Downloads Freezing

We need help! We are trying to download the program for a Sony digital camera. We have the disk, but part of the way into the download, the computer freezes up. We have also tried downloading from Sony's site and the same thing happens. It always freezes in the same spot. We have turned off our anti virus program and most other things that run in the background. How can we get this to download? Can it be downloaded in safe mode and if so, how do we do that? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

One point of confusion... when you say you have the "disk" do you mean a commercial CD with the needed software from Sony?

"Downloading" doesn't mean installing, but rather actually getting something via a "download" process, i.e. transferring a file via the internet.

If the original CD is exhibiting this problem, the first thing to try is calling the Sony tech support line for the product.

If you're having a download "freeze" while in progress, you may be having a PC problem BEYOND this one piece of software.

Try turning off ALL unnecessary programs. The only stuff you NEED to have running are: Explorer and Systray. All other stuff can be temporarily disabled until you finish with the install.

One final thought, is this a USB camera or what is the interface? The software may be trying to find the device during installation, and failing to make the connection needed...

;)

Turn off everything running in the back ground, except Explorer and Systray, and make sure the CD is clean.
If they're ok, then try extracting the file from the CD on another computer. If the same problem happens, then the CD is corrupt. If it loads ok, then disable DMA for your CD-ROM drive. If still no good, then the drive may be bad(Had this same problem when trying to install a game. Replaced the drive and the program installed just fine).

It's also possible that d/l file may be corrupt at the website.
I do not believe that the modem's drivers are loaded in Safe mode. If that's the case, then you will not be able to d/l the program form the Sony site in that mode.

Thanks for the replies. Guess my post was confusing. We tried to download from the sony website and the computer freezes befor edownload complete. We got the disk and tried to "install" and it freezes at the same spot as the one from the sony website did. We are trying to install the usb program to look at the photes from a memory stick. We connect the camera as instructed and followthe directions, but both the disk and the download from Sony freeze in the exact same spot. Did that explain it better? Not real sure how to say what I mean so you understand what I am trying to do. We did not disable everything, so maybe we will try that and see what happens. Thanks

Our camera software required the camera not only to be plugged into the computer and turned on, as well. However, the default "auto off" was set too low...and the camera shut down before the install was complete and we ran into the same problem.

Check the instructions and see if the camera has to be turned on during the install process...and if it's shutting itself off before the install is complete.

Ok, we have disabled everything but systray, it did not show explorer or netscape and we run both. We tried to install from the cd, froze up, tried to install from a floppy froze up in the exact same spot. The camera goes into pc mode when it is connected and does not shut down. So what could it be with our pc that is causing this not to install? Thanks.

Ok the camera situation has been put on hold. We have BIGGER problems. Decided we wanted to reformat the hard drive and re-install everything. I knew we had some problems with WIN 98 and we were fine when we first deleted everything. Then the modem went out and we got a new one. Got an error message that said Win 98 was corrupted and we needed to re-install Win98. Ok, so we tried and now we are stuck on a screen with a c prompt. I am guessing we need a command but everything we try does not work. One of the messages says "bad win.com file". We have no clue and no computer. We are not in DOS (I do not think). I know this may not be enough info for any help, but not sure what else I need to add here. Please can someone tell us how to "fix" this or what other info I can provide? Having to check from work, so my response back may be slower. Or do we need to just take it in and have "them" fix it? Thanks!

To reinstall Windows over itself:
-Insert the Windows boot floppy(if you use Win 95, then borrow or create a Win 98 boot floppy if possible since it will most likely have DOS drivers for your CD-ROM drive, where a Win 95 boot floppy will not).
-Start the computer.
-Select 'Start Windows with CD-ROM support' using the arrow keys.
-Insert the Windows installation CD.
-Press Enter.
-Type X:
(where X is your CD-ROM drive's letter, usually D or E).
-Press Enter.
-Type setup.
-Press Enter.
-Follow the instructions to reinstall Windows.

However, installing Windows over itself does not usually solve major problems, like the ones you seem to be having.
So if the above fails to solve the problems, then you will have to reformat the hard drive and do a 'clean' install of Windows.
But beware that this will wipe out the contents of the hard drive, and any files that were not backed up will be lost:
-Insert the Windows boot floppy.
-Start the computer.
-Select 'Start Windows without CD-ROM support'.
-Press Enter.
-Type format c:
-Press Y at the warning about losing all data.
-Press Enter at the volume label message.
-Your hard drive will now be reformatted.

After the HD is finished being formatted:
-Leave the Windows boot floppy inserted.
-Restart the computer.
-Select 'Start Windows with CD-ROM support'.
-Press Enter.
-Look for your CD-ROM drive's letter(usually either D or E).
-Insert the Windows installation CD.
-Type X:\setup (where X is your CD-ROM drive's letter as noted above).
-Press Enter.
-Press Enter again when the next message says to do so.
-Follow the instructions to install Windows.

