Member Avatar for BorderPeaks

I am really in a sort of hell here. I cannot get my 3 month old Toshiba notebook to shutdown/restart normally, and I have lost almost all functionality. It hung up on the process DLACTRLW.EXE which has to do with writing to the optical drive. I cannot get this "process" to end using Task Manager. Why not just pull the ac and then the battery and move on? When I restart after this sort of ritual suicide the reborn computer goes back to the same state where the various things that run in the background do not resolve themselves, and little to no cycle time is given to things like excel. It is impossible to access the internet, except that outlook can grab a new file if it is small. 50% of the cpu usage is for system processes and 50% is system idle processes. It is frequently accessing the hard drive, nothing positive ever happens.

  • 2 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 213 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by 'Stein

Dani AI

Generated

A background component that refuses to terminate at shutdown usually points to a stubborn startup item, driver or service rather than an ordinary app crash. documented the failure and eventual restore, and 's suggestion to check for malware is a sensible early check; the following adds non-destructive diagnostics and prevention steps for anyone who wants to try to salvage an install before resorting to a full restore.

First, inspect what actually owns the resource. Use a process/handle viewer (Process Explorer) to view the full process tree and find which process or kernel handle keeps a device or file open, and Autoruns to remove the corresponding autostart entry. A clean-boot (msconfig: disable non-Microsoft services and all startup items, then reboot) isolates whether a third-party startup item is the culprit. Check the Event Viewer (Application/System) for error entries at the times of the hangs — Event IDs and source names narrow the search quickly.

Repair and integrity checks come next if the install looks damaged: run sfc /scannow to restore protected system files and chkdsk /f /r to repair filesystem problems. For stubborn services, use sc stop <name> then sc delete <name> (from a recovery/Safe-mode command prompt) or remove the corresponding Run/RunOnce/Service registry entries after exporting a registry backup. If the disk is constantly thrashing, verify SMART health with a vendor tool and image any important data before making changes.

Prevention: avoid autorun bloat, keep device drivers and burn/utility software updated or replace with lightweight alternatives, and keep a current full-disk image so recovery is fast. When a repair install is acceptable, it preserves user data and programs and is less disruptive than a factory wipe — but a full image backup remains the safest first move.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for 'Stein

I would have your system checked for viruses.

Post in the Virus forum. ;)

Member Avatar for BorderPeaks

I would have your system checked for viruses.

Post in the Virus forum. ;)

Thanks for your interest. That there was a virus at fault is not likely, virus checking was done all the time by AVG, including email scanning. What seems to have happened, is that the program for writing to the optical drive, called Sonic, lost contol of itself over a trivial afront, - the wrong type of blank disk being inserted. I could never get this program to end, it would come back after every reboot, it would not close itself, nor could components of it be closed by task manager. The computer went down hill very quickly, soon I could not access files except in Safe Mode, ie "my computer", "my documents", "office" opens and saves would not work in normal XP. Toshiba support was of little or no help but they did always answer the phone right away. I put together an usb external drive with a kit from Compuserve and an hard drive from an old computer, (it worked wonderfully well, I'm going to make another one and they will be my redundent backup from now on), and I downloaded all my critical business files in safe mode. I was careful at first but everything went so well I was soon able to set it to work on gigabite size folders without a hitch although it took a long time ofcourse. Then I popped in the Toshiba recovery disk and set it to restore to the "out of the box state" as they called it. I then removed the afore mentioned Sonic program in all its merry guises. I am still loading on my useful programs, setting up network components, putting back tons of company records but by Wednesday morning I'll be ready to address all the things I needed to bust my fanny to catch up with on Monday. Who needs optically written cds/dvds, they don't last that long anyway, do they? Now I have my massive storage devices, the same size and heft as a compact hardback book. The weather here in Seattle has been great, so they tell me.
Anyway problem solved by capital punishment.

Member Avatar for 'Stein

Anyway problem solved by capital punishment.

Well said. ;)

Well, my apologies for not being able to fix, it, but I'm happy all's good now.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.