freeze and AutoReboot in I.E. and others

I'm a new WIN98 user but an experienced Mac user and tech. I've got a Dell P3 450mhz with WIN98, Linksys nic card, 40 gig HD with 3 partitions, Mindspring DSL, IE 6, WIN PoET as the mindspring connecting software. The PC is being used for games and internet. Everything runs fine while off-line.

When connected via DSL I get a freeze after 10 mins of surfing... then the PC REBOOTS itself (never seen that before)! Also, when my son attempts to connect to a game server (NOt through IE - IE not even running) he is able to update a list of servers and choose one. Once he is conncected to the desired server and begins his interative game he can play between 5 seconds to 15 minutes before he gets the same freeze and the PC reboots itself.

No error messages are displayed at any time.

Troubleshooting to date:
Deleted all IE temp files. Increased the temp file size to 400 MB. Ran SCANDISK on all 3 partitions (no errors found). DEFRAGGED all 3 partitions. Attempted to download Windows Updates but could not remain online long enough. Reinstalled WIN98(se) from CD. The result is the same. Problems continues.

I'm really perplexed now. Seems to be internet related as there are no problems when offline. Doesn't seem to be confined to IE or the game software (Counter-Strike) as both are affected the same way when only one of either is present and running.

Please help.

 

Not sure what the problem is-but things that come to mind are how much memory have you got on the machine as it maybe a memory problem-have seen that with big hard drives like you have.

One thing you do not mention-but I do not feel is the problem is a virus checker and whether you have checked that possibility.

Here is one link to MS Knowledge base that may give you some things to check on-I am very rusty on Windows 98 as I am running XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?ID=KB;EN-US;Q238096

Youc ould try running the system file checker to see if you have corrupt files-read about it on this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q185836

HumBug

 

The problem may be caused by some of the stuff that Windows itself wants to load at startup.

And also if the machien came pre-loaded there is more than like umteen pieces of nosey, useless and resource hogging, spyware loading at startup also.

To hlep with this I would suggest getting Ad-Adware from Lavasoft and run it to clean up some of the Spyware.

I would also suggest gettingStartup Cop And shutting down everything that is not needed to be loaded at startup.

Before doing then go to the Windows update site , show all updates and if installed, un-install Windows Critical Update Notification.

Then use Statup cop and shut down every thing except Explorer ( if it shows ) and Systray.

See what the results are and then start re-enabling things one at a time.

BillyBob

 

Lots of RAM

Well, actually, memory shouldn't be an issue; the Dell has 128mb of RAM. According to all requirements I've seen and read about, it should be working fine from a memory standpoint. We have not looked into virus checking software, yet, but we may try that soon. It is actually a ~30 gig HDD, not 40, as previously mentioned. Does anyone have an idea?

 

Have your tried running the Dell Diagnostics that came with your computer? If not, or you can't find the diagnostics disk, you can download the diagnostics from the Dell web site. Try running the diagnostics and see if it detects any problems.

I'm thinking also maybe a video card problem. If you have a GeForce I would suspect it first...probably because I've had plenty of problems with mine. If you have a GeForce, perhaps trying other drivers. All the Nvidia drivers ever written can be found Here .

I found a discussion of random reboots with Mindspring connections on the Dell Talk site and the concensus there was a problem with Mindspring's network. Naturally, there was no mention of any such thing on Mindspring's support site.

Finally, 128 megs of RAM, even with 98SE, is generally considered by those who know far more than I to be barely adequate. Adding another 128 module (or two) couldn't hurt.

 

I have had similar problems, per screen freeze / reboot.. they were trace backed to a weak / failing memory stick. Also had "auto-reboot" (not coupled with screen lock) which was caused by a weak / failing power supply. The components were dying a very slow death. In the begining, very infrequent event hits. Over time (week) they were plus- minus hour. It's just a thought.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

I suspect the problem may have more to do with Mindspring and their software than anything else. Here's why:

I would think the loose memory stick or power supply would manifest itself offline equally as well as online... but the machine performs flawlessly offline with no freezes or autoreboot. The ram size (128) may be only adequate but the machine plays high-level video games perfectly (no frame-dropping, no slowdowns, nothing) when off line. I believe the video card is ATI 16mb (Diamond?) but, again, no problems offline running a multitude of games. The problem only occurs when connecting to a server online (and has now happened in EVERY game we've attempted online). Plus, I chatted with several folks already in games on that server and most of them were running at less ram than we are. I first suspected a virus but would expect an occurence when offline, as well.. but offline is perfectly OK. The only COMMON occurence that I can tie together is that the circumstance of being online enables the freeze... and the problem happens with several UNRELATED pieces of software... so I don't think any ONE of those are at fault.

I had 1 other suspicion, however... and that's why I'm asking for your help.

