Computer question for the gurus

[skrogman]

I have a question that maybe one or some of you can help me with.  My computer is an HP Pavilion all-in-one and I am running through Chrome on Windows 7. 

I do a LOT of surveys daily, here and on about 30 other sites.  However, when I get the kind of survey that says "please watch this 30 minute (or 60 minute or whatever) new show and then give us your opinions", I can't do them for some reason.  Every time I get one the video will run great for maybe about 10 minutes or so and then about every time BLAM my computer shuts all the way down.  And, of course, when I bring it back up I will get that Google restore option, but the survey is gone. 

I don't know if this is my computer, the video, the survey, the flash player or what.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Depending on the site these are good money or points (basically the same thing in the long run) and I would like to be able to get these, of course.

Thank you in advance, and my wallet thanks you, too...lol.

[kapeh12]

Based on what I've heard, Chrome is not very flash friendly.  If the survey is using flash, it could be the Chrome buffer overloads and forces a shut down.  Typically I would only expect the browser to crash, not the whole PC.

First, I'd suggest ensuring you have the latest Flash plug-in installed by going to adobe.com, then I would check if you have the latest Java installed by going to Java.com.  That should rule out any usual suspects from a software perspective.

I typically use Firefox browser and have done video surveys like you've described and have not had any issues with them using that browser.  You might want to try using a different browser and see if you can get through those surveys without the crash.  If so, maybe it's a Chrome issue?

If the same thing happens with a different browser, then it seems like some driver or hardware might be failing (like maybe a video driver).  To ensure your drivers are up-to-date, a tool I use is SlimDrivers application - I use the free version.  Once installed, run it and the tool will see if there are any pieces of hardware that are out of date and let you update the drivers it locates.  If you use this tool, if you get a large list of updates needed, I suggest slowly installing them - install a couple one day, wait a few days, install a few more.  Sometimes if you install too many things at once, that can cause it's own problems.

The last thing, if it's still crashes, is after the crash and you reboot, click the Start button.  In the "search for program" text box type in "event viewer".  Open the application once the search finds it.  Once the application opens (give it a couple minutes to open and display the list of items), in the left navigation tree, open "Windows Logs", the click "Application".  In the list that shows up, scroll down until you see a red exclamation icon around the time of the crash.  That is probably the application that erred causing the crash.  Clicking on that line will provide information on what was causing the error in case you need to call for extra help.  If you don't see any red exclamation icons, try selecting the "System" option and look for any there - those would be hardware issues.

What I do if I find an issue in the logs is search on the error and application to find forums where others have had that problem to see if there are any documented solutions to try.  If you're not adventurous enough to try that, at least you'll have information when you call a help desk for support.

Hopefully your issue will be fixed before having to dig into log files. 

Good luck!

[cashrose]

I have a question that maybe one or some of you can help me with.  My computer is an HP Pavilion all-in-one and I am running through Chrome on Windows 7. 

I do a LOT of surveys daily, here and on about 30 other sites.  However, when I get the kind of survey that says "please watch this 30 minute (or 60 minute or whatever) new show and then give us your opinions", I can't do them for some reason.  Every time I get one the video will run great for maybe about 10 minutes or so and then about every time BLAM my computer shuts all the way down.  And, of course, when I bring it back up I will get that Google restore option, but the survey is gone. 

I don't know if this is my computer, the video, the survey, the flash player or what.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Depending on the site these are good money or points (basically the same thing in the long run) and I would like to be able to get these, of course.

Thank you in advance, and my wallet thanks you, too...lol.

I once downloaded chrome before and I uninstalled it again. Chrome brought trouble to my computer. I have HP and it IE. The moment I un installed the chrome my computer went back to it normal operation. So I will say get rid off chrome and down load fire fox and use also Internet Explorer. These two are good. These are the one I am using. Sorry Chrome, you are trouble maker!!

[countrygirl12]

Sounds like the computer is either not fast enough or not up to date enough to watch movies on.

[BlackSheepNY]

I have a question that maybe one or some of you can help me with.  My computer is an HP Pavilion all-in-one and I am running through Chrome on Windows 7. 

I do a LOT of surveys daily, here and on about 30 other sites.  However, when I get the kind of survey that says "please watch this 30 minute (or 60 minute or whatever) new show and then give us your opinions", I can't do them for some reason.  Every time I get one the video will run great for maybe about 10 minutes or so and then about every time BLAM my computer shuts all the way down.  And, of course, when I bring it back up I will get that Google restore option, but the survey is gone. 

I don't know if this is my computer, the video, the survey, the flash player or what.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Depending on the site these are good money or points (basically the same thing in the long run) and I would like to be able to get these, of course.

Thank you in advance, and my wallet thanks you, too...lol.

When your computer shuts down, are you getting a blue screen of death before hand or is it just shutting down really quickly?  It could be your flash player, and as someone else has already suggested, see if you need a flash update.  I would check, too, to see if you have more than one Flash version installed on your computer.  Older versions should be uninstalled.  Have you checked to see if there are any updates for your video card lately?  When was the last time you ran a Defrag and Scan Disk (or Chk Dsk)?  I, personally, don't care for Chrome and use the Firefox browser.  Perhaps another browser will help with your problem.

Have you tried searching/posting your problem to the HP forums?

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/supportforums.html

[InfuseMe1]

I find google to be my best friend when I have any trouble - just search out your questions and then search out those answers, somewhere out there is an answer!   

[skrogman]

Wow, thank you very much for the very detailed answers. It looks like I have got a lot of work to do, but unfortunately this computer is what I have and I cannot afford right now to replace it.  I wish I could.

[Liquidfire_43]

Try Firefox and see if it works there.... If it works fine on Firefox, then there is something wrong with Google Chrome (like other people said, it's probably flash)... If both of them don't seem to work then you might want to check your system resource if your using to much ram/cpu... Scan your computer for virus

[marciaenglish]

I just don't get it.  I have never had any problems with my Google Chrome!   

[dreamyxo]

I have an HP and once in a while my computer screen will go black.  I try to make sure it's not getting too hot.  I put the power cord box on a cool surface and put the computer on top of a hard surface.  It could bee shutting down because it's overheating.

[darkxtsuna]

As some people has stated it could be your Flash Player ,Your computer Speed or just the browser problem.

If you Already tried the whole Free option [Ex:Downloading a Update for your Flash player ,Drivers, Bios, Etc ] You Might want to look at $$$ Options Like upgrading your ram to handle to amount of data that goes through your computer and your Video Card [GPU]. That's all I can think of.