series of prob with laptop

FrozenDuck SG

1st - im getting connection problem and when i diagnos and repair it, it either says im having DNS error or this computer is currently experiencing connection problem

2nd - im getting lags - i can type faster in notepad than the words appear;

3rd - i cant install new game (will get a super long load but nothing comes out when i double click the installer)

4th - the laptop finally died on me yesterday (error msg: hard disk read error)

im currently using packard bell and window vista

2gb ram (or was it 1?)

centrino dual core processor

FrozenDuck SG

so im wondering, what's the cause of all these? internal hardware problem? virus? or configuration error?

btw, im using NOD32 and spybot as anti virus and malware

PS: i read the guideline after posting, as far as i remember, i didnt add any new hardware and im not really firmiliar with the specs of the laptop but i'll try to answer any question regarding the specs after i get back my laptop from the repair shop

MyPillowTalks SG

Number 4 seems to be the culprit

The read write head of the harddisk might have 'crashed' onto the disks which stores the data, therefore scratching it, making it unreadable. (Like a scratched cd)

Connection problems could be caused by windows vista's own problem(like driver issues), or the 'wireless adaptor' on the laptop is faulty already

Lags maybe caused by virus. From my knowledge a good virus or bot cannot be removed easily by antivirus softwares. If 1gb of ram on vista will be lag, 2gb depending on how much background programs you are running.

If i were to guess, the repair shop should ask you to change the harddisk drive, then they will install a copy of windows vista using the serial number under your laptop. After that it should perform faster as there are lesser preloaded softwares

playmemory SG

get the notebook repaired by replacing a new hard disk. most likely u wont get to see pt 1 pt 2 and pt 3 problem.

Raraken SG

Pt 2 and Pt 3 all led to Pt 4. Same things happened to me when my 500GB HDD was going to conk out. Lag, cannot load, random freezing and so on. Just replace hard disk and reinstall OS and drivers and you should be good to go.

FrozenDuck SG

how much does it cost to replace a hard disk for laptop?

Interception_7 SG

depend on how big the capacity of the hdd you want.

im currently using a packard bell laptop too, had the same problem as you. turns out my hdd was spoilt. accidentally dropped something heavy ontop of it.. there's a scratch mark on my laptop though..

at first i heard unusual sounds coming out from the hdd.. turns it's spoilt.. so i got it replace.. it still can load windows and such but it's taking forever to finish loading.. i replaced it with a 250gb hdd that cost me about $100..

FrozenDuck SG

mine doesnt have any sound coming out, just lots of lag and BOOM!!! all gone -_- but i called the repair shop yesterday, they said its done already, they reformatted and is installing ths os and window updates so i assume its virus attack? that also mean nod32 = useless as it keep telling me there's no virus or what so ever? O.O

Raraken SG

Not virus lah. HDD spoil. HDD spoil can be due to rough handling, anyhow wave your laptop. Or just that the motor/head not as precise. Virus cannot destroy hardware, only software. They can only damage hardware if they are those 'power virus', but even that will only, at most, cause the laptop to overheat and your battery life will become non-existent.

FrozenDuck SG

but all they did was merely reformat the whole thing, i dont bring my laptop out so cant be the handling part, err overheating - idk about this, i got a cooler with giant fan below the laptop everytime when i on it and.. they didnt change the hdd at all

Raraken SG

Then I would say rootkit. Most rootkits will go undetected, unless you got those really secure AV S/W that scan everything lor. But just be careful, you HDD may be malfunctioning. Back up your software regularly. Scan regularly and don't just use NOD32 or any single AV. Use Anti-virus(AV), Anti-Spyware, Anti-Malware. For the Antivirus part, can keep using NOD32. Anti-Spyware can recommend Spybot Search And Destroy. For Anti-Malware, can use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Also, (for more "advanced users") I keep a 2nd OS on the HDD. In my case, Vista and Windows 7. Should 1 OS be infected, or experience major lag, I switch to the other one and see if there isn't any lag. If there isn't lag, I will run a thorough scan on the other OS's partition. Usually works, because now the affected OS's processes and "File in use" crap cannot interfere with virus removal. Also, these 2 OS's use different Anti-virus. My Vista uses Symantec AV (Corporate version :P), while 7 uses Avast 4.8. Both are excellent, and usually will catch just about everything, even during download.

starExcaliblur SG

Prolong usage, wear and tear can also spoil a harddisk as the harddisk components are mechanical parts. It doesn’t have to be rough handling.