Please help, my computer goes rogue on me

Since you mentioned that you dropped the laptop, the first thing I would test is the hard drive. Run a chkdsk with sector recovery turned on. Should this indicate that any data was moved to a "safer" area on your hard drive, you should then count your blessings that your hard drive hasn't crashed...yet. Then immediately replace it, maybe with an SSD drive, if the funds exist.

The reason behind checking the hard drive as the problem is simple. A bad sector on the hard drive will cause it to slow down computer access while it is trying to write and/or read from the sector, until a timeout point is reached. During this try/retry period, the rest of the computer is stuck waiting for the hard drive to respond with a success or failure. You may also find evidence of the error in your system's error log.

Take a USB keyboard, plug it into the laptop and see if the keyboard issue act up.

If it doesn't, the possibility that the laptop keyboard has spoiled due to the drop is pretty real.

If it does, then the controller is acting up and the motherboard may be damaged by the faull.

Dont know if this will help,but worth a try>plug in a spare keyboard in your spare usb port,and use this in place of the one on your laptop,if this works without any hitches,then it looks like a key contact problem on your compaq..maybe corrosion inside?

As an independent tech at a flea market I see many problems caused by users or their little children and pets. I may lose some business but I do not believe that cheaping out ever is a fix, especially for a laptop. So think, this is a keyboard problem, the most credible action is to replace the keyboard which most people can do thierself. One source is http://www.laptoprepairparts.com and then there is always Ebay. You may want to remove the old keyboard first after downloading and printing the tech manual, so you can have the manufacturer's part number.

Laptops are built fairly rugged so if dropping it doesn't crack the LCD, then there's probably nothing wrong with the hardware. This sounds more like a Malware issue. Run HD diags first to ensure the shock didn't mess it up. Then try using Tune-up Utilities 2009.(Search Cnet Download.com for it) You can use full version for 30 days. It has a feature called one click maintenace or something to that effect. You don't have to be a techie to use it.

Try This: Download and Install A-Squared Free or A-Squared Emergency USB Stick, and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware too. Once you have Installed, run this tools one by one, until you have removed that malware. There is no matters if you have to reboot by a lot of times. The only thing that you need is delete such kind of viruses. It worked great for me. Good Luck!

Lawtimes74.

The keyboard will stop responding when the CPU is being fully utilized. Since you report that this all started after you dropped the computer, I would guess that it is hardware related. My two best guesses are that you damaged the surface of the hard drive when it hit the floor, or you dislodged a memory stick.

Start with the easiest thing. Remove the memory chips and reinstall them to make sure they are seated well in your computer.

The second thing I would do is run CHKDSK utility and have it do a surface scan. After the scan is complete, check the logs to see if it found any bad sectors. If it did, you might want to back up your data and reinstall your OS and programs.

Yes, it could be other things, but this is where I would start before I took it to a shop.

The problem, no doubt, was due to the fall. Hard drives do not like those kind of things.

The symptom is a Windows' trick. Windows totally stops what it is doing when it doesn't get the answer it is looking for. In this case, it is looking for something on your hard drive and the system stops responding until it times out. A lot of times it will give an error code, a lot of times it won't. If you know how to view the Event log, you may find the error in there. (Open Computer Services.Event Viewer). Note, unless you have a list of Event numbers and their meaning (available on the web with a search), it won't mean much, except it does log the time of the event so you can relate the errors that way.

The first thing to do is to backup all your data including mail and configuration files. That is a big job in itself and I can't tell you exactly how to do it not knowing your system.

Start by opening Windows Explorer and copying your profile (usually a folder with your name on it). Then the ALL USERS folder. Note some system files will not copy but they are not needed.

During this process you may try to copy a file or folder that is damaged and get an error. If it is an important file/folder you may have to get a recovery program like ZAR to recover those files.

Your data files are the only things you can't replace. All the config stuff is recreatable, albeit, a PITA.

Run CHKDSK /F on your drive from the RUN box and hope that it can find and fix the problem. If it finds and corrects a problem, the data files it may create are pretty much useless so don't worry about them. You may find that after the operation you will have to reinstall something, because that was where the problem was and it no longer is readable.

If that does not fix the problem, you may need to clean the drive off by deleting and recreating partition(s), and reformat it, then reinstall your system. During the format process if it finds bad sectors, it should flag them and use any spares that are available.

If that process doesn't complete, then it is time to order an new hard drive - You wanted to upgrade that old one anyway, right!

Looks like the drop has caused a possible bad connection on the RAM module or other connection, remove & re-seat the RAM.

