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Junior Member
Vista Problems
Hi there, I'm having some problems with my Acer Aspire 3690 laptop that came equipped with Windows Vista Basic.
Apparently there's this error out where people cannot update their computers. I believe it's error 80073712. I've Googled it and tons of people have been asking about this error.
My computer only has 1.6 Ghz and 512MB RAM. Ever since this error has occured with the updates, my laptop has become extremely sluggish. I can't even listen to my Media Player while browsing; the music keeps stopping. I also think that I may have too many services running, but am not computer literate enough to know which ones are safe to disable. I know some are, but most of them, I have no idea what they're really for....
I only have Norton and Windows Defender starting up at the beginning as well. I just don't know what to do. Ever since I've had my laptop, I've been very disappointed with the performance of it. Is it Vista? I've adjusted the visuals for best performance, too. I'm trying to keep things from taxing my system too much, but I'm at my wits end! I just want to safely and comfortably be able to surf online and maybe listen to a little music while doing so...I don't think that's much to ask. This thing is new. So I'm just wonderin' if there's a Vista tweaking program out there, or if any of you computer dudes can hook me up with some help. I'd be so grateful. I just want my $750 dollars worth to actually work. And I'm not even expecting THAT much out of this thing. Thanks for the read and attention.
EDIT:: Oh yes, and I did contact Microsoft about it. I recieved some SMALL support, but none of their options worked for me. Which included deleting certain registry keys, renaming a couple files in my Windows folder, and something else with the command prompt. Needless to say, none of these options have worked. I guess Microsoft hasn't fixed this error yet. I hope they do soon. But I still need help with getting my system running it's best possible. *sigh*
Last edited by PrincessMisery; 07-10-2007 at 06:15 PM.
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Stark Raving MOD
Vista with 512MB ram is slow. That's part of the problem right there. You should have at least 1GB if not more.
Run MSconfig to see what else is running at startup.
Which Norton product are you talking about? If you're talking about NIS, that is a major memory hog.
Make sure that your time zone and date are correct. That will prevent winupdates from running properly.
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Senior Member
Ditto. Running any Vista version with 512MB RAM is optimistic; adding Norton to the package is sadistic. Worse, Acer offers the same laptop with 256MB. (http://global.acer.com/products/note...pec/Aspire.pdf)
The good news, such as it is, is that you can install up to 2GB of RAM in that laptop. I'd advise at least 1GB but 2GB would be ideal. You'd at least get some oomph to run all those Vista processes. Be patient, though, a single-core CPU running at 1.6MHz isn't powerful to begin with.
Replacing Norton with Avast or NOD32 antivirus program would help; AntiVir is a good one too, with a small footprint (it's free). Putting XP Pro on that would free up hard-drive space and it would run faster; but I bet you bought it for Vista in the first place.
Thank God we're not getting all of the government we're paying for!
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Junior Member
Oh heck no, I didn't even want Vista. All the laptops I was looking at in the stores all had Vista. Can I go back to XP on this then?
I figured it was due to my low RAM and stupid processor speed. I couldn't afford a higher priced lappy though. I guess I'll have to check into getting more RAM, I need that anyways. But...yeah, about XP, can I put that on here?
Oh, and I guess I should say bye-bye to that Norton, then, aye?
Last edited by PrincessMisery; 07-10-2007 at 08:17 PM.
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Junior Member
Oh one more thing...if I get NOD32, Antivir, or those other ones, what firewall should I use then?
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Stark Raving MOD
Sounds like you were running NIS and Vista with only 512MB ram. Yikes.
There are quite a few freebies fws out there. Comodo seems to work pretty well. Heck, it's not going to cost you anything to try.
Antivirus/Antispy
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Junior Member
Well I've got NOD32 now. Got rid of Norton. So I guess I'll go look up what Comodo is... Now I just need a decent firewall. *sigh*
I appreciate ya'lls help tons and tons.
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Ultimate Member
I think the only free FW that supports Vista for now is Zonealarm . The others should be coming around with support , but when is anyones guess . I've always had decent results with ZA for home use . If you use a router your pretty safe anyways , as long as you practice safe hex .
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Senior Member
Run the Norton removal tool, just to make sure you delete all the hidden files. Uninstalling isn't enough, the new A/V will see any quarantined files left from Norton otherwise.
As far as putting XP on that laptop, it shouldn't be a problem. You should be able to put the XP disk in and boot from it, then choose the Vista partition to install to; choose to format the partition with NTFS (not the quick format). If for some reason you get a message saying "the operating system on the CD is older than the one installed, Vista has disabled it (you shouldn't get this), you can use a Win98 boot floppy to format with FDISK first, then boot with and install XP from the CD.
BTW, if you do install XP you could make do with the XP firewall. It's not the best - it only protects inbound traffic, not potential outbound stuff like from updaters, worms, etc. - but it's better than nothing. There are more third-party firewalls compatible with XP than there are at the moment for Vista.
Thank God we're not getting all of the government we're paying for!
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Junior Member
Thanks so much for your help, guys. I'll go try some things and come back and letcha know how I'm doin'. Thank youuuu. Ohh and thanks for lettin' me know about that norton removal tool.
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Senior Member
You're quite welcome.
Thank God we're not getting all of the government we're paying for!
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Junior Member
Well, so far I have Avast Antivirus and the free version of ZoneAlarm Firewall. I couldn't use that Comodo firewall because it's not for Vista.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up going to XP on this thing. I'm just tired of Vista. Too much trouble, when I can just start up my computer, turn on some tunes and surf around with the more stable XP. Good God, I'm so unbelievably tired and I have heartburn like hellfire. No tums around. Oh my, can't sleep. Feeling horrible. Sorry. But thank you. If any of you feel that Avast Antivirus or ZA Firewall isn't the best option for me right now, please do let me know. I'll be sure to check back here soon.
Thank you.
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Stark Raving MOD
oops. forgot about the vista part.
Avast and ZA should tide you over for now.
Kaspersky Internet Security works on Vista, but it's not free.
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Senior Member
Thank God we're not getting all of the government we're paying for!
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Junior Member
Ya'll have been so helpful to me. I just want to thank you. I thank goodness that I found this forum. Everyone's so nice and helpful. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.
Does Kaspersky use up a lot of resources? Is that the full bundle of security or just antivirus or firewall? Are there options for the full security, firewall by itself, or antivirus by itself? If so, would the full security be too much for my laptop? Is there one that's better than the other. Like firewall better than their antivirus?
I'm sorry, I feel like I'm asking too much. I'd just really like to know. :\
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