Being a long-time Mac user, I've solved enough troubleshooting situations and lived through enough patches and upgrades on that system to know where to look. But as a neophite WIN98 user, I'm not as familiar with recent history, problems and workarounds to know where to begin. Is there some kind of general cache (not just browser cache) that is enabled for tcp/ip connections? I'm thinking that maybe a burst of cache(able) data might overflow a buffer somewhere and freeze the mahine. Is there anything like that in WIN98 (invisible files, maybe)?

Otherwise, the only COMMON thread between these freezeable circumstances in different peices of software is the Mindspring software that allows me to connect. I never have a problem running any of my 5 Macs on the Mindspring DSL (and there are far fewer Macs connected to Mindspring than PCs) so I would be amazed to find a problem there that would adversely affect a machine as common as my PC.

Any more thoughts before I call Mindspring (Earthlink)?

 

good morning superbanjo

As a former Mindspring/Earthlink user I do beleive you have some good ideas about it.

And I would agree as to your thoughts on memory.

I learned a long time ago ( from the same experiences as you are having ) NOT to use ISP software.

When I had it there was a part called ( I believe ) Fastlane . Which was supposed to and excelerater of some sort. It did everything but.

Also there is some Items that the OS installs that will slow things down. One being the Critical Updates.

This is why I suggested Startup Cop so you can shut down some of the stuff that loads at startup. including whatever Mindspring want to load.

Also you might have a go at going to Dial-Up-Networking and making a new connction that by-passes the Mindspring connection software.

Also check for stuff such as Real Player loading at startup. That will not only slow things down by loading up the resources but it is NOSEY AS HELL. And the newer Windows Media Player is just as bad.

BillyBob

 

Firstly, check for any firmware updates for your motherboard.

Secondly, run a trojan scan (this is unlikely to be the cause but nonetheless the possibility needs to be eliminated).

Thirdly, it could be worth posing this question in an Earthlink specific forum.

 

superbanjo - I just noticed from earlier in the thread that you don't have any AV software running. AWK. Not sure about Mac systems but the 'net is full of folks putting bad things on M$ machines and you are simply a disaster waiting to happen without good AV protection.

Also - run a firewall. For instance, IGMPSYN and a bunch of other denial-of-service baddies will cause exactly the behavior you are seeing. Take a look Here and see if lots of this doesn't look familiar.

And the suggestion above that you install and run ad-aware to check for spyware is excellent.

As to your cache question - I think NetScape maintains a memory cache but AFAIK, IE does not and only maintains the disk cache you clear from tools~temporary internet files and history. No specific cache of TCP/IP information.

 

Thanks, Newt. Good advice. Here's an update on my epic adventure:

I've been to the trojan site twice on 2 different days and each time I try to run the scan I get a message that the site is not working at the moment.

I got Startup Cop and found only a few items in the startup area. I disabled all that would be disabled. Only SysTray would not be disabled. The end result had no effect on the condition I described in the above posts.

I talked with Support at Mindspring and they said they had never heard of my condition, however they did send me Enternet instead of WINPoET. I installed Enternet (which is the client I use on my Macs with Mindspring) but there was no change in the problem.

I am not using any Anti-Virus software yet (heck, I can't stay connected long enough to download any virus worth its salt!) but plan to add some AV software soon. I don't check e-mail or download any software on the PC for that reason. Newt, I also plan to add a firewall (I use NetBarrier on my Macs) to the PC. Earthlink may have a free software firewall that I can download unless someone has a better (cheap) idea.

Also, Newt, although I appreciate your thoughts about a virus... I tend to think that is not the problem. First, the PC works perfectly off-line and only freezes and reboot when making an ACTIVE, aggresive connection (data moving in) through a lot of surfing on IE or data coming in from a participatory game on line. Wouldn't a virus tend to affect the computer at any time? As far as a denial of service attack (and others) via tcp/ip... it seems that someone would have to be lying in wait 24/7 for my IP to appear. Although I have a Mindspring DSL connection, I am rarely connected for very long. My DNS-supplied IP address changes frequently (no static IP) and I (and my children) are on at random times throughout the day and night. I think it would be unlikely for someone to focus on me EVERYTIME I get online with this machine... and within 5 seconds to 15 minutes of my connection.

As a reference... NetBarrier on my Mac(s) have only reported 5-6 instances of pings and port scans in the last year. I don't think that's excessive. As I type this message on the PC, I've been online for over an hour and no freeze/reboot (but I haven't been surfing a lot or trying to connect to interactive games).

Everything in my investigation points to internet-related problems and then only via my ISP (since it seems to affect ANY software I use online). The problem only seems to occur when I am receiving a fair amount of data... most often after about the 10th page I load in a row, rapidly. Or just connecting to an interactive game. That makes me think that the increased rate of inflow of data may cause the problem (why I was curious about a buffer or cache overflow). The problem is still unsolved. If anyone has any more ideas.... please let me know!
Thanks...