After Windows is installed, you will then have to reinstall the drivers for any hardware components(video card, sound card, printer, etc.) that came with software CD's or floppies.
And of course, all other programs, ISP software, etc., will also have to be reinstalled.

Thanks Ski. We were trying to do a clean install because it would not install over the old win98. Told us there was an "anti virus" running, but we had truned everything off. We totally wiped the hard drive clean the first time and then re-installed the win98, then we installed a new modem and that is when it told us the files were corrupted. We will try your suggestion and see if we can get it to work. There has got to be an easier way to format the hard drive....when we click on the menu to format hard drive, it tells us "windows is using the files and cannot be formated". So we uninstalled everything we could and deleted the rest. If we buy a new hard drive (which we wanted to upgrade anyway) would that make it easier to get it up and running? Thanks.

The HD cannot be formatted in Windows. It has to be done in DOS with the boot floppy.

Also, check in BIOS to see if an antivirus program is enabled. If so, then disable it.

Forgot to reply to your last question.

A new hard drive will take even more time to configure since it has to be partitioned first, and then formatted.
Plus, either your BIOS may have to be upgraded or 3rd party software may have to be installed in order for the entire size of the HD to be recognized.

Thanks. As soon as we get home from work will try this and see what happens. Will post back and let you know tomorrow.

Ok Ski. We followed your instructions and got win98 loaded (thanks) however when we tried to install the program for the new modem with the cd from the manufacturer, we get this error message in a pop up box: (The cd is in the cd rom)

Error Starting Program. The HXFSETUP.EXE File Is Linked to
Missing Export MFC42.DLL:6874

So any ideas on how we can fix this? We thought we were home free until this happened. Thanks for all your help.

-Go to System Information/Tools/System File Checker
-Check 'Extract one file....'
-Type mfc42.dll in the box
-Click Start
-Type D:\WIN98 in the 'Restore from:' box
-Type C:\Windows\System in the 'Save file in' box
-Insert your Windows installation CD
-Click OK
-Say yes if it asks if you want to overwrite the existing mfc42.dll file
-Click OK
-Remove the CD

And you're welcome.

Ski has give you some great suggestions for getting your reinstallation going. He forgot one one important thing - install the win98 cd to you C; drive in its own directory (win 98). This simplifies and speeds up future installations that need the win cd because you dont have to keep switching cd's. I once installed asomething that would have required 3 switches between the installation program and my 98 cd. It also saves wear and tear on it, as well as having to have it near by.

Good Luck - Andrew

Thanks for the info and suggestions. Will try this as soon as we get home from work tonight and will post back tomorrow with the good news I hope. We have always gotten great information from this site!

Well, we followed the instructions and we got a message that said the file had been extracted, so we tried to install the program for the modem again and got the same message

The HXFSETUP.EXE file is linked to missing export
MFC42.DLL:6874

We tried to extract the file several times and still got the same message. We bought a Diamond Supra Max Modem. We have no clue. Someone told us the processor may be bad. (AMD 400, I think) Does that make sense? Would a bad processor stop us from installing programs and cause all the freezes we have had lately? We are about ready to just buy a whole new system! We are open for any other suggestions. Thanks so much for the help so far.

Go to start/Find/Files or Folders, and see if that file shows up on your C drive.
If it does, then do a ScanDisk and a defragment.
If still no luck with the modem, then I suggest returning it for a different one.

Freezing problems can be caused by a bad processor, and also by other bad hardware.

Thanks Ski. Will try that after work today. May be Monday before I can post back unless we can get it to work.

Ok. Got the computer up and running, got on line etc. Then installed office 2000 and nortons and it crashed! Told us some dll files were corrupt. Then we got a message to repair files and we said yes. That is when everything was deleted. Got win 98 re-installed and got on line and so far so good. Scared now to install office 2000 or nortons. Have reformatted the hard drive and installed/reinstalled win98 a total of 4 times during this whole mess. Also got the modem to work by trial and error, doing the things you suggested, some things other folks suggested and almost right the opposite of the directions. But it works now. I know we need the nortons, but scared to install what with all the bad luck we have had...We will get a new system in the next couple months, but for now this one works. Thanks for all your help.

Not uncommon for nortons. But, you need a antivirus, so here one.


Get Your AVG For Free
Lots of folks swear by it.

I use eTrust with housecall as a backup.

