And opening and closing ports is not something that you should have to do.
What is it that you are doing when this happens? Are you starting Internet Explorer? Word? some other program? or does it do this when you are just sitting there staring at a completely blank screen?
Have you run a virus scan lately?
How long have you had your computer? Is it still under warranty? if so, take it to where you bought it and have them fix it.
The computer is over a year old now. It isn't under warranty anymore.
It pops up when I've been on the computer for a while. It has it where I can figure out what the problem is but when I do that it says it doesn't know. This time it said something about ports. A couple of times it said if I update on windows it would help. I'm not sure which upgrade to do so haven't done it. And since it didn't know what the real problem was I didn't want to do something I'm not sure what I'm doing. So when it came up saying something about ports I was more concerned. I did a scan today for virus's just to make sure and found nothing.
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
Steve may have hit the nail on the head. I believe you have one of the latest viruses on your comoputer.
If you do not have anti-virus software on your computer purchase the best...Norton Antivirus 2003. It is cheap and a small price to pay for saving your computer.
Install it and run it. But first you must update Norton. Go to their Live Update section and install all Live Updates for the program and restart. You may have to do this two or even three times.
Then perform a full virus scann on your computer. Just follow the easy directions.
If it finds a virus just follow the recommended prompts, allowing you to isolate that virus and put it in "jail" Quarantine.
Then you should go to Windows Updates and download every single update that is there. Keep doing this until it tells you that your computer is fully up to date and there are no new updates to install at this time. It mught take a few hours over a dial up connection. But you MUST do this.
So should every computer user out there.
After doing all these things, if you still have trouble please let us know. There are other important steps you can take to prevent this from happening again such as disabling the Messenger service and the Universal Plug and Play Service.
Also you should download iand install Lavasoft's free Ad Aware program. Run it to elininate all traces of Spy Ware from your computer.
I ran it on a friends trashed computer recently and he had over 350 pieces of Spyware deeply embedded into his Registry, rendering it unusable. These are not detected by Antivirus software but they are just as damaging in some cases.
Don't give up. What you have is very fixable but you must take some preventative measures and get up to date. You will be glad you did.
Thanks you guys....but....it didn't do the trick. I downloaded the norton antivirus and did the updates on windows. There is no virus. Now my computer is running a lot slower and is having errors where I am booted off what I'm in. Any other suggestions. I am concerned that this computer is ready to crash. Any suggestions are appreciated!!!!!
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
Well, with out being in front of it and not knowing what you are doing each time it happens and not knowing what the error message actualy says makes it real tough to troubleshoot. if you could give more info on it, if it does it at a certain time or when you use a certain program, it would help us help you. There is a pattern to it, it may not be that evident, but that will help determine why it is doing it. Then it cann be corrected.
Just guessing, my first question would be are you on dial-up or high speed? If you are on high speed then did you switch over to it from dial-up since getting the computer?
If the answer is yes then it would be a program trying to access the modem which would no longer being used OR you still have the moden set up as a default location in Inernet Explorer for connecting to the Internet. Again I'm guessing at when this happens.
Another time a port issue occurs is when trying to print if you've switched printers and did not remove the driver for the old one.
All in all, we need more info. If there is a number assosiated with the error message that would be extremely helpful.
JSN
Some day I'll live up to my name - until then I'll pop out from the 'leaves' once in awhile until I learn to JustSayNO.
[This message was edited by JustSayNO on September 17, 2003 at 2:04.]
With XP I recommend at least 512 MB ram. If it is only a year old it should be a PEntium 4 which is also what I recommend. But less will work too.
This should be speedy if you are using XP and modern equipment.
Last resort - Reinstall XP. Just back up all your critical files and wipe out the hard drive and start with a fresh install.
Better yet, if you decide to do this just get a new hard drive, 120GB at least. More storage and they are so cheap these days. Or just use the old one as a 2nd hard drive.
I won't say this is easy as some make it out to be. Installation is not so hard but after that is where all the work begins. THere are a myriad of details to tweak XP so that it performs best. Same with each program you will have to reinstall. For example Office 2000 is up to Service Pack 3. You will have to download ALL the many Windows updates as well.
As I said it is a last resort. Your current rig should be fixable but it is difficult to determine why it is slow.
Couldn't hurt to defrag the hard drive.
Also read the other thread about turning off stuff: I believe it is n the Tips section as follows:
Go to Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services.
