Serious computer problem, someone please help!

Mr. Snakey

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I wasn't given a recovery disc with my computer. And no, I actually ordered the shirt off of Funny t-shirts, Funny shirts, Crazy t-shirts, Crazy shirts, Cool t-shirts, Cool shirts - it's a great site!!!



I don't remember exactly, but yeah, it was around the time I installed ZoneAlarm. So I'm pretty sure that's the problem. I've been reading about it. My problem now, is, I've completely uninstalled ZoneAlarm and it's still crashing, so now what?



I already uninstalled everything that was installed immediately before it started crashing.



Yes, I have AMD/NVIDIA. What do I do?



I dunno how to uninstall something that's already uninstalled. :frown1:
Look for the program on your computer and try to uninstall it again. Sadly some programs installed are very hard to uninstall. Do a search on the web for problems uninstalling Zone alarm. They may have a free program to remove it.
 

lostmymind

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I found that file in two places on my computer, both of the are in Windows system folders. Should I really delete something out of a Windows system folder?

Yeah, go for it. Leave the deleted files in your recycle bin and you can always restore them if need be. I seriously think that will fix it.
 

Dorian_Gray

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Yes, I have AMD/NVIDIA. What do I do?


Well, i've been having the same problems with my machine although its a desktop. It has similar specs to your laptop apparently. Right now the only thing you can do is update the drivers to what is current right now, and hope all the manu's get up to snuff with their new vista drivers. Oh yea, nvidia drivers for vista right now are HORRIBLE so that also might be it. And if you want to upgrade your nvidia drivers go directly to nvidia to get them, because the ones that are on the HP/COMPAQ website are usually a couple of months old.
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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Alright. So here's the update. I went to some messageboard that had a thread about this issue. One person said that he had tried to install ZoneAlarm and that it crashed mid-install, so he rebooted in safe mode and disabled Windows Defender and Windows Firewall, and that allowed ZoneAlarm to be installed properly without issue. He also said that after it was installed and running properly, he was able to turn Defender and Firewall back on, and everything has worked fine since. So. I turned off Windows Defender. I kept Firewall on, so that I have a firewall - also, because it will help me figure out which one is the problem, firewall or defender. I've had the computer on for quite a while now and it hasn't crashed, so maybe it had something to do with Defender? I don't know. But in addition to that, I'm updating my drivers which is something that just needs to be done anyway. :smile: I'll let you know what happens! Thank you guys for all your help. :smile:
 

Mr. Snakey

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I don't think the uninstall for Zone Alarm removes all of the files. I had a similar problem with it some time ago. Maybe search "fwpkclnt.sys" on your hard drive and delete that file. But I still think you'll need to just re-image the hard drive and start over.
Your right. Once a program is in your computer it allways leaves shadows. I would do a search for info on how to remove it. I bet there is software to remove it
 

sjprep06

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I found that file in two places on my computer, both of the are in Windows system folders. Should I really delete something out of a Windows system folder?

Yes, create a restore point and delete those two files and see what happens. It could be that Windows firewall still may be stumbling upon them and freaking out. Sometimes even if you uninstall and remove registry entries, a program still leaves its 'crumbs' behind that can only be removed if you know exactly what you're looking for or if you reformat and reinstall the OS. Also, if a file is linked to a program (and you are 1000% certain that it is) and you unistall said program, it should do no harm to delete those files from the Windows folder as they are not essential to Windows.....
 

Mr. Snakey

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Alright. So here's the update. I went to some messageboard that had a thread about this issue. One person said that he had tried to install ZoneAlarm and that it crashed mid-install, so he rebooted in safe mode and disabled Windows Defender and Windows Firewall, and that allowed ZoneAlarm to be installed properly without issue. He also said that after it was installed and running properly, he was able to turn Defender and Firewall back on, and everything has worked fine since. So. I turned off Windows Defender. I kept Firewall on, so that I have a firewall - also, because it will help me figure out which one is the problem, firewall or defender. I've had the computer on for quite a while now and it hasn't crashed, so maybe it had something to do with Defender? I don't know. But in addition to that, I'm updating my drivers which is something that just needs to be done anyway. :smile: I'll let you know what happens! Thank you guys for all your help. :smile:
No your problem was zone alarm. You got rid of it. I did some searching myself and read of the problems people have uninstalling it. Thats great:smile:
 