Find your ram sticks and be sure they are seated properly. Kinda wonder if adhesion between cpu,heat spreader and/or fan dislodged. Checking manual find heatsink/spreader/fan. Your manual hopefully will show how to remove areas of case and perhaps keyboard. Also how to access ram bay, Laptops can be taken apart....IF you can be delicate, use correct drivers and always ASSUME the component is connected with a VERY short ribbon cable and you will **** the clip. Never ever, not at ANY time force or lever. Find the clip holding it. Should the manual that came with it not be sufficient, look online. Gut feeling here is RAM with heat issue close 2nd. Look in bios and manufacturers software for environment applications; get CPU temp, get amount of ram and compare to specs minus reserve for display and OS. Lappie bounce tests can get pricey.

I am not a technician, but I would say dropping your laptop is the answer, they are not meant to be dropped, and the damage has been done. Laptops I do know are expensive to fix, don't bother and buy a new one. From what I can understand your laptop was working without any problems prior to dropping it, and after that it started playing up - buy another one, don't waste your money on repairs.

Saskia Cornell

Here's one thought: One of the most fragile components of a laptop is its keyboard. When you dropped it you may have infinitessimally damaged the keyboard operation. Unluckily, these fragile keyboards are almost impossible to service. Luckily, laptop keyboards are relatively inexpensive (under $50) and easy to replace (you can find instructions online and do it yourself).

I guess you already know that, as you have mentioned dropping the computer on the hardwood floor. If you have an HDD activity light indicator, you will probably notice that during this period of computer "hanging" your HDD light would probably be ON most of the time. This occurs when your HDD is either using the virtual memory file or when it tries to read something from the HDD and it needed several retries to get to that sector, thereby causing your PC to stop/pause all other i/o (input/output) devices like your keyboard. You might want to scan your hard disk for bad sectors, or better yet, reformat to find out if it is still usable... This happened to a HDD of mine, wherein my daughter dropped the PS/2 with a hard drive while it was active, it still seemed to work afterwards, but was crashing most of the time. I reformatted it, but it found lots of bad sectors, and eventually found its way to the FAT sectors, rendering it useless after I tried formatting it... Althought I could be wrong, as laptop hard drives usually are more tolerant of shocks, but the only component that would be affected by a non-distructive fall (if there were no cracks on the LCD or casing) of a laptop would be the the hdd...

Well basically the drop didn't help matters...and it might of
uncovered a problem that was about to happen.

What do I mean? A loose connection, bad soldering on a internal
part might have been "getting ready" to act up. When the laptop
was dropped, it brought these "possible problems" to the "front"
or increased their "odds" of occurring more often.

Also, they type of issue you are describing is not a "software
type" of issue.

One area to focus on is maybe the keyboard. On laptops, the keyboard
comes out in one piece and can be replaced. Some are tricky to do,
others are quite easy. The keyboard should not cost that much (if
it can be verified that it is the problem). If you do not feel ok
about replacing the keyboard, a service center can do it for a small
fee (it should not cost that much).

Opening up the laptop might be your only option to see if you can
find any issues. Some of this you can do yourself. Visually look
at where the "impact" of the laptop was and carefully inspect it
for any possible damage. Sometimes there are screws that can be
removed, so one can look inside. If you do not feel "comfortable"
doing this type of work, you will have to take it to the shop for
them to look at it. If you take it to the shop, just ask for a
diagnosis, and what it might cost before they do any work. Also.
make sure to tell them not to replace anything! Why? If it is a
small part...ok...but if it is a main part like the motherboard,
you might find yourself "further ahead" buying a new laptop instead!

If you get a new laptop, you can have your information transferred
over from your old laptop...but if you get the same kind of laptop
that you currently have, you might be able to put in the hard drive
from your old laptop into your new one (and you would have a spare
hard drive too)!

Good luck! Intermittent issues are the hardest to fix.
My recommendation is to buy the same kind of laptop and "swap" out
the hard drives. I think any "fixing" of the problem...unless you
can find the "exact" issue (where you can have the problem go away,
and reproduce it to come back), this "rogue" issue will re-appear
at sometime later on.

Hope this helps!
Cheers!

Download combofix from combofix.org

Follow the prompts and it will take up to 25 minutes to clean your pc.

