I think my laptop is dying

[Brother_Bliss]

It is so discouragingly slow slow slow. So I tried restarting and then when it FINALLY got going out kept saying "server busy"and I couldn't do anything.

I got it open in Safe Mode and am backing up some needful things, but I am afraid this is the end.

[trottigy]

I hate when that happens. This is the same way my old laptop went.

I bought an adapter for the harddrive and was able to access the info from a regular PC.

Sorry to hear it happening to you. Have fun with Windows 8.

[Brother_Bliss]

Sorry to hear it happening to you. Have fun with Windows 8.

Ha ha. I am purging am old hard drive that I am gonna use as a backup drive at the moment. Hopefully it lives long enough to copy everything that I want.

[Joey]

This is why I have no WTL...I thought I killed the laptop when I loaded it the other day so I took it off...now it's really acting cranky...I think it's ready to blow....I copied everything onto a flashdrive just in case.

[Brother_Bliss]

It was working again and so I tried sending some business emails and then suddenly it slowed and I got the blue screen of death. I'm gonna shut it off for a while and put it or in the car to chill down. I don't think the fan is blowing anymore.

[trottigy]

I bought me a 1.5 TerraByte USB drive - LOVE IT!!!!

Everything is backed up in one place - with PLENTY of room to spare.

It only cost me $120 from Costco. I really like that store.

[Qapla]

It was working again ... suddenly it slowed and I got the blue screen of death. I'm gonna shut it off for a while and put it or in the car to chill down.

If you think it can be saved you might try using the tools from Major Geeks

... I don't think the fan is blowing anymore.

If this is the case, it may be toast

[Brother_Bliss]

I finally got it to start and show me the alternate startup options. I am trying to start from the "Last Successful Configuration" but this was not the wisest choice. It is starting normally, but it is SO SLOW. I gotta bad feeling about this. I will try Safe Mode next, if I can get it to show me that menu again.

[Cool Cat]

... I don't think the fan is blowing anymore.

If this is the case, it may be toast

You could maybe try undervolting/clocking your laptop if it is an overheating issue. Just by .05 at a time. Undervolting won't lose any performance but will just cool it down a bit. You should be able to do that in bios. You could maybe go on to use one of these other solutions then:-

http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/prevent-laptop-overheating/

Best to back everything up if you can though before messing around trying to prolong the life of your lappy with these suggestions. Hope you manage to back up what you need.

Edit:- You could also go to task manager and see if there is a program slowing everything down. Have you tried defragging or can you not even get to that stage?

[Musky]

You need to determine what is using all of your resources. Try going back into "msconfig" and un-checking everything in the start-up tab, NOT the "services" tab, we may have to check that to, but we'll start with the start-up items. Some anti-viruses like Norton and McAfee, once they expire, they deliberately slow your system down to scare you into renewing them.

For now, disable everything and see how it boots up and runs after you do this.. Also, if you have an air compressor, blow out the vents starting in the center of the bottom of the laptop at the fan grate, then work you way around, in case dust is causing it to over heat.

[Brother_Bliss]

Very strange. Everything was slow, and computer froze. I forced Power Off and started in Safe Mode to back up some stuff because I had a bad feeling.

Finished and restarted normally. Got the blue screen of death after logging in with my password. System restarted and hung on a blank screen.

Power off, power on, blank screen. Power off, power on, blank screen.

Power off, power on, blank screen. Power off, power on, blank screen.

Tried f8 for safe mode - nothing.

Put laptop in refrigerator because I thought it was the fan. Now it seems to not be the fan.

F8 again and this time got the alternative boot up menu.

Chose "Last Successful Configuration" and started normally. Success, but everything is SLOW AS A SNAIL!

Ran Kaspersky Quick Scan after taking 20 minutes to start. Nothing found.

Uninstalled a couple programs, and then Toshiba PC Health Monitor crashed, which I will upload a pic about soon.

[Brother_Bliss]

Okay, now I just got another error and took a pic of the screen. I gotta work out getting these pics up on using the Desktop (Ive never used it, lol) BRB

[Brother_Bliss]

Here's some screen caps...

http://robertangle.com/+/misc/error_messages/001.jpg

http://robertangle.com/+/misc/error_messages/002.jpg

[Musky]

Before this started happening, were you installing a new program or maybe adding a FireFox extension?

"AU_.EXE can be a virus, but there is also a legitimate files named that that is part of some installer packages. It seems like something installed or tried to install and is having problems finishing. Have you tried a system restore, back to a point before this started happening?

[Brother_Bliss]

Before this started happening, were you installing a new program or maybe adding a FireFox extension?

"AU_.EXE can be a virus, but there is also a legitimate files named that that is part of some installer packages. It seems like something installed or tried to install and is having problems finishing. Have you tried a system restore, back to a point before this started happening?

The last things I installed were Dropbox and a Chrome extension. I was trying to uninstall stuff and so if it is part of some installer packages that may be why it poppoed up.

Currently, I type "msconfig" into the Start Menu bar and press enter and nothing happens. I can move the mouse around but things are pretty dead. May need to restart in Safe Mode, if I can. It was a pain in the derriere the last time.

[Brother_Bliss]

Every document I click says "Choose the program you want to use to open this type of file" and then there is nothing on the list.

[Musky]

A system restore might be all you need. It will cancel out any installations in progress which is what looks like might be happening from the error messages.

[Musky]

Is it Windows 7?

[Brother_Bliss]

http://robertangle.com/+/misc/error_messages/003-No%20Default%20Programs.jpg

http://robertangle.com/+/misc/error_messages/004-No%20Start%20Menu%20Programs.jpg

[Brother_Bliss]

Is it Windows 7?

Yes it is. I have to think about how I will get to the system restore.

[Musky]

Can you get on the Internet with the laptop? If not, download this to a different computer and move it to the laptop with a USB drive or something and run it, it will fix the corrupted registry keys which prevents opening programs.

http://www.symantec.com/connect/sites/default/files/KillGodzilla.zip

System restore is in the Start menu, under "accessories/system tools"

[Brother_Bliss]

Can you get on the Internet with the laptop? If not, download this to a different computer and move it to the laptop with a USB drive or something and run it, it will fix the corrupted registry keys which prevents opening programs.

http://www.symantec.com/connect/sites/default/files/KillGodzilla.zip

System restore is in the Start menu, under "accessories/system tools"

I turned the wireless radio off because I was nervous. I'll grab the program and move it another way. Start menu is blank. I tried to open Windows Explorer and it says "Cannot open this item. It may have been moved, renamed, or deleted. Do you want to remove this item?" lol!

Shall I try Safe Mode? Looking for what to do next because absolutely nothing is going on now.

[Brother_Bliss]

http://robertangle.com/+/misc/error_messages/005%20No%20Windows%20Explorer%20HUH.jpg

[Musky]

What happens when you click "All programs" in the start menu?

Try to get the file I sent moved over to the laptop after you unzip it.

[Brother_Bliss]

What happens when you click "All programs" in the start menu?

Try to get the file I sent moved over to the laptop after you unzip it.

There is no "All Programs" in the start menu. It is blank (see pics above).

While my back was turned it shut off. So I went to help my wife cook something, came back, and it is restarting. Very ODD.