Computer 911

I know there are several knowledgeable computer people here so i figured we could have a thread where people could ask computer questions.

so here's a problem ive recently been having. first off its not a virus (i think), ive performed 3 scans and found nothing, also im running Vista.

when my computer is on for long periods of time it does this weird thing where i can no longer run programs. ill click them but they just dont load. no error messages or anything. ill get the little loading thing next to the cursor like it is loading then it just stops. strangely though i can sill open folders. also if i try to Ctrl+Alt+Delete the screen will go black for about 3 mins then say something about how it cant "log in to start a security dialog" then just quits back to the desktop like nothing happened. and to top it off i cant turn the computer off by clicking shutdown in the start menu. i have to hold the button on the tower to turn it off. but once its back on everything is back to normal.

the only thing that ive done recently to my computer is get a new router to replace my old one. it cant be that, can it? has anyone heard of this before?

i cannot for the life of me figure out how to re-attach files to a torrent tracker, after losing my old computer. i have everything i downloaded still, i just dont know how to configure the files so that they will seed again.

  On 2/21/2013 at 9:29 PM, messiaen said:

i cannot for the life of me figure out how to re-attach files to a torrent tracker, after losing my old computer. i have everything i downloaded still, i just dont know how to configure the files so that they will seed again.

Just add the torrent to your client and set the destination directory to the files you have.

@Frankie: that doesn't look good. I would just upgrade. Windows 7 and 8 are much better than Vista.

  On 2/21/2013 at 9:29 PM, messiaen said:

i cannot for the life of me figure out how to re-attach files to a torrent tracker, after losing my old computer. i have everything i downloaded still, i just dont know how to configure the files so that they will seed again.

reopen the *.torrent files/or redownload them from trackers and tell the client to download the data where it's already located.

On the new router check to make sure the firewall in up. Nasty things can get in if its down.

To find out, open command prompt (hit start then type cmd), inside command prompt type ipconfig /all scroll around untill you see default gateway and type that number in the address bar of your favorite web browser. Explorer the system of your router till you can see if it is up or not.

Also regarding the main issue, google "log in to start a security dialog". Lots of people have had this issue and people have done different things to get it to work. Also I recommend not using Vista. If you can get on windows 7 or windows 8, they will do you good. I personally vouch for both.

Here is a place to get you started.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-security/log-on-process-has-failed-to-create-the-security/719b3123-de05-4535-9f9a-9dee121a0adb

Read the answer post. Good Luck.

thanks Zigg, ill try that. and yeah i plan on upping to 7 at some point. most likely this summer, ive just been lazy and didnt want to bother since ive never really had a problem with Vista. i mean this hasnt really been a problem either, more of an inconvenience.

sounds like a virus frankie

its not. i just performed a massive scan of every single file on my computer. 3 hours later and nothing, completely clean.

  On 2/22/2013 at 3:02 AM, Frankie5fingers said:

its not. i just performed a massive scan of every single file on my computer. 3 hours later and nothing, completely clean.

I've had a look at a few Vista loaded systems and I've seen a variety of different running problems. This sounds like one of those odd things. I know there's some which, after a certain amount of time, won't initiate any installations or downloads. Opening programs could be just as haphazard.

Reformat and whack something like Ubuntu on there until you've got money to get Windows, if you want it that is.

Vista is fucking shit mate. Ditch it.

yeah guys, i plan on doing so very soon. sometime this year. i found out my school has a major discount on Microsoft products so im gonna check out our bookstore to see if they carry it. but the only reason i never upgraded for so long was cause ive never had a problem with it. if their was any trouble i always figured a way around it. i dont think i can this time.

Just back up your information and do a fresh rebuild, not an upgrade. You want as little trace of Vista on there as possible.

  On 2/22/2013 at 4:34 PM, Obel said:

Just back up your information and do a fresh rebuild, not an upgrade. You want as little trace of Vista on there as possible.

oops, yeah thats what i meant. ive got an external and im gonna back up only the important stuff. then wipe the thing clean and switch it to 7.

which actually brings me to another question. i also plan on buying more RAM too. i already know what to get and all that, but should i install the RAM before or after i switch to 7? does it make a difference?

Doesn't matter at all really. Could do it now and then do the install.

Why don't you just try a torrent of win7 and get it sorted straight away until the discount comes up?

  On 2/22/2013 at 5:12 PM, Obel said:

Doesn't matter at all really. Could do it now and then do the install.

k, thanks

  On 2/22/2013 at 5:17 PM, sneaksta303 said:

Why don't you just try a torrent of win7 and get it sorted straight away until the discount comes up?

when it comes to something like this i dont want to torrent it. i might need professional help or something where i need someone to look at it and i dont need that kinda drama. i mean, even without the discount i can get it for about 70 bucks which isnt a problem for me at the moment.

you could always try booting up whilst quick flashing the RAM bus, or recompiling your .DAT library. usually sorts out most problems with Vista - there's often a few rougue .dll packets hidden in the FPU cache when running Vista...can cause all sorts of issues.

you guys think it could possibly be a hardrive issue? like it being too full? recently i pushed it to just about full (also i made a mistake recently and installed something on the recovery drive). WAIT, you think it could be my recovery drive acting up?

could be that your os has been rooted, virus scanners wont pick that up, and it hides itself within other legitimate processes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit

  On 2/22/2013 at 8:59 PM, Frankie5fingers said:

you guys think it could possibly be a hardrive issue? like it being too full? recently i pushed it to just about full (also i made a mistake recently and installed something on the recovery drive). WAIT, you think it could be my recovery drive acting up?

It could be corrupted files. The link I sent you has you run a check disk to check the disk for errors. Did you ever do that?

If the hard drive itself had physical issues it usually starts to make louder than usual noises.

yeah i finished that up just now actually. so im gonna wait to see if it worked.

so i think i finally found out my problem. i have a wireless internet-capable tv connected to my network so i can watch Netflix on the big tube, and i noticed something. every time this event occurs is when i turn on netflix, or more accurately, when my tv connects to the network. which leads my attention to Windows Media Center. i know that thing is full of fucking problems and i think its trying to "connect" or something with my tv. so ive completely disabled it. hopefully this will solve my problem.

but just in case, should i look anywhere else? i just want the TV to be able to access the internet through my router, not connect in any which, way, or form to my computer. basically, is there anything else i should do that will make sure these two things will not communicate at all with each other?

Frankie and all of you,watmm YESSI love you

woo! i solved my problem. not sure how though. lol but after an update, reinstalling the router, and setting up my TV again i no longer have this weird problem.

Have you ditched that fucking Vista yet?