Weird computer issue

Quote from j_medved:

BTW, can I have the old one if you get a replacement? :)
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I wouldn't want anyone to see my kiddie porn files and report me. (Just kidding of course)

Also, forgot to mention it the first time - AdAware and probably others flag cookies as "questionable" files. If thats the only thing you get when you re-run a scan, then that is not a problem. Cookies are just text files. They will not affect the performance or functionality of your computer [/QUOTE]

I read some stuff on spyware, and it was my understanding that it can really screw up your system and make it do all kinds of weird things. (That's why I assumed it was a spyware problem initially.) Don't those spyware programs actually delete the questionable files?
 
Toonces,

Check the Keyboard port as well, to which you plug your keyboard in. You could have a bent pin from the original keyboard, that may be stuck in the keyboard port receptacles. If this is the case, even your new keyboard won't be making all the requisite pin connections properly.

It sounds very much to be keyboard-related.

If it isn't that, I would suggest that you start swapping out components one-at-a-time, trying to isolate the problem. Early candidates should include:

- Your keyboard (already mentioned)
- Your mouse
- Memory cards (do them one by one)
- Your video card
- Your motherboard (not easily swappable)

Good luck ! Aren't computers a load of fun ????
 
Quote from Toonces:
I read some stuff on spyware, and it was my understanding that it can really screw up your system and make it do all kinds of weird things. (That's why I assumed it was a spyware problem initially.) Don't those spyware programs actually delete the questionable files? [/B]
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Spyware is software, and yes, it can screw things up. Cookies are not software. Cookies are simple text files that are left on your computer by sites that you visit, so next time when you visit a site, it can get the file and thus present you with personalized content. For example, when you select to save a password when logging in on various sites, that password is encrypted, then stored in a cookie by the site on your computer. There is no way that a cookie can do damage. The reason cookies got a bad name is that some ad sites used them to uniquely identify a user (store a unique number in the cookie) then when a site served an ad, the ad company would see who it is, get info on the user from the site serving the ad, then update its internal database on the person. That got a lot of people scared because these ad networks aggregated data from many different sites thus collecting very extensive databases on people. However, that is not being done by the major ad networks anymore (and you would have to be a major ad network to really do this), and it never posed any risk to your computer in the first place.

AdAware and others flag spyware for deletion, but they also flag cookies. You will get cookies whenever you browse the web, which is the most likely reason you always saw the spyware detection software find something with every scan. Next time, look in more detail at what was found. If its just cookies, then no big deal. If its some software, registry settings, etc, then its a different story.
 
Quote from Banjo:

All these periphials have drivers, they get screwed up or dropped completely sometimes. Post your operating system/cpu/ Dell model etc.
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Win 2K, P4 1700, 512MB Ram, Dell 340 Workstation.
 
Quote from Toonces:

Yes I have a cable connection, so it's always on.
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Have you tried typing with your cable modem disconnected? With no internet.

Maybe possible you have a trojan horse that wasn't picked up by virus software.
If your cd-rom door opens up at weird times...thats a good sign too.

Hey! This is my 1000th post. Took me lmost 3 years.:)
 
Quote from Toonces:

As usual, Dell support is of no help on a problem I'm having. But I'm going to have to buy a new computer if I can't figure this out, so I thought I'd post here to see if anyone else had this problem.

Every so often, I am unable to type anything onto a screen. For example, I was trying to send a message to a company online the other day. I would get a few sentences down, and either the keyboard would start outputting all caps (the cap lock button not on) or I couldn't type anything at all, or the message would just disappear. Often when this is happening, I am getting a clicking sound from the computer, kind of like when you click on an link to go to another page. But I am getting the clicking sound a few times a minute. It's almost like the computer is busy doing something when I'm trying to type. This isn't just happening within Internet Explorer; it happens in trading software, where I can't type in a symbol, change a price, etc.

I assumed I was having spyware problems, and maybe I am, but I now have a firewall, I keep running Spybot and Spyhunter (no matter how often I run these, I always have suspicious files), as well as antivirus software, and still having a problem.

Any ideas? Thanks
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why dont you just reformat and re-install everything.
 
That default clicking sound you hear may be a program repeatedly closing and opening. Go to sound manager and find out exactly what that sound is for on your PC. Go into windows task manager and see what processes are running . Maybe also motherboard problem?
 
Apparently it was a problem with the keyboard and/or mouse ports. I got absolutely no help from Dell support. I ended up contacting http://www.888geekhelp.com

Took less than 1/2 hour, after a couple of unsuccessful troubleshooting attempts, the guy said that possibly my keyboard and mouse ports were going bad. (Sounds pretty obvious to me now) He suggested getting a new keyboard and mouse with USB ports, and using those ports instead of the PS2 ports. I didn't even realize you could put the keyboard and mouse in different ports. Working great now.
 
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