A couple months ago, I reinstalled XP on my system. Within minutes of plugging into the internet, my connection went down. The ISP sent someone out and they couldn't find a problem on their end or with my modem (ended up with a replacement anyways, just in case). I ended up formatting and installing again. This time, I installed Spybot, Adaware, and PC Zillian and ran those before I plugged the internet in. Everything ran fine for about 3 weeks, when my connection started slowing down from time to time. Sometimes, it would 'hang' trying to load a page, and lately, it's been sending me to a 404 page from some random site, some I've visted and some I haven't. I've been running Spybot and AdAware about once a week, as well as my virus scan, and nothing I've removed and solved this problem. I haven't found a virus at all either. Nothing on there is bad as far as I can tell. It's all stuff that I know what it is, but maybe I'm missing something or maybe there's something else I should do entierly. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Do you use a router?

nope.....straight into the modem....i didn't have this trouble before my new system....used the same version of xp then as i am now....only hardware upgrade, not software....

I don't know what to say then.......

XP sucks thats why >_<...the windows firewall giving you trouble maybe?...update your bios or your nic or modem drivers...etc etc...cause my laptop has run fine and it has XP *hacks*

did you install service pack 2 dubie? the last computer i upgraded to sp2 wouldn't locate the upgrade on window's update site. i had to request the free upgrade cd to be mailed to me. installed it and it fixed a few issues for me pretty good.

btw, i highly recommend avast anti virus. its free and finds more viruses and worms than norton.

http://www.download.com/Avast-Home-Edition/ 3000-2239_4-10337351.html?tag=lst-0-1

i had norton 2004, it hogged my system resources and screwed things up. after i let it auto-update itself and run a full system scan, i deleted it and installed avast anti virus. avast updated itself, ran a full system check (which norton did before it) and avast found 4 viruses, a worm and a couple compromised system restore files. my computer showed no signs of these issues and i was in shock that they were there at all. as a result, i've been using avast ever since and highly recommend it.

theres a program called starter, that will list everything that loads up when your computer starts up, so i just use that and check it occasionaly to make sure no wierd programs are running

i had avasti, i didn't like it....it as a worse hog than norton was....i'm using PCZillian....i like it much more.....and i started to do the windows update, but it keep giving me weird sites......i'm kinda hesitant to do that anyways b/c i downloaded it with the previous instal first thing, restarted, and upon the restart had so much spyware and adware i couldn't do anything....i don't know if it was coincidence or not....

the auto windows update doesnt automatically install service pack 2 anymore...least it didnt do it to me rather

my auto update is turned off.....i hate the stupid reminders it pops up with, plus i want to know what's being installed on my computer....i don't want the os doing it by itself....

i went ahead and installed sp2 and i'm hoping that fixed it....it's behaivng so far, but it's only been a few hours.....

that sp2 does fix a crapload of bugs. :nod:

i had avasti, i didn't like it....it as a worse hog than norton was
O_o wow.. my system has never run better since i got avast. maybe its the settings i have it on. *shrugs*

i dunno....it's working ok now....i've got PCZillian and i love it.....very good protection, firewall that doesn't interfere with FFXI, and uses very little system resources....

hmm, i should look into it. ^_^

ok, well, everything seems to be working....except that last night, my connection just stopped.....no reason, and nothing wrong with my modem....i'm hoping it doesn't happen again, b/c it was doing that with the last install......i thought it was spyware, but i'm not sure now.....

last time my computer kept slowing down like that i discovered that i didn't have any of my windows updates installed...after i installed them my pc works just peachy. except when i installed service pack 2....it made my computer crash. when i got it fixed i discovered taht my hard drive was dying...and then it died

it was a lovely funeral. who catered it again?

hardware problems are such a pain in the ass.

PCZillian...isnt it jsut PCillian? cause if it is i had that and it was a piece of shit...i had to reformat my computer 2 months later cause it deleted all my system files...it has no ignore option

my grandpa has an excellent program, that removes stuff that has recently been downloaded to your computer if you say it shouldnt be there

well, this one does have ignore options if you configure it right....i love it.....i've got spybot's teatimer that tells me when something wants to change the registry so i can deny that.....the PC-cillian's firewall, which works good....so i'm doing ok so far.....

I know im late on this issue but Just wanna ask....your not running a server off the PC your using right? Becuse it sounds kinda like your getting DoSed. I might be wrong. But if you getting cut off from the internet alot it might be some jerk that has your IP just sending you packets over and over again till get kicked or loose service.

