Computer problems

[Elviwen]

Well hai. I'm not so good with computers and I'm trying to figure out whats wrong with mine.

First problem
Whenever I start my computer, like a full reboot, and I open Firefox - my whole computer will start freezing out and not responding for like 5-6 minutes. After that, everything is back to normal and I can use it. However, if I open my Hotmail account, my firefox (only) will stop working for 5 minutes or less.

Second problem
I get blue screen from time to time and my computer crashes without any reason.

From what my friend told me, this should be my hard drive which causes the problem. But I'd like to have some more opinions.
I've got no clue what my harddrive is (Oh ye, totally newb), but I've been told it's pretty cheap one.
(Any chance I can find it somewhere?)

And last question, what should I upgrade first then?

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
4 GB ram (2x2)

Thanks in advance.

---------- Post added 2011-08-02 at 12:07 PM ----------

No one at all?

[Deleted]

Bump --

Sorry did not know I could not bump up ...
Just had a angry elviwen calling!!!

[vesseblah]

1) Bumping is not allowed here, that's why you cant do it without registering fake accounts
2) Sounds like virus related problem if the problem is mainly on the web browsing, or windows is really badly messed up. Would try to reinstall windows completely before going to the store and buying any new parts.

[Deleted]

Sounds to me like your computer is having a hard time cacheing information, so yes, it could be a hard disk problem.

Does it sound like the HDD is making any clicking noises or spinning up and down irregularly?

[Elviwen]

Yeah, I totally didn't bump it oO could be my friend who knew I made the post.
Was offline, napping, since I've been working from 4am.

And it does make a clicking noise when the computer is freezing out when FireFox is opened.
However, the crashing randomly isn't only when I'm on FireFox, that's happening even when its not opened.

Second, the upgrading part is kinda because I have to lower down my settings in wow so much atm.

[vesseblah]

And it does make a clicking noise when the computer is freezing out when FireFox is opened.

99% sure then harddisc is broken. Clicking noise is not normal and the disc can die at any moment, even two minutes from now, and everything saved on it will be permanently lost.

[Deleted]

Do you have a lot of startup processes? Is your harddrive full?

[Elviwen]

No and no, Rottended23.
Not even close to full actually.

Vesseblah - any good upgrades then?
Not that I'll be home the next month, but I rather buy it already.

[vesseblah]

Basically what you should do is buy a new harddisc, plug it in and take the old disc out. Then install windows and all your programs into the new disc, and finally when it's running, plug the old disc back in and copy over all your old files you want to rescue. Then format the old disc and run it through error scans to see if it can be used or does it need to be trashed already.

Since you didn't include exact details of the computer I'm assuming it has SATA connector or few, maybe even SATA2, and in that case the popular Samsung Spinpoint F3 (comes in 500 and 1000GB varieties) will be one good example of replacement disc. If the computer is really old it might be incompatible with SATA discs and then you have another problem of finding old HDD from some store.

Since the project is moderately complicated you really should have somebody there holding your hand while doing it, as it's not suitable for somebody who's "not so good with computers".

[Vermicious]

I'd recommend a RAM upgrade first. Of course, you should replace the hard drive before that, since it's likely to fail very soon.

If you have a USB key or external drive, I'd back up your important files NOW... burn to dvd if nothing else. The sooner you get a new hard drive the better!

[Elviwen]

I'd love to give more details, but I've got no clue tbh.

Maxtor - DiamondMax23 ? x'D
Really, just opened up the computer and checked ;p

EDIT
Got most of my stuff (important stuff at least) - back upped on my external drive for ages. Didn't want to take any risks regarding my computer.
Why the RAM upgrade?

[vesseblah]

I'd recommend a RAM upgrade first.

Complete waste of money. DDR2 sticks are getting painful to find and cost a lot, and 4GB of RAM is enough for all gaming purposes.

---------- Post added 2011-08-02 at 04:07 PM ----------

I'd love to give more details, but I've got no clue tbh.

EDIt: Maxtor - DiamondMax23 ? x'D
Really, just opened up the computer and checked ;p

If the cables going into the harddisc look like this:



Then the Samsung F3 I mentioned above will work without problems.

[Elviwen]

Err, I see 1 "flat" cable, orange, going into the harddrive.
(Don't mock the girl, I know how horrible I am with hardware.)

[vesseblah]

This cable would be the old style. You might have one going into the DVD drive, but if there's cable like this going to harddisc that will complicate matters.

[Elviwen]

OK it's not that for sure ;p
First one then I guess.

[Deleted]

how old is your harddrive?

[Elviwen]

A year if I have to guess.

[Vermicious]

A year if I have to guess.

If it's only a year old, it could be sent back to Manufacturer for warranty replacement. All drive manufacturers have at least a 3 yr warranty. However, I'd still buy a new drive first, then wipe (format) the old one before sending it back. Then you'd get back a working drive that you could use as a spare.

[vesseblah]

Yep, get new drive first, make sure all your stuff is working there and then return the old disc to warranty repair. Be 100% sure you rescue your old stuff to new disc first, because it will not be done for you if you return the computer for repair.

Another option would be buying an external USB disc and copy all files there, then send the computer for repair if it's still under warranty. You'll get it back with new working disc installed and can copy the stuff back from the external drive and keep it for backup purposes.

[Dashield28]

When was the last time you cleaned out your computer?

Open it up, take it outside (when it is not raining) and use a can of compressed air to dust the fans on teh CPU and anywhere else large clumps of dust are visible.