Norton's the biggest mistake was installing it, and the best thing I ever did was get rid of the whole mess. Yip I got tied up in that whole Norton's thing years ago and am really upset at wasting so much money on a program that constantly SLOWED DOWN everything. The anti virus program was the worst. The sure bet safe double file extractor was a bust, found out the hard way when it told me I could delete a bunch of quadriplicate DLL's and shut everything down, I even double checked the dates and file sizes. I like PcCillin by Trend for my antivirus. Updates automatically on it's own, while letting you continu w/ your work. You als get weekly newsletters describing the latest viruses etc. - Andrew

Thanks guys. I did not really like mcaffee but we do use nortons at work and no problems. Had heard of the others but never tried it. I did use the house call about once per week with the mcaffee...just did not trust it for some reason. It was a part of 98plus and not something we installed. Have nothing at this point, but will check out your suggestions. Thanks.

You may also want to perform a thorough ScanDisk of the entire hard drive's surface, considering the number of corrupted files you're getting during software installations.
If it comes back with a lot of bad sectors, then consider replacing the drive.

Thanks Ski. I think he did that over the weekend and it was ok. But can't hurt to do another one. We had thought about getting a new drive, but our system is about 5 years old, so maybe a total upgrade or new one is on tap. So far all is working ok. We have some other installations to do, so it may crash again. We are still debating on purchasing a new system and trying to decide just what we want on it. Thanks for everyone's help.

One quick suggestion after watching this thread develop...

NAV 2003 is WAY, WAY, WAY faster than the previous versions. ALWAYS, when possible, install M$ Office suite(s) BEFORE installing NAV. Not only does NAV sometimes cause problems with M$ installs (I have no idea why), but if you want automatic email scanning and protection, NAV wants to see those email accounts already setup and operational when NAV installs.

I also am afraid of many of the "optimization" tools in Norton Systemworks, and won't use them for those reasons, but I personally wouldn't want to live without NAV.

Good luck!
:D

We had installed office first and had the email already set up, then installed NAV, that is when we got the errors about corrupt dll's. So we were not sure if it was office or NAV that caused the last crash. All I know is it asked us if we wanted to repair the corupt files and when we said yes, it deleted EVERYTHING win98 included! We have no problems with NAV at work and I know several others who do not have problems with it, but we were sort of gun shy after having to start over again. So we will install one or the other tonight and see what happens. Thanks for the input.

Ok, we still have problems after all the re-installs. No crashes yet so far, but we get an error, not sure exactly what it says, but kernel 32 dll, the an illegal operation error message. We used to get the kernel 32 dll a lot on netscape, now it is even when we are not online. Last night got it trying to play solitare. Also, sometimes the computer will just shut down and resart by itself. Any suggestions on what that could be? We are still trying to decide on a new system and thought we could get this one to work until we found one.

Another question, I use win 98 se and I need to organize the favorites, but how? I know on ours at home we right clicked and sorted by name. At work I do not have that feature. Anyone know how to do that? Thanks.

Kernel32.dll errors happening with different applications coupled with rebooting are most likely caused either by overheating, bad memory, and/or a bad power supply.

To check if it's an overheating problem, remove the computer's case and run an external fan blowing on it.
If that fixes things, then make sure all fans are running incl. the PS fan(s), there is no internal dust build-up(especially on all of the cooling fans' blades), the vents are unobstructed, and the cables and wires are not obstructing any fan's ariflow.
If these are ok, then consider installing an extra case fan or two(recommended locations are upper rear and lower front of the case).
You may also want to remove the CPU's heatsink, clean off the old thermal compound with a credit card and high purity alcohol and apply new compound(Arctic 3 is the best stuff to use).

If the external fan does not help, then have the power supply's leads checked with a voltmeter where they connect to the MB.
Check the leads at the rear of the PS connector with that connector inserted into the MB connector, and the computer turned on.
You should get the following voltages-
Yellow wire and black wire: +12 volts
Red " " " " : +5 volts
Orange " " " " : +3.3 volts
If you do not get these readings or close to them, then replace the PS.

If the PS is ok, then check the following for troubleshooting the memory:
http://aumha.org/a/kernel32.htm


Did you look for the 'Sort by Name' option for your Favorites in the Start menu?

Thanks Ski. Will check the fan when I get home. Cleaned the dust off already, but will also check other things oyu suggested. Got my favorites organized. Thanks for your help and we will post back after we check these things.

Hey guys, sorry it has taken me so long to post back on the last advice we received. Finally got all the suggestions taken care of, however not sure if that "fixed" the problem. Computer has been down for over a week. Trying to install DSL and not having a lot of luck. Been on the phone with their tech support (in fact from 6:30 pm until 11:45 pm last night). Not sure what the problem is, but their techs are not much help.

We did download the AVG virus protection and I really do like it better than the other "two". Had to uninstall it last night to see if that would help in getting the DSL to work. Was not the problem.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the help so far.