said by MJimLay :

HUH?!? I've used AVG for years and even installed it on PII systems running XP and never had any problems with it. Norton is the hog, not AVG. Plus it's a well known program as well. I never even heard of Avast or Avira

said by MJimLay :

Now THAT is COOL!!! I am going to try this as I am using a Intel Quad processor. I also forwarded this to my uncle which also just got a Dell with a Intel processor.

Edit: I guess I spoke too soon, "This update does not apply to your system"

said by Mele20 :

Don't you read the Security forum here? Long popular threads about AVG latest version and many jumping ship because it is so slow. One problem was fixed by AVG and that helped but still many, who were strong fans in the past, seem to have abandoned it because of adverse computer performance. The Link Scanner problem caused a ruckus on the internet and even though after HEAVY pressure, and ONLY after heavy pressure from website owners and AVG users, AVG finally reluctantly fixed it, but that left a bad taste in many former loyal AVG users mouths and they did not return to AVG. Here's one thread on AVG 8's slowness:
»AVG 8 EXTREMELY slow?

Avira is currently rated the number one Antivirus application by AVComparatives and Virus Bulletin. It's the best AV I have ever used and I have used most of them. Very light to use. Avast is also one of the top AV currently. Both have free versions and many folks using AVG moved to one of them after the current AVG was released. With both of them you can choose which modules to install so you get only what you want (like I don't want a mail scanner).

»www.avira.com/en/company_news/av···g08.html

»www.free-av.com/en/products/index.html

»www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

said by SipSizzurp :

I've had a couple of Dells and a home made PC based on the Core 2 duo that have some goofy stability and system errors. I've not yet tried the MICROCODE patch, but I am going to soon. It is a patch that helps the OS cope with errors caused by minor hardware errors in the CPU itself. If you still have problems after removing Norton then you might give it a try. Maybe somebody else knows some more about it.

»support.microsoft.com/kb/936357

»www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=er···aq=f&oq=

said by Mele20 :

No! Current AVG is VERY SLOW and will also bog your computer down. Either use Avast or Avira. Both are excellent and won't bog down the computer. If you have never tried both, then down a 30 day trial of each and see which you like best. Or just try the free versions of both.

said by auggy :

Good luck with the updated drivers. After updating, can you check and make sure that the "\Device\Ide\iaStor0" events no longer occur.

With NIS there is the following article from Symantec with a workaround you could try and see if it helps any:

»service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/na···16492806

said by auggy :

That may indicate a problem with Intel's "Matrix Storage Manager".

Make sure you have the latest iastor.sys driver, either from Dell or Intel:

»www.intel.com/support/chipsets/i···5783.htm

You can check the version of the iastor.sys by right-clicking the iastor.sys in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder > Properties > Details.

Hopefully that will resolve the stability problems you have been having.

Some of your issues may be related to other third party software/drivers.

I noticed you appear to have a problem with NIS. What version of NIS do you have installed?

said by MJimLay :

I did find the following in the event log:
The device, \Device\Ide\iaStor0, did not respond within the timeout period.

said by auggy :

Also, can you check here?:

Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Performance Information and Tools > Advanced Tools

In the Advanced Tools, under "Performance issues" are there any link(s) that may be related to the issues you are having?

If so, can you click these links for more info.

Also, take a look at the following report:

Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Performance Information and Tools > Advanced tools > Generate a system health report

Is there any info in the system health report that may relate to the issues you are having?

Also, are there any events recorded in the Event Viewer that may be related?

said by BinaryXtreme :

Seems you have done everything I would have advised. Have you heard your hard drive clicking or making any loud noises? Also, have you been able to apply Windows latest updates? Are you running virus protection and checked your logs? I would also try removing a stick of ram and seeing if you can see any difference. You don't happen to have any devices like a DVD player installed and connected to your motherboard with the molex disconnected? Just a few things to throw out there...

said by tcharp :

It sounds like you might be having some sort of memory problems. I'm not sure what Dell uses but it's probably crap.

Windows Media player has some known problems in Vista. Mainly that it has been known to not quit when you close the program. Also, you should know that dreamscene is sort of a resource hog and may slow down your system unless you have very good video capabilities.

However, it sounds like you are having a far more general problem than any of the ones I have mentioned. Has Dell swapped the mobo? Can you get them to send you a DVD with the OS only (without all of their "bonus" stuff) on it?

-TC