Open up your services, At the bottom, select the tab that says Standard. (it is easier to view). The list is alphabetical.
Look for one called Messenger. Stop that service!! Put the startup type on disable, not manual. Be sure to Stop this service.
While you are there, look for one called NVidia Driver helper service. Stop that service!! Put the startup type on disable, not manual. Be sure to Stop this service.
You will have less popups by disabling and stopping Messenger.
Your computer will definitely start faster by disabling the buggy NVidia thing which seems to serve no practical purpose anyway.
If you have NVidia Driver helper service listed that means you have a graphics card based on the popular Nvidia chipset.
Ok I finally realized when my computer is acting up. Its when I've been in a chatroom and then get off of that and go to check my e-mails. I wonder what the cause of that is?
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
You may be getting these "warnings" via a service that is on by default in your system.
Go to Start
Then Control Panel
Then Administrative Services
Then Services
When you have Services open look for Messenger and double click it. Where it says Startup type, select Manual. Further down click the stop button.
This is a back door way of getting message through. It was designed to work with large internal networks, you don't need this on.
See what this does to the messages.
I would download ALL the windows updates. They fix things in one program that may affect another.
You said you use webroot spyware. I am not too familiar with that, but I know that AdAware, as John mentioned, has all the latest patches including the passiton problem and even purity which is another current problem.
If you are using the Yahoo Chatrooms, then you are getting popups from Yahoo also.
The last thing that I would recommend is the new Google toolbar. It has a feature that prevents pop up ads...it is also free and non-intrusive.
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Steve!
Ports, not portals.
And opening and closing ports is not something that you should have to do.
What is it that you are doing when this happens? Are you starting Internet Explorer? Word? some other program? or does it do this when you are just sitting there staring at a completely blank screen?
Have you run a virus scan lately?
How long have you had your computer? Is it still under warranty? if so, take it to where you bought it and have them fix it.
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vickles
The computer is over a year old now. It isn't under warranty anymore.
It pops up when I've been on the computer for a while. It has it where I can figure out what the problem is but when I do that it says it doesn't know. This time it said something about ports. A couple of times it said if I update on windows it would help. I'm not sure which upgrade to do so haven't done it. And since it didn't know what the real problem was I didn't want to do something I'm not sure what I'm doing. So when it came up saying something about ports I was more concerned. I did a scan today for virus's just to make sure and found nothing.
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
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igotout
Steve may have hit the nail on the head. I believe you have one of the latest viruses on your comoputer.
If you do not have anti-virus software on your computer purchase the best...Norton Antivirus 2003. It is cheap and a small price to pay for saving your computer.
Install it and run it. But first you must update Norton. Go to their Live Update section and install all Live Updates for the program and restart. You may have to do this two or even three times.
Then perform a full virus scann on your computer. Just follow the easy directions.
If it finds a virus just follow the recommended prompts, allowing you to isolate that virus and put it in "jail" Quarantine.
Then you should go to Windows Updates and download every single update that is there. Keep doing this until it tells you that your computer is fully up to date and there are no new updates to install at this time. It mught take a few hours over a dial up connection. But you MUST do this.
So should every computer user out there.
After doing all these things, if you still have trouble please let us know. There are other important steps you can take to prevent this from happening again such as disabling the Messenger service and the Universal Plug and Play Service.
Also you should download iand install Lavasoft's free Ad Aware program. Run it to elininate all traces of Spy Ware from your computer.
I ran it on a friends trashed computer recently and he had over 350 pieces of Spyware deeply embedded into his Registry, rendering it unusable. These are not detected by Antivirus software but they are just as damaging in some cases.
Don't give up. What you have is very fixable but you must take some preventative measures and get up to date. You will be glad you did.
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vickles
Thanks you guys....but....it didn't do the trick. I downloaded the norton antivirus and did the updates on windows. There is no virus. Now my computer is running a lot slower and is having errors where I am booted off what I'm in. Any other suggestions. I am concerned that this computer is ready to crash. Any suggestions are appreciated!!!!!
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
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JustSayNO
Well, with out being in front of it and not knowing what you are doing each time it happens and not knowing what the error message actualy says makes it real tough to troubleshoot. if you could give more info on it, if it does it at a certain time or when you use a certain program, it would help us help you. There is a pattern to it, it may not be that evident, but that will help determine why it is doing it. Then it cann be corrected.
Just guessing, my first question would be are you on dial-up or high speed? If you are on high speed then did you switch over to it from dial-up since getting the computer?
