So it's been a while since I've updated this thing. I guess I just haven't been very talkative lately. I have been quite busy with school since September, so that might account for some of the lack of posting. I have also moved since then, and that made things a bit chaotic.
I have been having some problems with this laptop lately. I tried installing Windows 7 a few months ago, and I noticed that it slowed the internet on my laptop down to a crawl (I was getting maybe 1.5mb/s download). It definitely had something to do with my laptop in particular, and I am sure it was the wireless (since it was saying something about not having a correct driver). I said 'fuck that shit' and uninstalled Windows 7 and reinstalled Vista (which was a severely annoying process, of course). The problem went away for a bit, and then I installed some updates for Vista, and it happened again. Most of the updates were insignificant (like Windows Defender updates), but there was one that was a Platform Update (the KB number ended in 44) that was the likely cause since it was the only thing that had more than just minor updates (and I believe I read something in the description about it having to do with the wireless). At this point I had Vista Home Basic back on my computer, and I had access to a free copy of Vista Business through the university (which is how I got Windows 7), so I decided I would install that. I installed it and everything was okay for a while. After a bit, the internet slowness started again. I have been looking into it ever since. Lately, according to other customers, my ISP has been experiencing some problems with lag and stuff, but that doesn't completely account for it (other computers in the household are not experiencing the same problems this computer is). Combining whatever the problem is with the problems the ISP are having leads to me being very, very pissed off. I have been told everything from "optimize your internet" to "powercycle your modem and router", but neither has worked.
Now I will bring up the virus/malware my computer seems to be infected with, which may or may not be connected to the internet problems (I would like it if it was since that would mean I know the cause of the problems). I noticed that recently, whenever I do a Google search and click on a link in the results, it will redirect me to some advertising page. It is really annoying because it happens 2 out of 3 times I search. I have done virus scans, spyware scans, a rootkit scan, etc. but nothing has come up so far. I've also cleared my Windows and browser cache, my cookies, my recycle, etc. I currently have a thread going on in the Tech Support Forums here, in case someone who is reading this is having the same problem. I really hope it does something to improve the problem with my internet. But it seems to me like my investment in Norton has been pretty useless, since it hasn't even picked up on whatever is wrong with my computer. I keep reading that one of the main culprits for viruses is uTorrent and BitTorrent. I would really, really hate to have to give up downloading torrents. But I doubt I would give it up. I just need to stop downloading pirated software.
On a pretty random note, I have decided to install Ubuntu on my desktop again. I installed Win XP Professional on my desktop (I had dual boot Ubuntu and Win XP Home) because it was also free from the university, and I had to reformat really badly, and it installed over Ubuntu for some reason. It's going to suck having to configure it all again, but hopefully they have improved it since I used it last. I am most worried about the wireless support, since I could not get it to work last time, and I don't have the option of using a wired connection with where the computer is located. So, hopefully that goes okay.
Well, I am bored. Slightly hungry as well. I also must check on my Ubuntu download. I have been hanging around on the DSL Reports forum lately for some reason. It is a good place for DSL broadband internet questions, concerns, reviews and other stuff. It is the unofficial support forum for my ISP and they're really quite helpful. It's Canadian and American, so I highly recommend it if you're having problems with your internet. They do non-ISP caused problems as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment