Is this virus? Help.

[leosalchemist]

When I use windows explorer to view files, sometimes it pops up:

"The instructions at "0x73dd1004" referenced memory at "ox050d06bc". The memory could not be read.
Click OK to terminate the program.
Click Cancel to debug the program. "

System is P4 1.6G 512MB 160GB+PC133 PCI adaptor card, OS is WinXp Pro.

Thanks a lot!

 

[geekender]

Are you overclocking memory or cpu?

 

[leosalchemist]

No, I'm not. And I don't know how.

 

[geekender]

Did you add any hardware before this happened or change any drivers?

 

[Mem]

Have you tried a full virus scan? You can use a free online virus scan from Trend Micro Housecall .

 

[Cogman]

I think there are three possibilities.
1st. Faulty Ram, If you have generic Ram this is a very big possibility.
2nd. Poor Cooling. If your ram/CPU is overheating this could be a big problem
3rd. This, in my oppinion is least likly, There is a virus that is imbeded in explorer.

 

[leosalchemist]

Originally posted by: Cogman
I think there are three possibilities.
1st. Faulty Ram, If you have generic Ram this is a very big possibility.
2nd. Poor Cooling. If your ram/CPU is overheating this could be a big problem
3rd. This, in my oppinion is least likly, There is a virus that is imbeded in explorer.

Thanks everybody's advices, I really appreciate that. Especially Cogman. Dude, you must be a super guru. I think it's probably reason #2. My PC's fan had been very loud and I never shut it down. Following you advice, I shut it down last night and the problem is gone this morning. I never know the heating could be such a problem. Anything else I can do besides shut it down for rest? Thanks again!

 

[asb002]

Anything else I can do besides shut it down for rest?

Buy a new CPU fan.

 

[Cogman]

As far as cooling goes, make sure you have at least 2 Case fans (the power Supply fan does not count.). One fan should be blowing air out of the case and the other fan should be sucking it in. It is best to try to keep presure even in the case (sucking in as much air as you're blowing out) but if you have to error, have a negitive pressure (blowing more air out then sucking in) You might almost want to check and see of the inside of the case is dusty. Dust will have a negitive effect on the case cooling. If you think that you need a better CPU heatsink (cooler for the cpu) I would check out SVCompucylce.com for a good cooler. I'm not sure about what socket you are using. In most cases, the Intel retail fan will do fine. But Thermalright Heatsinks are the best (in my opinion) the SLK900 is a good one. with that, you need to buy a fan. I recommend a fan that has 32+ CFM. Also, if you want a quiet computer, The lower DBA it has, the quieter the fan, but the less CFM you will usually get. larger fans give quieter air. You also should make sure that you have thermal grease installed (Artic silver is a good brand, their web page shows how to do it correctly). Hope this helps for your cooling.

 

[leosalchemist]

Thanks so much for the thorough post. I'll spend some time to fix this bad boy.