If the answer is yes then it would be a program trying to access the modem which would no longer being used OR you still have the moden set up as a default location in Inernet Explorer for connecting to the Internet. Again I'm guessing at when this happens.
Another time a port issue occurs is when trying to print if you've switched printers and did not remove the driver for the old one.
All in all, we need more info. If there is a number assosiated with the error message that would be extremely helpful.
JSN
Some day I'll live up to my name - until then I'll pop out from the 'leaves' once in awhile until I learn to JustSayNO.
[This message was edited by JustSayNO on September 17, 2003 at 2:04.]
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igotout
Download and run Ad Aware. It is free:
Ad Aware
Delete all the spyware you find and let us know if that helps.
BTW - what kind of computer is this?
Brand Name?
Processor?
Hard drive size?
Amount of RAM?
Right click on My Computer and go to Properties to find some of this out.
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vickles
I use webroot spyware and did that last night also. Found some spy's and deleted those. Still didn't do any good.
I have a 2002 compaq.
I have to get to work but this evening will look this all up for you. Thanks!!!
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
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igotout
With XP I recommend at least 512 MB ram. If it is only a year old it should be a PEntium 4 which is also what I recommend. But less will work too.
This should be speedy if you are using XP and modern equipment.
Last resort - Reinstall XP. Just back up all your critical files and wipe out the hard drive and start with a fresh install.
Better yet, if you decide to do this just get a new hard drive, 120GB at least. More storage and they are so cheap these days. Or just use the old one as a 2nd hard drive.
I won't say this is easy as some make it out to be. Installation is not so hard but after that is where all the work begins. THere are a myriad of details to tweak XP so that it performs best. Same with each program you will have to reinstall. For example Office 2000 is up to Service Pack 3. You will have to download ALL the many Windows updates as well.
As I said it is a last resort. Your current rig should be fixable but it is difficult to determine why it is slow.
Couldn't hurt to defrag the hard drive.
Also read the other thread about turning off stuff: I believe it is n the Tips section as follows:
Go to Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services.
Open up your services, At the bottom, select the tab that says Standard. (it is easier to view). The list is alphabetical.
Look for one called Messenger. Stop that service!! Put the startup type on disable, not manual. Be sure to Stop this service.
While you are there, look for one called NVidia Driver helper service. Stop that service!! Put the startup type on disable, not manual. Be sure to Stop this service.
You will have less popups by disabling and stopping Messenger.
Your computer will definitely start faster by disabling the buggy NVidia thing which seems to serve no practical purpose anyway.
If you have NVidia Driver helper service listed that means you have a graphics card based on the popular Nvidia chipset.
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vickles
Ok I finally realized when my computer is acting up. Its when I've been in a chatroom and then get off of that and go to check my e-mails. I wonder what the cause of that is?
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
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igotout
Did it come with XP factory installed or did you install XP as an upgrade over Windows 98?
How much RAM is in this machine?
What speed processor?
Right click on My Computer and go to Properties. It should show you there.
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vickles
Windows xp was already installed in the computer when we bought
Here is what it said when I looked it up.
Microsoft windows xp
virsion 2002
service pack 1
1.29GHZ
256 MB of RAM
Does that info help?
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
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igotout
No bad Vickles. I just do not know the answer. Couldn't hurt for you to also download ALL the latest windows updates.
It is easy to do. Do you know how? Mine is under Start / Windows Updates. Just follow the prompts.
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vickles
I downloaded all the main ones and left out ones that I thought didn't need. Do you think I should download all the available ones anyway? Thanks
Ok!! I will not try to be a nice person...ok? I will not!!
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pawtucket
Vickles,
You may be getting these "warnings" via a service that is on by default in your system.
Go to Start
Then Control Panel
Then Administrative Services
Then Services
When you have Services open look for Messenger and double click it. Where it says Startup type, select Manual. Further down click the stop button.
This is a back door way of getting message through. It was designed to work with large internal networks, you don't need this on.
See what this does to the messages.
I would download ALL the windows updates. They fix things in one program that may affect another.
You said you use webroot spyware. I am not too familiar with that, but I know that AdAware, as John mentioned, has all the latest patches including the passiton problem and even purity which is another current problem.
If you are using the Yahoo Chatrooms, then you are getting popups from Yahoo also.
The last thing that I would recommend is the new Google toolbar. It has a feature that prevents pop up ads...it is also free and non-intrusive.
Let me know how these work.
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