Member Avatar for Brack

Hi all I'm having a big problem with my dell inspiron 8100 laptop. I recently reformated it and reinstalled winxp home. Now when I go online it freezes my whole computer up in about 3-5min. I'm using earthlink dial up, but also freezes using a T1 connection.

I have a PIII 1gig processor,
Nvideo geforce2go 32mb
integrated sound
512 ram

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

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A concise troubleshooting roadmap for the "freezes when online" problem reported by . ’s connection question, ’s Event Viewer suggestion and ’s Dell diagnostics idea point toward the right isolation strategy: separate software/driver causes from hardware faults by testing with minimal services, checking logs, and running vendor diagnostics.

Boot isolation and basic checks: boot into Safe Mode with Networking to see whether the freeze still occurs; stability there usually indicates a third‑party driver or service. Event Viewer (Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Event Viewer) should be scanned for Error/Warning entries timestamped at the freeze — note any references to network stack drivers (tcpip/ndis), modem drivers, or svchost. Useful command‑line checks from a command prompt:

ipconfig /all
ping -t 8.8.8.8
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
sfc /scannow

Interpretation: a continuous ping that starts failing before the freeze points to a network driver/hardware fault; repeated Event Viewer entries naming a driver or service point to the specific culprit (firewall/AV filter drivers often show up here).

Driver and software actions: replace generic Windows drivers with Dell‑provided chipset, NIC and modem drivers; uninstall third‑party firewalls/antivirus temporarily (these commonly install NDIS/TDI filters that can hang the stack). In Device Manager, disable NIC power‑management options. If the modem is an external or USB unit, reinstall the vendor driver rather than using the default.

Hardware and diagnostics: run Dell’s built‑in diagnostics (F12 → Boot to Utility Partition or Diagnostics) to exercise RAM, HDD and onboard NIC. If diagnostics pass but the problem persists even in Safe Mode with Networking, testing with an alternative adapter (USB or PCMCIA network card) will help separate motherboard/NIC hardware failure from OS/driver causes. BIOS updates and firmware changes are last‑resort measures; apply only with AC power and according to Dell’s instructions. Event Viewer entries captured at the freeze timestamp are the most actionable data for further analysis.

Recommended Answers

All 9 Replies

Member Avatar for MAD_DOG

Weird how are you connecting to the internet USB? or ethernet?

Member Avatar for Brack

I use a dial up connection earthlink. Robotics modem, and when i'm at work i use ethernet connection to T1.

Member Avatar for MAD_DOG

I don't know what to tell you there can be so many things wrong have you called Dell and I am sure someone on here can help you.

Member Avatar for DMR

Anything in your log files which might point to the source of the problem? Look in "Event Viewer" in your Administrative Tools menu and see if there are any messages or errors which occur right around the time of the freezes.

Member Avatar for alc6379

Have you run the Dell Diags?

If you just reformatted, and didn't blow away the hidden partition, you can hit F12 at boot, and see if there's a "Boot to Utility Partition" option. If there is, you can run the full diagnostic suite there.

Member Avatar for Brack

Thanks guys I'll try that stuff out and get back to u. I called dell and they were just going to walk me through reformatting it again. I didn't have the time to do that then, so i just put winme back on my comp and running that for now. I really like xp better but have to wait until I get some free time to reinstall xp.

Brack

Member Avatar for DMR

Erm, yeah- you don't really want to stick with ME for too long. It's sort of a bastard/stepchild OS with a lot of problems.

commented: Only W2k Server has an administrative tools menu, though there still is an event viewer in W2k pro only than in c:\windows -Yzk -4
Member Avatar for caperjack

Those Who like it like it alot !!just like that Bastard,stepchild i guess:)

Member Avatar for DMR

Those Who like it like it alot

Them folks is just plain loco is all. :mrgreen:

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