rhythmicsoapie Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Specs: Dell Studio 1555 laptop, dual core @2ghz, 3gb of RAM... Enough for this!My friend was gonna throw out his laptop (more money than sense) because he can't get it to start. So I've taken it off his hands and am repairing it.There is no CD or documentation included. I have a Vista CD and a legitimate key. I have downloaded all of the laptop drivers from Dell's website, onto a USB.Basically when I format the hard drive and install Vista the laptop is fine for a while (can enjoy a game of chess for example) once I install the wireless driver I can browse the internet etc.I am however unable to install anti-virus software (when I try AVG Free, the process terminates without warning after the "Please wait" screen).After a while of being connected to the internet, Windows Update will pop up telling me that there are 80 or so updates. When I follow the on-screen advice and try to install these, the problems really start; the computer will start running hideously slow, applications either take 20+ mins to run or else just don't work. Then upon restarting, an endless cycle of restarting begins. It also (crucially) deletes any system restore points I have created.My questions:1. Can Windows Update really be the cause? I am only installing "Important" updates.2. What order should I be doing these things in? This is the order I'm trying at the moment:a) format HDDb) install vistac) install driversd) install antiviruse) install windows updatesThis is very frustrating, and some of the strangest behavior I have seen from a computer.Any help is very welcome!I was thinking a hardware fault but on installing the drivers, device manager shows all clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Hi rhythmicsoapie Can Windows Update really be the cause? Yep. Could well be. Windows Vista Updates can be a complete pain in the butt sometimes.Turn off Auto-Update completely for the time being once you have installed Vista.Download: ** WSUS Offline Updater ** and download your Vista updates that way first.(Direct download for that is: ** HERE ** )"A" - Format Drive"B" - Install Vista"C" - Install Drivers"D" - Install Windows Updates from the download you have made with the "WSUS Offline Updater"(You will have managed this using the same computer with which you are communicating with us now.)"E" - Install Anti-Virus and all that sort of stuff after you have done the previous steps.(Could be that A/V is kicking in and holding things up.)I have never yet had one install of any particular operating system that has been similar to the last. - That's computers for ya ! When I have had problems similar to the one that you are having.......... The above is the way I have got around it !Try ** Avast Free Version ** in place of of AVG. Those people have done some weird and wonderful things with AVG free over the past 18 months. ( Vista, Windows Updates, AVG Free, - "Thou art both surely cursed, and a brave person". :P :lol: )Dual boot it with Windows ME and you'll have a real "goer" there. :)I'd be betting that it is AVG Free that is the problem here. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhythmicsoapie Posted April 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Thanks for the reply!I'm downloading that offline updater now... How does it work??Another question I was thinking about is, can Windows function without the updates? If I install an antivirus, are any of the updates absolutely necessary to the functionality of Vista? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Hi again. How does it work??Aaah Yes. You may have missed that part somehow. On the same page of the link I gave you it states: "To create update media, start the self explaining UpdateGenerator.exe application" On the other side of the page it says "Tutorials" and gives you a link to download a PDF tutorial.Yes Windows Vista will function without the updates.Non of the anti-virus updates in themselves will affect the functions of the Vista system.John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhythmicsoapie Posted April 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 That's a neat program!Unfortunately Updater wasn't the problem after all... This time, the slowdown/boot failures started when I was installing chipset drivers... I think either my Vista disk is corrupt (it's actually a recovery disk I was advised to download and burn by windows after my original was lost in a house fire) or something is horribly wrong with the laptop itself.Thanks for your help John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted April 3, 2011 Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 You are very welcome. burn by windows after my original was lost in a house fire That's what I would call - "Burning a Windows Disk" - a few steps too far. Hope you get things sorted out.John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhythmicsoapie Posted April 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Arg. Just ran diagnostics and it turned up a DST short test fail. New hard disk for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhythmicsoapie Posted April 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2011 Silly me. All sorted now - had a bricked laptop with a modest 150gb HDD laying about. Works like a charm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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