Start up and involuntary shutdown problems

[PPRuNe Pop]

Started yesterday. Startup then shutdown happened several times. After a few attempts to start it seemed Ok then just shutdown. This post is my fourth attempt.

Zone Alarm is constantly giving alerts to 'allow and refuse' connections and the browser is always one of them. BackWeb 8876480 exe. 'asks' to act as server. Various errors occur and 'send report offers' arise too.

Some progs do not open automatically either, without ZA asking to allow connection to the internet! And now a thing! "Internet Explorer has an error and needs to close" - driving me mad all this!!

The event log is working hard too!

Your help please.

[frostbite]

Sounds like it could be a virus.

My thinking behind that is, something is constantly changing the characteristics of various programs, causing ZA to pop up and ask about permissions.

[Tarq57]

Or maybe spyware. This could well have a similar effect, often using a trojan to do it's dastardly work. Try running a virus then a spyware scan, in safe mode if need be.
Also see the sticky on HijackThis. Useful application. (so I believe-half the things found are semi-meaningless to me.)

[PPRuNe Pop]

According to Housecall, AVG and Ad-Aware everything is fine.

However, what I did find that by removing Zone Alarm, as opposed to shutting it down, it has improved a lot. I will not be putting it back!

But, everything is settling down and I don't think I am going to have re-load windows!

Thanks for your help and interest.

[ormus55]

ZA is an excellent firewall SW program but it does have certain issues. (some well known) removing ZA can solve these. otherwise configuring it properly will help, but it can be complicated.

if you are removing it, make sure you have other protection in place. i have a router which has a HW firewall. much safer and easier to manage.

generally:
hijack this, spybot. adaware and avg7 are all excellent progs for sorting out problems. and free!
all these are much better than most paid for SW.

[scudpilot]

People,

I have a 12 month old Toshiba Equium laptop, when I shutdown, all appears ok, all the wonderful microsoft sounds appear, but, it stops at a blue screen (not BSOD) and just leaves the white cursor.
Have checked event viewer, nothing... an ideas?
:ugh:

[PPRuNe Pop]

FWIW.

I thought I would let you know that my original problem of shutdowns is over. With BOAC's help I tracked it down to intermittent power. I bought a new case and the problem is solved.

In a period of just 4 weeks my machine crashed something like 60+ times. V V depressing!

Anyway thanks for your inputs. They ALWAYS help somebody.

PPP

[Pretzal]

Only just read your post - and my first thought was the power supply. Glad you got it sorted. On the 'BackWeb 8876480 exe' issue - all you have to do is enter it into a google search and it comes up with the result:
'backweb-8876480.exe is a process that comes with the Logitech Products software. It manages the automatic update check as well as providing you with new for the latest offers and products from Logitech. This is a non-essential process. Disabling or enabling it is down to user preference.'

So, google is a perfect starting point to work out whether a process is a virus or yet another program trying to access the internet that you arent aware of! :)

[Mac the Knife]

Good suggestion Pretzal - I don't use "non-name" power-supplies off the shelf for a good reason. Buy a "name" brand with an over-generous wattage.

But this scenario stirs another painful memory.

Some years ago I had a DOS machine that began restarting at times for no reason that I could see. No obvious pattern.

Eventually (several useless reinstalls and much hair-ripping later) tracked it down to an intermittent short in the reset switch on the case....:ugh:

And I remember a similar problem that in the end turned out to be a duff connector shorting in a floppy cable :sad:

And another that finally proved to be a sticky key on the keyboard.

It isn't always the software.

:ok:

Oh, and I've said it once and I'll say it again. Many instabilities are due to marginal memory or "off" memory timings or bad BIOS settings (overclocks etc.). Memtest has to run overnight without errors before you can trust the machine.

[Groundgripper]

Some years ago I had a DOS machine that began restarting at times for no reason that I could see. No obvious pattern.
I have been having that problem for ages - thinking back, ever since I had a new power supply installed. The machine has been back to that company (and to several others) but no-one has been able to find anything wrong. It's just as if an invisible hand has hit the Reset switch and occurs only at switch on after the machine has been off for several hours or over night. Most times it works after several resets, sometimes it just gives up completely and emits loud long bleeps so I have to switch off and then start again when it (and I) have cooled down:* .
I did suspect the power supply but couldn't prove anything. Needless to say, the supply is very anonymous, totally unbranded! Time for a change, maybe.
Then I'll probably find out it's the reset switch:( .

GG

[frostbite]

Those beeps do mean something, if you count them.

Someone will be along to provide a link to the table that explains them if we're lucky,

[Groundgripper]

Those beeps do mean something, if you count them.
Yes, I tried looking that up on Google. The system uses an Award BIOS, Unfortunately, different sources give different meanings for the same bleeps as the code is, according to one source, defined by the motherboard designer rather than Award :uhoh:

One long bleep seems to mean a memory problem, but I suspect that it is caused by the uncommanded shutdown so I'm not too sure about how much credence to put on that especially as the memory seems to work OK the rest of the time.

Checking the BIOS, it's quite old (5 years), would it be worth updating it?

I still suspect the power supply so will probably replace that.

GG