"Spasms" in the taskbar

[polarbrr]

This started fairly recently - it is annoying, buy I wonder if it is the portent of something evil - like a hard drive crash or a lurking virus ... anyway every 20-30 seconds my sys tray and task bar "spasm" - all of the icons in the sys tray jerk to the left and back again - in a split second. This goes on for as long as my machine is open.

I'm running Win 7 on an HP Pavilion notebook.

Thanks.

 

[richc46]

Welcome

Lets try some of the reasons with a high probability of being the cause
Run a full anti virus scan
Download and run malwarebytes. Make a full scan but update first

Go to device manager make sure your graphics driver is up to date and no yellow markers indicate any problems.

Test with a clean boot and see if it still happens
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135


Make an SFC scan to find and possibly solve the problem
SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker


Go to search type event viewer
Look for errors that may be the cause of the problem. They will occur frequently to conincide with the flickering.

 

[rap33042]

polarbrr:

richc46 is right on the money, IMO.

My first impulse is to think you have a scheduled task running that you may not know about.
I'd check your start up programs to see what's running at Boot Time with MSConfig or check Task Manager to watch what's happening when that "glitch" occurs.

 

[polarbrr]

Thanks rich and rap - your advice is much appreciated.

I downloaded and ran Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and it picked up one item:

"(Adware.FlvTube) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully".

This has not changed the "spasms" however ... they continue unabated. I am presently running a full virus scan (Windows Essentials) and re-running Anti-Malware.

One thing I didn't mention in my earlier post was that I thought the problem could be a HD problem - as last week - upon boot up, I would get a message that there was a problem with one of my drives and that chkdisk would now run (unless I stopped it).

However, chkdisk would not run - the system would just hang - and the screen would remain unchanged. So I would just reboot and hit keys until Windows would eventually load. I was able to "unset the dirty bit" by following some advice on another web page, but was unable to get chkdisk to run after that in any event.

So I downloaded a couple of programs to check my disk: "diskscanner" and activesmart - and both of these indicated that my HD appeared to be fine.

Anyway - that completes the story I think. I will follow through with the advice you (both) provided earlier and at least we may cross off some items on that list - or - hopefully - fix it =]

Thanks again guys.

 

[richc46]

One more piece of advice, for now. Because you did receive a HD warning, "backup, backup, backup". I do not want you here with the story that I have heard so many times," I lost something precious because my hard drive crashed".

 

[polarbrr]

Yup - ever since I poured a cup of coffee into my Dell lapper, I back up on a daily basis - and especially now. Thanks. By the way - I pulled that Dell lapper apart (keyboard/HD/Battery), put it on end and hit it with a hair dryer for 2 days - and it came back with no problems. =]

 

[polarbrr]

Oh oh - Active Smart just gave me the bad news (it was monitoring in the background)

"WARNING! The drive TOSHIBA MK5055GSX .... indicated a S.M.A.R.T. error condition. Immediately back-up your data and replace this hard disk drive! A failure may be imminent."

Is this computer now toast? If I replace the HD - which is now out of warranty, I won't have access to Win 7 - as the machine came preinstalled.

Ideas?

 

[richc46]

You have and OEM version of Windows.
If you replace the HD, you are still entitled to have Windows.
If you were not given a DVD to reinstall, call your computer vendor and you can get a DVD at cost.
Save all documentation, receipts, etc.

 

[mickey megabyte]

if win 7 came pre-installed, you were probably given the option to create some restore discs.

have a look through your start-menu, you may still have the shortcuts needed to make your restore media.

 

[polarbrr]

Thanks guys. Talked to my Vendor - he advises me I am still under Warranty - and says - he is confirming this however - that they will have Win 7 on the new drive.

Mickey - I did a search for "restore" - and it opens a dialogue box that allows me to "create a system repair disk" ..."recover windows" .. or ".. "restore ... from a system image" ...

If I createdthe recovery disk, I could just get the new HD without Windows installed on it, and then use the restore disk to recover my Win 7?

I'm thinking I may have them slap it on - as I'm a bit technologically challenged =]

 

[mickey megabyte]

i don't think it's any of them - usually you'll find them in a 'dell' or 'hp' folder or something like that.

speak again to your vendor, and insist that you get a proper windows 7 install disc, and a valid licence key!

 

[polarbrr]

I am creating a system image, and it warned me to check the drive for errors before restoring. As mentioned previously, chkdisk won't run for me, and at this point I'm not sure if it could repair anything, if I got it to run. If I try to use this system image on the new HD - will it work?

Thanks.

 

[richc46]

It should.

 

[polarbrr]

I guess I'll find out =] I'll post the results here.
I suppose its worth a shot so I don't have to start over from scratch - reinstalling everything. I'll just create a restore point and revert if it doesn't work/screws up.

Now why didn't I think of that before. I suppose one should (on top of regular backups) be creating an image every couple weeks or month - so this situation doesn't become a serious issue?

Gawd ....

 

[richc46]

System Image, is for major major problems in lieu of reinstall
System restore is just the Operating System

 

[polarbrr]

Rich - wouldn't a system image recreate everything on a drive - including the installed files as well as the operating system?

 

[richc46]

System Image is EVERYTHING on the hard drive.

but with an OS problem, best just to use system restore, if it works.

 

[polarbrr]

Right - but if Staples provides me a HD under Warranty, it will have Win installed already, and I was thinking of restoring the (current) image on this machine onto the new HD. Is that feasible?

Thanks for your time.

 

[richc46]

Actually, that is what system image is for to restore everything to the HD.
I dont know of a reason that it would not work, but things can and do go wrong.
So you are now confronted with "A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush"

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/675-system-image-recovery.html
If it were mine, I think I would just reinstall my programs.

This is not over, many will come by and disagree, so get ready.

I

 

[polarbrr]

Thanks for the warning Rich =]

I think you may be right though regarding re-installing programs manually. The image I took was of a partitioned drive (a recovery partition). If the new HD is not partitioned, I'm not sure the image will work. However, I know very little of these things ....