VeeP

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One person said that he had tried to install ZoneAlarm and that it crashed mid-install, so he rebooted in safe mode and disabled Windows Defender and Windows Firewall, and that allowed ZoneAlarm to be installed properly without issue.
If the problem persists I'd be tempted to do what that guy did to re-install ZA, then reverse the steps and un-install it again. Perhaps then it would then un-install "cleanly".
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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Yes, create a restore point and delete those two files and see what happens. It could be that Windows firewall still may be stumbling upon them and freaking out. Sometimes even if you uninstall and remove registry entries, a program still leaves its 'crumbs' behind that can only be removed if you know exactly what you're looking for or if you reformat and reinstall the OS. Also, if a file is linked to a program (and you are 1000% certain that it is) and you unistall said program, it should do no harm to delete those files from the Windows folder as they are not essential to Windows.....

Well, I don't want to depend on a restore point because the last time I tried to use System Restore, it didn't work. It wouldn't restore. I've never once had System Restore actually work.

Anyone know how in the hell I figure out what my freakn sound card is? I'm so frustrated and tired of dealing with this. *sigh* There's a little sticker on the keyboard that says "nvidia"... so I know that much. According to device manager, the product name is nForce... but I can't find anything that tells me what version. I can't download updated drivers without knowing what version it is. I searched my computer for "nvidia" and "nforce" and it came up with nothing.
 

VeeP

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Also, if a file is linked to a program (and you are 1000% certain that it is) and you unistall said program, it should do no harm to delete those files from the Windows folder as they are not essential to Windows.....
Normally I'd agree, except in this case it's a driver. Removing those will-nilly is risky business especially if it's wired in deep enough. I wouldn't unless I had my shit backed up and Vista disk in hand. :wink:
 

lostmymind

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Well, I don't want to depend on a restore point because the last time I tried to use System Restore, it didn't work. It wouldn't restore. I've never once had System Restore actually work.

Anyone know how in the hell I figure out what my freakn sound card is? I'm so frustrated and tired of dealing with this. *sigh* There's a little sticker on the keyboard that says "nvidia"... so I know that much. According to device manager, the product name is nForce... but I can't find anything that tells me what version. I can't download updated drivers without knowing what version it is. I searched my computer for "nvidia" and "nforce" and it came up with nothing.


I don't have Vista so not sure how it differs from previous versions but in XP you can go to Control Panel / System / Device Manager and find details on specific devices and drivers.
 

VeeP

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I think that fwpkclnt.sys is actually related to Windows Firewall or Windows Defender, not ZoneAlarm.
All the more reason NOT to delete it, then.

You may want to check the time stamp on it (them?). If it's quite recent, you may have gotten hit by a virus/spyware that replaced the "real" one.

I would also advise against updating any other drivers at this time. If the situation worsens then you really won't know what you've got.

Get a recovery disk from Compaq, btw...
 

booboo12

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Did you burn recovery disks when you first bought your Compaq? Usually HP/Compaq prompts for this upon first boot. If you haven't, grab a couple of DVD's, look for the program in the Start menu and burn those suckers.

BTW, there is also a recovery partition on your hard drive that you can use to totally recover your system back to the way it was out of the box. Usually you press a certain key combination when you turn on your computer (check HP/Compaq's website) and you'll get the option to recover your system. When you burn the disks mentioned above, you'll get a "hard copy" just in case the hard disk crashes, or you cannot access the partition.
 

Mr. Snakey

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All the more reason NOT to delete it, then.

You may want to check the time stamp on it (them?). If it's quite recent, you may have gotten hit by a virus/spyware that replaced the "real" one.

I would also advise against updating any other drivers at this time. If the situation worsens then you really won't know what you've got.

Get a recovery disk from Compaq, btw...
Yes this is the first thing i thought. A Virus or Spyware. I would let it go if its ok and not update any drivers...
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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I was never prompted to burn recovery disks. I was when I got my desktop, but my desktop runs XP, not Vista. I can't find anywhere on the computer to burn a hard copy of a recovery disk. There is a system restore program on here, but it doesn't work apparently. I already tried it earlier today. It did it's restore thing, but when it tried to reboot, it was unable to start... so then another program came up... I can't remember what it's called, but it's basic job is to fix startup issues. I ran that, and then the computer booted properly, but nothing had been changed... no restore took place. Everything was exactly the same.