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General discussion

Vista Freezes after a few minutes of sitting idol.

Jun 11, 2010 3:51PM PDT

So this past week has been a nightmare. My Vista computer, my primary for school and fun, has started to freeze.

Here is the time line:
Early week LiveUpdate for Symantec Endpoint Protection was not updating correctly so I thought uninstalling the LiveUpdate would work. It didn't. I then tried uninstalling both LiveUpdate and SEP. Tried reinstalling and the installer would give me notification that it was interrupted and could not be completed. After closing the installed I got a SMC.exe has quit working and needs to be closed. Also, I started to get a EVTENG.exe has encountered a problem and needs to be closed. I ended up installing AVG 9.0 Antivirus, which I hate and want something like SEP again. I also attempted to back up my computers files but after leaving the computer idol while it performed this task it froze. I also cannot run an antivirus scan because I will leave my computer alone and it will still freeze. I have a thought that if I can get everything backed up I will install Win7. I have access to it through my college so getting it is not a problem. But I do like Vista.

Here are some tech specs for the computer:
Sony Vaio Laptop Model VGN-NW150J
Window Vista Home Premium x64
300GB Hard Drive
4GB RAM
AVG 9.0 Antivirus
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T6500 @ 2.10GHZ 2.10 GHZ
Also have a Bamboo Tablet

I'm a CNET major working towards a BIT with a concentration in Networking so I am pretty computer savvy but I don't know everything.

What could possibly be cause my computer to do what it is doing and how can I back up successfully and successfully run a scan for viruses?
Also, I bought the computer back in August of '09 so its less than a year old.

Thanks for the help.

Discussion is locked

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More to go on?
Jun 11, 2010 4:16PM PDT

Also, the exact time it takes to freeze from the time I stop using it is 15 minutes and 49 seconds. I was watching a movie hoping that it would not freeze while performing a back up operation. I am goin to resume my movie and see if it does it again.

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More info
Jun 11, 2010 4:20PM PDT

I also forgot to add that after getting AVG installed my internet browser started having problems. I was using Safari as my browser and I was notified of an updated browser version. 5. So i upgraded then when I would type an address and let safari bring up past URLs and autofill the URL I got a notice saying Safari has encountered a problem and needs to shut down. Well that kept me from even using my internet so I switch to firefox and almost got it like the Safari browser, the limit toolbar crap, url box, bookmar bar and screen etc. is what i liked about Safari. But now I am on firefox.