not sure if it will help but thought it might help someone besides me.
Posted by: Zer0 aug,11,2003
I am in a headlock in big way. I have a family members computer that hangs up while connecting or beginning to surf the internet with a dial-up connection. It's an HP Pavilion, XP Home SP1, AMD 1.4 Athalon with only 128 MB RAM. Every time I try to connect to the internet, the computer hangs. I can sometimes get a page or two to load and just when I think all is well, it locks up again. It seems to be OK with an ethernet connection through my router, but did have it hang up twice while almost finished downoading service packs and patches; about 10-15 minutes in, but it seems to surf OK. I have tried:
1. Restoring the system using system restore.
2. Uninstalling-reinstalling the modem and com ports.
3. Swapping the modem for another known good modem.
4. A new stick of 256 MB RAM.
5. Running Norton antivirus scan.
6. Spy Bot Search and destroy. (Home page was highjacked)
What's frustrating is that this something that should be really simple and is turning into a nightmare. Any suggestions?
*edit* and I tried a generic dial up connection bypassing Earthlink software and using IE.
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Posted by: anime-fan-man
Check your internet settings. Call your ISP, asap. Reset your router.Check all your cables and phone lines.
Good luck
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Posted by: Zer0
Thanks for the info.
Earthlink says it's HPs fault, HP says it's Earthlink.
I reinstalled the ISP software and nothing. It started locking up when surfing file shares on my other machines too so I guess the ethernet is not exempt from the problem as well. I am beginning to think I got a corrupt TCP/IP stack, but XP won't give the option to unistall the protocol, it's shaded out. The network components show up as 0.0 bytes too in Add/Remove Windows components. I am logged in as the Owner account. It's the only account choice available too so I am assuming I must have full Privledges. I use 98se for gaming and 2000pro at work so XP is treat for me right now.
I know it's not the router because my other machines on the network work OK.
It's the simple things that keep me entertained...ya know?
Appreciate the help.
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FROM THE HOUSTON CRONICLE'S SITE.
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Q. My computer is always locking up. When I bring up the task list I see a program called SAVENOW.EXE running in the process menu. When I kill it, my computer snaps back to life. What is this program, and can I get rid of it?
RESOURCES
Need computer help?
Check the Help Line archives.
See the Help Line Frequently Asked Questions One and Two.
Consult the Technology section Troubleshooting page.
A. Savenow is a program designed to run on your computer and monitor the Web sites you visit and the terms you type into search engines. This information is then used to bring you pop-ups with coupons and special offers relevant to your Web browsing.
It is also poorly written and consumes system resources in such a way as to cause constant system crashes and other PC problems.
The makers of the Savenow program say they never install their software without prompting the user, but I have seen instances where it mysteriously shows up on a system. This is because it piggybacks with other software programs like WhenUshop and Bearshare.
Always read the fine print on free software programs you download from the Net. And look at those little checkboxes. If you go with the default install on some of these free software packages, you never know what you are agreeing to.
To uninstall Savenow, simply go through the regular process of using the Add/Remove programs icon in the Control Panel.
Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:1575, old post ID:13203
It makes me so happy to come home to a decent computer after having to work with those. 
