Constant Freezing - Please help

[DEBTHINKPAD]

My Win 2000 Pro system is freezing often, independent of application and
requiring power-off to escape the freeze. I'm unable to perform my work,
though thankfully succeeded in doing a backup and have run virus and adware
programs plus deleted internet temp files from options tab. Have had slow
performance before this (also experience hung programs w/dll and other errors
at shutdown) and system recently added more VM. Have plenty of disk and
defragged not long ago, but of course when I restore from a freeze it needs
to check disk for consistency and I have to restore active desktop, so not
sure if that's building up ovrhead somewhere. Think I could shut down some
background programs at startup, but not confident how to do that w/o creating
problems unless I have very specific instructions. (For some reason could not
access from start/run/msconfig)

I'd really appreciate your help.

 

[Gerry]

Deb

Have you resolved the problem with the Stop Error messages you were
having 2 days ago? If yes what was the solution?

Is your computer dual booting i.e. Windows 2000 and Windows XP?

What is your Windows 2000 CD as it is described on the face of the CD?

What is your computer make and model? How old is it?

Have you made any hardware or software changes shortly before the
problem first arose? Memory perhaps?

How much RAM memory?

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?

Do you leave your computer on 24/7?

Open Disk Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
Folder and post a copy. Do this before running Disk Defragmenter as it
is more informative.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.

Try running HD Tune(freeware).

Download and run it and see what it turns up.
http://www.hdtune.com/

Select the Info tabs and place the cursor on the drive under Drive
letter and then double click the two page icon ( copy to Clipboard )
and copy into a further message.

Select the Health tab and then double click the two page icon ( copy to
Clipboard ) and copy into a further message. You can also do a full
surface scan with HD Tune.

Dust inside the computer casing can cause overheating and result in this
type of error. Take the casing off and use an Air Duster to clean. Also
check that all fans are working.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

No, I can only run for a short time between frrezes.

 

[DL]

Thinkpad A30 2 - 3 years old

Deb

Have you resolved the problem with the Stop Error messages you were having
2 days ago? If yes what was the solution?

Is your computer dual booting i.e. Windows 2000 and Windows XP?

What is your Windows 2000 CD as it is described on the face of the CD?

What is your computer make and model? How old is it?

Have you made any hardware or software changes shortly before the
problem first arose? Memory perhaps?

How much RAM memory?

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the boxes
before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the figures
for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?

Do you leave your computer on 24/7?

Open Disk Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
Folder and post a copy. Do this before running Disk Defragmenter as it
is more informative.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.

Try running HD Tune(freeware).

Download and run it and see what it turns up.
http://www.hdtune.com/

Select the Info tabs and place the cursor on the drive under Drive
letter and then double click the two page icon ( copy to Clipboard )
and copy into a further message.

Select the Health tab and then double click the two page icon ( copy to
Clipboard ) and copy into a further message. You can also do a full
surface scan with HD Tune.

Dust inside the computer casing can cause overheating and result in this
type of error. Take the casing off and use an Air Duster to clean. Also
check that all fans are working.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

Gerry, sorry I did not expand your note and need to be clearer in my reply. I
have posted some of this in my earlier note here and on my later posting.

1. Yes, I got past the stop message. I started in safe mode (F8 at startup)
and it did a disk check then gave me the option to restore my desktop. But it
hasn't cured the original freezing problem.

2. No, it is not dual boot. I was shopping for XP systems and had XP on the
brain. It is only Win 2000 Pro. I do not have the CD as a friend installed
everything for me a couple of years ago. He's gone off to university and I'm
on my own....

3. The laptop is an IBM ThinkPad A30, which I'd guess is about 5 years old
though I've had it about 2 1/2.

4. I have made no system changes. McAfee has done its normal updates. I take
out the wireless card for travel, but have the "stop device" program and did
not notice any problems w/that. I did, however, have performance problems
before now and I did have the system tell me it was allocating more VM about
2-3 weeks ago.

5. I'm not on my system right now but will check in task mgr. and post those
replies later.

6. No, I power the PC off every night unless I'm doing a virus scan or other
lengthy process.

7. I've looked at task manager before and been unable to sort out the
problem. I really appreciate these specific instructions and will let you
know what I discover.

8. I ran defrag not long ago, but will follow your procedures before doing
another. I will also look into HDTune.

And yes, your reply has been very helpful. Thank you!!
I'll be back in touch.
Deb

 

[DL]

And if you boot into Safe Mode?, keep keying F8 as soon as you switch it on

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

Thx.
Deb

Thinkpad A30 2 - 3 years old

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

Here is some of the additional information you requested, Gerry.
Win 2000 Ver. 5.0, Build 2195, SP 4
Task manager/Performance/Commit Charge:
Total = 258,948
Limit = 631,868
Peak = 322,572

Top 6 processes (name/peak/VM):
Mcshield 72,296/32,688
Svchost 31,448/9,440
Mcmscsvc 19,696/10,252
Explorer 17,148/9,904
MPFSrv 12,976/5,184
PropelAC 12,564/9,836

I am not able to copy the report from Defrag because I can't log on to the
Internet from my PC now. IExplorer starts OK but times out when trying to
access my home page. When I tried to connect to this page directly, I could
see it transfer data up until 25-30% of the blue bar at the bottom of the
screen. Then, even though my signal was strong, it wouldn't progress/receive
any more data. I tried to copy it to a disk but it froze. (I'm still trying
that and will post later, but I had recently done defrag and it wasn't needed
and shows much of the disk unused.)

My recycle bin and temp net files were already at zero, but I did wax
another 70K of temp files.

Obviously I can't download HD Tune at the moment, but will continue to try
that as well.

I will post the Defrag report ASAP. Please let me know if there's any other
info desired or anything else I should try.
Thanks again,
Deb

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

Here's the defrag report:
Volume IBM_PRELOAD (C:
Volume size = 18,130 MB
Cluster size = 16 KB
Used space = 7,411 MB
Free space = 10,719 MB
Percent free space = 59 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 2 %
File fragmentation = 4 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 42,467
Average file size = 150 KB
Total fragmented files = 451
Total excess fragments = 2,924
Average fragments per file = 1.06

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 384 MB
Total fragments = 3

Directory fragmentation
Total directories = 4,766
Fragmented directories = 33
Excess directory fragments = 75

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Most fragmented files
63 1,040 KB \WINNT\SECURITY\LOGS\WINLOGON.OLD
22 416 KB \WINNT\SECURITY\LOGS\WINLOGON.LOG
36 6,352 KB \WINNT\Installer\AD6C82.MSP
67 1,280 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFFE04.TMP
42 752 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF8873.TMP
46 736 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF4314.TMP
68 1,552 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF55DB.TMP
140 3,344 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF8F09.TMP
91 1,824 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF41FB.TMP
44 832 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF941D.TMP
91 1,664 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFEC97.TMP
77 1,792 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF1ED3.TMP
18 320 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF8284.TMP
124 2,832 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF38F.TMP
167 3,728 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFCE04.TMP
60 1,136 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF7E44.TMP
58 1,184 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF591.TMP
165 3,472 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFD53E.TMP
81 2,064 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFECB1.TMP
22 544 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFD28A.TMP
161 3,488 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF7C5D.TMP
78 1,888 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF5395.TMP
47 976 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF95FD.TMP
42 1,136 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF7368.TMP
24 432 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF3139.TMP
47 880 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFB000.TMP
29 1,680 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My Documents\My
Pictures\Grandma's birthday\VMI Portrait 79.JPG
24 1,936 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My Documents\My
Pictures\Cocos y Locos\It's a double.JPG
88 1,920 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My Documents\My
Pictures\Cocos y Locos\Backyard rainbow.JPG
54 2,400 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My Documents\My
Pictures\Dad's 80th\DSC00226.JPG

 

[DL]

Run a disk cleanup, or delete your temp files

Here's the defrag report:
Volume IBM_PRELOAD (C:
Volume size = 18,130 MB
Cluster size = 16 KB
Used space = 7,411 MB
Free space = 10,719 MB
Percent free space = 59 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 2 %
File fragmentation = 4 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 42,467
Average file size = 150 KB
Total fragmented files = 451
Total excess fragments = 2,924
Average fragments per file = 1.06

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 384 MB
Total fragments = 3

Directory fragmentation
Total directories = 4,766
Fragmented directories = 33
Excess directory fragments = 75

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Most fragmented files
63 1,040 KB \WINNT\SECURITY\LOGS\WINLOGON.OLD
22 416 KB \WINNT\SECURITY\LOGS\WINLOGON.LOG
36 6,352 KB \WINNT\Installer\AD6C82.MSP
67 1,280 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFFE04.TMP
42 752 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF8873.TMP
46 736 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF4314.TMP
68 1,552 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF55DB.TMP
140 3,344 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF8F09.TMP
91 1,824 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF41FB.TMP
44 832 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF941D.TMP
91 1,664 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFEC97.TMP
77 1,792 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF1ED3.TMP
18 320 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF8284.TMP
124 2,832 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF38F.TMP
167 3,728 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFCE04.TMP
60 1,136 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF7E44.TMP
58 1,184 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF591.TMP
165 3,472 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFD53E.TMP
81 2,064 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFECB1.TMP
22 544 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFD28A.TMP
161 3,488 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF7C5D.TMP
78 1,888 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF5395.TMP
47 976 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF95FD.TMP
42 1,136 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF7368.TMP
24 432 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DF3139.TMP
47 880 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\Local
Settings\Temp\~DFB000.TMP
29 1,680 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My
Documents\My
Pictures\Grandma's birthday\VMI Portrait 79.JPG
24 1,936 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My
Documents\My
Pictures\Cocos y Locos\It's a double.JPG
88 1,920 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My
Documents\My
Pictures\Cocos y Locos\Backyard rainbow.JPG
54 2,400 KB \Documents and Settings\DEB\My
Documents\My
Pictures\Dad's 80th\DSC00226.JPG

