'not responding', long freezing and random programming closing.

I tried a few things suggested on other threads, namely reducing programme open on start up, general tidying of programs etc. I use norton , but also ran malewarebytes and spybot as others suggested. I quaranteened 8 issues. I backed up files, deleted a bit of stuff and ran disk defrag. No joy.

The start up is fine, about 2 mins and ready to go. After another 2 mins however, the HDD light goes from flickering to constant, and I have noticed the fan doesn't run either after start up. I open Firefox and a couple of websites then its like hitting a brick wall, its really annoying just to shut it down too!

I would really appreciate any suggestions. Oh and my last restore point is 2013, so not keen to go there but will try as a last resort if need be.

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   parrot feet,

 

my last restore point is 2013

 

 

This in itself is a recipe for disaster as by using the restore point you will wiping out a vast amount of Windows updates/security patches  be sure that regular restore points are created in the future (before installing any new updates or software/drivers is best).

 

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here,  this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s. 

[phillpower2]

   parrot feet,

 

my last restore point is 2013

 

 

This in itself is a recipe for disaster as by using the restore point you will wiping out a vast amount of Windows updates/security patches  be sure that regular restore points are created in the future (before installing any new updates or software/drivers is best).

 

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here,  this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s. 

[parrot feet]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I read someone's else's thread about restore points, and was gutted to see I hadn't even done any! Lesson learnt, so once I have this mess sorted, I will make a point to create new ones regularly!

I will post results asap from speccy, I am currently on my tablet (which I hate) as even typing on the laptop is sluggish!

[parrot feet]

Accidently installed k9 which auto scanned and is showing 1128 reg issues. Closed it for now. Busy downloading speccy to run.

Edited by parrot feet, 10 February 2015 - 04:49 PM.

[phillpower2]

Speccy from here not CNet who will land you with unwanted foistware 

 

It is getting late here in the UK so will be offline soon as I have an early start in the morning but will check back asap tomorrow afternoon.

 

Tip

If you have something to add while waiting for a reply use the edit tab – bottom right of the dialogue input box and this will ensure that no information that you provide is overlooked (this can happen if your topic has more than one page)  

[parrot feet]

Phew, that was a task and a half. Something as simple as that took 3 tries! Just copying and pasting took a couple of minutes. The whole screenfrooze, said not responding and the cursor wouldnt move (though the spinny loading icon was still going). The fan was silent through the whole thing. Anyway, here it is ...
 
http://speccy.pirifo...qh7tbwf2mq3NVQj

Edit ... Couple of things to add.

1. I don't have my battery in, I'm running off the supply cable. The battery can't hold its charge, so I am looking for replacement. Of course will see if its worth it first!

2. A couple of weeks ago it got really hot. My daughter wasn't well, so she watched peppa pigs on DVD for an hour or so, with the laptop on the quilt (I know, not a good idea) so it was red hot after. It didn't show any obvious defects after.

3. I have had a blue screen a couple of times in the past months, it never stayed on long enough to read, a long error code and I thing something about USB, but I can't be sure. It did a quick memory dump and restarted fine afterwards.

Edited by parrot feet, 11 February 2015 - 02:24 AM.

[parrot feet]

Additional note - after reading other threads, I started using safe mode which helped with simple tasks in msconfig etc. It runs much better in safe mode, indicating something wrong in normal. I have only just realised I can use safe mode with networking, and so after browsing the internet, I've noticed the fan is doing its usual sounds (rather than just being eirily silent the whole time) and the HDD light is finally flashing every so often rather than staying solid. I hope this sounds familiar and easy to solve!

[phillpower2]

From your Speccy report I noted the following straight away;

 

Firewall: Enabled

Company Name: Symantec

Display Name: Norton Personal Firewall

Product Version: Unknown

 

Antivirus

avast! Antivirus

Antivirus: Enabled

Company Name: AVAST Software

Product Version: 10.0.2208

Virus Signature Database: Up to date

 

Norton Internet Security

Antivirus: Enabled

Company Name: Symantec

Virus Signature Database: Up to date

 

You should never have more than one AV installed as it not only makes a computer unstable but also can leave it totally unprotected, see info below from the Free AV guide provided courtesy of admin, Norton was once one of the best AVs but alas it is no longer, try uninstalling it using the link also provided by admin, try the computer with only Avast and Windows Firewall protecting it and, see how it is and then post back;

Free Antivirus Software

Important note: Geeks to Go highly recommends uninstalling any other antivirus software BEFORE installing another antivirus application. Antivirus programs often conflict and can cause system slowdowns, crashes, or even leave you unprotected. Here are some uninstall programs that you can download directly from the publisher's website:Symantec (Norton) | McAfee | Trend Micro

 

Polite reminder from my reply #5

 

Tip

If you have something to add while waiting for a reply use the edit tab – bottom right of the dialogue input box and this will ensure that no information that you provide is overlooked (this can happen if your topic has more than one page)  

 

 

[parrot feet]

The avast was the last thing I installed trying to see if I had a virus, so not the Initial cause but will certainly uninstall one.

However since my last post, my laptop fell off the table (don't ask) and cracked the screen, but its still usable. When I turn on, it loads half the drivers and then goes to system repair. It says it can't be fixed what ever its done

[parrot feet]

Ok, I suspect that I will have to start a new thread (if so, can you recommend which section) but now I need to see if it works at all before trying to fix the original problem. The screen is usable at the moment, so I will replace it if I can fix the machine. When loading in safe mode, it lists the drivers and stops at ...

...drivers/fltmgr.sys

It then runs startup repair, and a snipit from the report is ...

Root cause found
Boot critical file d:\windows\system32\drivers\nisx64\1506000.020\symds64.SYS is corrupt.

Repair action: file repair
Result: failed error code = 0x2
Time taken = 6208 ms

Repair action: system files integrity check and repair
Result: failed. Error code = 0x45d
Time taken 1003679 ms

Is this something that can be fixed?

Edited by parrot feet, 11 February 2015 - 01:58 PM.

[phillpower2]

Please stop double posting parrot feet, I help many people and so my mail box gets rather full and takes time to work through.

 

To see if this is a Windows issue download then run the All in One Repair from here, disregard the malware guidance but follow the other steps to the letter and in particular ensuring that you first create a new restore point and perform a proper Windows clean boot before running the repair, details for the clean boot here.

[parrot feet]

Sorry, duly noted about double posting, will edit in future until your reply.

I'm afraid I cannot even start the computer now, either normally or in safe mode (see post 10 for details). It crashes loading windows and cannot progress past system repair. Should I create a new thread for this new issue, and return once I can load my computer, or continue here?

P.s. I am using my tablet to browse the internet and view this board, so apologies for typing errors etc, I hate using my tablet!

[phillpower2]

Do you have a Windows 7 or system restore disk as it looks like a repair installation is required, this would not be caused by the computer being dropped.

[parrot feet]

I'm sure I have a windows disc somewhere which came with the laptop. I remember doing a disc backup too shortly after getting it, then I did a backup to an external HDD which is probably the 2013 restore point. I will have look in the morning and get back to you.

When I dropped it, it was on and open. It hit the floor hard on the screen corner (hence the crack) and it shutdown and restarted. It then froze on the windows loading screen, which its never done before, so I restarted in safe mode and thats where it ran the repair after stopping on the drivers list.

[phillpower2]

The hard drive itself being damaged could cause an issue such as this if it is an area of the disk that has Windows files on it.

 

Does your notebook have the Microsoft product key sticker attached to the base, if not check the battery housing as they are sometimes placed in there, if you have the product key details but no disk we can provide you with the details for downloading a Windows 7 ISO.