Thank me later

If I was a betting man and I'm not there are only 2 reasons for your particular problem-Your's Is a common Problem with Laptops-Keyboards in particular-The fact you Dropped It makes the Exact solution a bit harder BUT-that being said 1)Sticking Keys-this is SO COMMON with laptops due to the compact nature of their design-best cleaning method is a GOOD cleaning of your Keypad(with some EASY Partial Disassembly)-Go to your manufactures website:get the Technical Specs on your L-Top-find the instructions for Keyboard replacement they show-treat It as If You are Replacing,Instead JUST CLEAN IT once It's sepaerated from case-8-10 times this is The FIX 2)Secondly in rare cases more commonly with Macs than PCs-Keyboards can change their default languages-Causing odd characters wierd behavior ETC-Check your Keyboard Layout Language and make sure It's correct for your laptop/Region and Language requirements(Don't know if your question was answered or not-Did not have time to read other responses-Extremely Busy week-)

I'm no laptop expert, but what you describe is mechanical damage. Could be as simple as a loose connector or as bad as a cracked circuit board. The cost to fix it depends on what it is and how hard it is to get to, but it will almost certainly get worse until the computer can't be used at all. If you are comfortable with taking it apart, it may be obvious what the problem is. Otherwise, get help.

Mike,

I would turn your laptop over and open the back up exposing the memory chips, pop each one out and re-seat it. Maybe the drop worked something loose inside the laptop. I would work simple first. Like memory and harddrive.

Regards,
Scott

First of all what you said tells us everything. You dropped the computer. So why run antivirus software to fix that? They won't fix anything that is physical and they won't fix anything that is related to software issues other than virus/malware/adware etc. Shaking the computer jeeze us that's definitely not going to help the problem either. It is a hardware issue. You may have damaged the keyboard or possibly the hard drive, often these things are intermittent and jostling the computer around will only make things worse. A connection inside maybe damaged and only fails once the computer is warmed up. Suggestion #1 stop shaking the computer. If it is intermittent do a hard reboot and see if that helps. If you did damage something internally eventually it will fail once and for all. Without looking inside and testing the hardware no way of telling.

If the laptop was dropped onto a hard surface, Then there is a possibility that when you dropped it, You shook a connection or two loose or something simpler like that. Or it could be something as bad as a fracture or a break in the motherboard which would then be better off replacing the laptop. Especially if it is an older computer. Or maybe the hard drive was damaged in the drop. I hope it is an easy simple fix for you and sorry I couldn't be of better help.

Why don't you try opening up the laptop and slotting in the hard drive nicely, sometimes the hard drive might not work properly if the connection id slack.

My first suggestion would be that the keyboard has come loose. If you have a spare keyboard to hand the next time it happens, try plugging it in and seeing if the laptop responds to the new keyboard (rather than the normal keyboard). If it does then chances are the ribbon connecting the keyboard to the motherboard inside the laptop has come loose. Quite often these are very easy to repair using guides found on the Internet. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself ask a friend or relative, or it looks like it may a trip to "hospital"!

Having said that, it may not be the only answer and someone else may have more knowledge about it than me.

This probably won't be what you want to hear, but I dropped my last laptop which was a Compaq on a tiled floor in Spain and it never worked properly again after that. In the end I had to buy a new one. Luckily I was able to save all my pics etc on a memory stick. If you do need to get a new one I would advise either Dell or Advent as I had had a load of trouble with the Compaq one and it was in fact a replacement for an earlier Compaq which was even worse!

The best answers suggested plugging in an external keyboard to see if the problem followed ANY keyboard, or only the on-board keyboard.

should be handled with care.....I know accidents happen but you really should make sure you have a good grip on your laptop before trying to pull it out of the case, that being said you could check the keyboard cable and make sure it's not loose, try a new keyboard, try a new HD, you could try several things and none of them may work, my best suggestion is since you're using a 3 year old "Compaq" go out and get a new laptop, maybe a gateway or a dell, even some of the acers are good. I've always seen compaq as low level garbage....it's made by HP but I don't even trust HP's products anymore. Make sure you read up plenty on the model you plan on purchasing before doing so, a lot of systems recently seem to have quite a lot of quirks about them.

I too feel that it is the keyboard that is giving you the problem, not the cpu, memory, or hard drive.

Get the thing opened and look first at the connector to the motherboard to be sure that it is seated firmly. Look to see if the cable is pinched between something or has a tear or a sharp depression in the ribbon where an inner wire might be partially broken inside the cable.

Also be sure there are no loose parts like a screw, or broken component. Check very carefully looking for anything that moves or rattles.

Hi, I'm familiar with this model of laptop. From past experiences with them I've found that if they're dropped or jarred violently that sometimes the small ribbon cables and their mating connectors can become dislodged. Also there's one or two screws on the bottom of the laptop case that hold the keyboard down as well as slide latches at the top by the F keys. I would remove the screw(s) and release the latches and inspect the keyboard/Ribbon for damage or dislodging. Keyboards can usually be had on EBay for $5 or so. That's a small price to pay to end the aggravation if that's the issue. I would replace it on general principal. Repetitive keys or keys not working at all points to a keyboard issue, likely a cracked circuit board. Hopefully it's not a damaged motherboard as that's about the biggest repair expense aside from replacing the Display.