Anyway XP blows. Their SP2 has a few Micro$oft spyware things in it to monitor what you’re downloading now. They also added in a few new things to prevent pirated versions of windows from floating around. In my PC assembly class we had to install windows XP and also go to there site and read all the new updates in SP1 and SP2. SP2 really does fix a lot of bugs but it also cuts your private way down.


In my opinion get Linux ;)

no, no server.....i don't want to mess with that....and XP is ok....i miss Win98 though....the only reason i'm using XP is gaming....^_^;....

In my opinion get Linux ;)
i would but it won't play my games or run photoshop. ;_;
*curses linux for not busting out into the video game industry with a console*

wouldn't that be nice tho? you could play your game on the system or in your computer? ^_~ *waits for the future*

@Dubird - ic ok lol. Ya I dont use XP only on my laptop. I got win98 on one of my PCs and got like Linux (mandrake), OS2, DOS and MenuetOS. lol As you can see I like the Old OSs. I find Win98 to be very good.

@Sledgstone there are a few programs you can get to run your games on linux but ya most wont run and some wont ever be ported to Linux :( o well.
As for a real system...get an Xbox buy a Mod chip and put Linux on it. Then just download or burn games and play them xD you got a computer with Linux and a game system all in one ;)

@Sledgstone there are a few programs you can get to run your games on linux but ya most wont run and some wont ever be ported to Linux :( o well.
As for a real system...get an Xbox buy a Mod chip and put Linux on it. Then just download or burn games and play them xD you got a computer with Linux and a game system all in one ;)nice. ;) i remember the linux package w/harddrive for PS2 also. i thought about it after i made my post. ;)

XP utterly destroys most other os's out there except for linux

If you hate XP, blame the computer illiterate, which has to have things like computer security shoved down their throat by OS programmers. I think if Microsoft just came out with a Windows Advanced version that is for high-end users that gives complete control of the system, yet with high compatibility.....

Dubird: when you run ad-aware or whatever anti-spyware you have, do you scan system drive only or do you do a complete scan? (Actually, this is kind of a stupid question....)

If you still can't get your internet to work properly, try using Dial-Up and see if it still exhibits the same problems...Also, try "Netlimiter", as though it's primary function is to control bandwidth of individual programs, i've also found it a good tool to see EVERY system process using your internet, and good for detecting rogue processes...

Also, i would rather recommend AVG Anti-Virus....very "to-the-point" no-frills thing.

excuse me, but i am not computer illiterate......and i don't really like XP.....i DISPISE the home edition, however, i will admit i'm getting used to the pro edition......the main reason i don't like is because there's still a lot of security holes.....98 was around and worked on for so long they managed to plug probally almost every problem......i think XP pro could match that, but not for a while.....it just needs some time....

as for running scans, i scan everything......i do that at least once a week.....and for some reason, everything was working fine since the last install until a couple days ago.....my internet is slowing up again, and i'm getting the occasional bad page like before.....-_-.....

i've never used XP home edition.. i don't even know the differences between the different versions. O_o;; we've been using the XP pro edition ever since we got XP. but to me, it sounds to me like your ISP might be having DNS problems and aren't admitting to it. :\

XP home was written for the computer illiterate.....you can't change very many settings, it's made so that idiots won't mess something up by accident....so you're very limited in what you can do, espically when you're dealing with networks.....

and it can't be the ISP because my roomate uses the same one....he has his own cable modem he's paying for, and he has no problems.....

XP home must seriously suck. O_o; i wonder what the hell could be on your computer screwing it up.. :\ maybe its a hardware issue.. have you tried changing your cat 5 network cable?

XP Home does suck i'll grant that... and i heard the biggest difference was that Pro was 32-bit and Home only 16 or something like that....

(i didn't say all the computer literates liked xp...i was implying that they wouldn't simply because most of it was made for the illiterate.)

Have you tried using the "repair connection" in the LAN-properties of the CP? (Another stupid question, but it's fixed some of my problems) Replacing the cat5 may be the best course of action, though, as Sledge suggested....perhaps even your coaxial (though i really would doubt it would be that serious)

yep, tried that.....have talked to various computer people here and on other forums....no one knows what's causing it....i thought about getting the IP for the DNS server from my ISP....but that's only for static IPs, which I don't have....