pinkfloydpuffer

I've been dealing with this for several days, and thought maybe I could ask you for any ideas.... Here's the deal:
My computer works great.... until I get on the internet. The pages sometimes work just fine, up to speed and all. Then other times, it will only load html format, or often it will just say "Internet Explorer cannot open the webpage". And often the page will freeze, and say it's not responding, and I have to 'end program' and start over. It's really driving me nuts. I can't do some functions as well, like use drop-down menus on pages and, for example, clicking on the paperclip icon to attach an image doesn't work, and such things.
Here's what I've tried:
I switched over to Firefox, uploaded it brand new and everything, I only had IE before. It had the same problems.
Ran all my antivirus stuff looking for threats, found absolutely nothing. (I have the free AVG and also SpyBot Search and Destroy)
Connecting to various internet connections.

So, I've basically ruled out browser problems, viruses, and internet provider problems. I am at a loss of what else could be going on here. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

MissMTS

Hmmmm, have you tried doing all of the routine updates on your computer and the opperating system? Sometimes that helps

pinkfloydpuffer

Oh, yeah, I did that too. Windows updates and all that happiness...

Mike

Is it just on our site or are you experiencing it on other sites too? I haven't noticed any connection issues browsing the forum the last couple of days...

Months back I had several malware apps that were causing connection problems. The only program that found them was malwarebytes. It does a complete scan of the pc and I usually start it running at night before bed because it takes hours to run. It removed 14 things that Norton never found. Argh.

pinkfloydpuffer

It's every site.
Hm... I'll look into malware. Thanks for the tip

MissMTS

Sorry hun. I don't know what else to tell ya. I am not a computer savy person to be honest. My husband is though. I'll ask him when he gets done teaching in a few minutes.

serissime

let me ask the silly question.... have you cleared cookies?

are you working on a wifi or are you physically connected?

Lucy

Sorry PFP, computer problems drive me crazy. Don't know if it'll help.....have you deleted cookes? Cleared your Java cache?

Edit: Welcome to Fish Lore serissime. We posted at the same time.

pinkfloydpuffer

Yeah I tried that.... and just tried it again, lol. Still the random html or 'can't display the webpage'. Stupid computer........

I'm on wifi.

Lucy

Weak connection, maybe?

serissime

Thanks, Lucy. I'm Alex's friend so I've lurked for ages, since she joined. I've voiced my opinions through her before....

but yeah, PFP, sometimes my wifi at school shuts me down for hours. I don't know the answer to that though. Sometimes restarting my computer helps, other times I just step away for a few hours.

pinkfloydpuffer

Nope, it's our home internet, my family's computer and laptop have been working fine all this time. And I have the exact same problems when I'm at work on another connection.

Toxic

DSL, cable, or dial up

pinkfloydpuffer

Hey, glad you joined! Alex is one of my favorite people here (ok, so I have alot of favorites, but that doesn't make any of them less special)

Toxic

same laptop at work ??

MissMTS

I just talked to my husband and he suggested doing the following things:

Empty your cache
De-fragment your harddrive (go to c drive and open your disk defragmentor)

Also, do you have any extra things like weather reporter or instant messanger? He said those things can mess up your computer by adding spyware that your computer has trouble detecting.

If all else fails, he said re-install windows (apparently you should do that every 6 months)

This is all nonsense to me, but I hope it helps you. I know nothing about computers, lol.

Lucy

My daughter's old lap top was on wifi and she used to get kicked off every time someone used the mircowave.
Any gadgets around that would interfere? Cell phone, cordless phone etc.....

Nice to meet you serissime. glad you finally joined

pinkfloydpuffer

DSL. We used to have dial up, that was a nightmare....

Lucy

Won't that make her lose all her data?

Toxic

have you added any software lately, camera, game, etc.

serissime

but by the way, firefox is better than IE, congrats on switching

I got tired of hearing about new security breaches... and microsoft making official statements that they weren't going to fix them..... but that is neither here nor there I suppose.

pinkfloydpuffer

Yup

Ok, I know how to defrag, feeling kind of smart. I'll give that a go.

No instant messenger, just facebook chat.... um... pretty much the only things i use frequently are my gmail, my facebook, and several forums.

Re-install windows? Oh dear.... that doesn't sound fun. We had a heck of a time removing vista and putting XP back on (stupid dell, no help at all)

Um... well, it is used by classIV lasers every day.... but other than that no....
I have my cellphone, but seriously it's hardly ever used

serissime

reinstalling windows is no biggie if you back up your stuff (this is where external harddrives come in handy) ..... unless you have a lot of illegal software or something.

pinkfloydpuffer

Yes, I'm pretty sure... I'd have to backup everything first. Luckily we have an external harddrive that I could load everything onto

Nope, can't think of anything. I'm not a computer game kinda person, have the same old camera..... nothing's coming to mind. So I'll say no.

Well, I'm back on IE since firefox didn't change anything.... I just like IE much better for some reason....

pinkfloydpuffer

Can't say I do

serissime

Oh, I guess that's just me then...
(am I joking?)

hmm is your dad your wifi administrator? He might be able to look at stats on your network that you can't. My dad does crazy stuff with our home wifi network that I can't even fathom.

Toxic

If the only problems you have is connection to the Internet, sounds like a card or driver problem. If your wireless, try right clicking the connection icon on the lower right task bar. It will give you the option to repair your connection. click this. It will run a connection restore program. See if it improves your connection

pinkfloydpuffer

Ok, tried it. It says it can't complete because it can't connect..... it just disconnects me from the internet even though the internet is still there, I just have to reconnect myself.

Toxic

you may have a weak signal, try getting closer to the router to see if the problem goes away

pinkfloydpuffer

Ok, I'll try that. I am pretty much right under it though. But I'll go into the room and see if that helps.

The pages seem to load fine everytime I mentally swear at it. Maybe that will fix all the problems? ::smack