 

[Gerry]

Deb

Mcshield, Mcmscsvc and MPFSrv all relate to McAfee. McAfee has too big a
footprint for your computer. When does your subscription expire? I can
suggest better freeware alternatives.

Does your McAfee include an anti-spyware alternative? I suggest you need
to run another anti-spyware programme as malware could be another part
of your problem.
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

What is your actual version of McAfee as some the latest versions
include Site Advisor , which is currently causing the type of problems
you are experiencing.

Propelac.exe is the main executable for Propel Accelerator software,
which is used to speed up your Internet connection.

What type of internet connection do you have? Does Propel Accelerator
make a difference?

What are the temporary files of which DF8873.TMP is an example?

What happens to the Most fragmented file list if you run Disk
Defragmenter 2 or 3 times?

My feeling is you do not have enough RAM but getting more could be
difficult. You should probably increase the pagefile size, unless we can
reduce demands for memory. Do you do any photo editing or otherwise run
graphics programmes. Do you have any Adobe programmes installed?

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

I have the entire McAfee suite and I think it's got about 6 months left. I
can't check right now because for some reason my Dad's got internet and I
don't. I could disable the McAfee site advisor (which I do have as part of
the suite) if you think that might help.

My Dad has a DSL line with AT&T and we have a Belkin router. I run wireless
off that router with a Belkin card in my laptop. I did not install the Propel
SW (unless it was hidden in something else) and cannot tell you if it makes
any difference.

I have erased the temp files the chkdsk erases, but I found that the
specific file you mention is still there. "Properties" says it is an unknown
file and the type is archive. I have no idea exactly what it is.

Here are the two reports from the HD SW:
HD Tune: IC25N020ATDA04-0 Information

Firmware version : DA3OA76A
Serial number : 63A63HE8265
Capacity : 18.6 GB (~20.0 GB)
Buffer size : 1806 KB
Standard : ATA/ATAPI-0
Supported mode : UDMA Mode 5 (Ultra ATA/100)
Current mode : UDMA Mode 5 (Ultra ATA/100)

S.M.A.R.T : yes
48-bit Address : no
Read Look-Ahead : yes
Write Cache : yes
Host Protected Area : yes
Device Configuration Overlay : yes
Automatic Acoustic Management: no
Power Management : yes
Advanced Power Management : yes
Power-up in Standby : yes
Security Mode : yes
Firmware Upgradable : no

Partition : 1
Drive letter : C:\
Label : IBM_PRELOAD
Capacity : 18139 MB
Usage : 40.72%
Type : FAT32
Bootable : Yes

Partition : 2
Drive letter :
Label :
Capacity : 937 MB
Usage : 0.00%
Type : FAT32 Hidden
Bootable : No

HD Tune: IC25N020ATDA04-0 Health

ID Current Worst ThresholdData Status
(01) Raw Read Error Rate 100 100 62 0 Ok
(02) Throughput Performance 100 100 40 0 Ok
(03) Spin Up Time 131 131 33 1 Ok
(04) Start/Stop Count 97 97 0 4847 Ok
(05) Reallocated Sector Count 100 100 5 0 Ok
(07) Seek Error Rate 100 100 67 0 Ok
(08) Seek Time Performance 100 100 40 0 Ok
(09) Power On Hours Count 76 76 0 10738 Ok
(0A) Spin Retry Count 100 100 60 0 Ok
(0C) Power Cycle Count 98 98 0 3654 Ok
(BF) G-sense Error Rate 100 100 0 0 Ok
(C0) Power Off Retract Count 100 100 0 10 Ok
(C1) Load Cycle Count 48 48 0 527722 Ok
(C2) Temperature 152 152 0 393252 Ok
(C4) Reallocated Event Count 100 100 0 0 Ok
(C5) Current Pending Sector 100 100 0 0 Ok
(C6) Offline Uncorrectable 100 100 0 0 Ok
(C7) Ultra DMA CRC Error Count 200 200 0 0 Ok

Power On Time : 10738
Health Status : Ok

I also ran the physical check and there were no problems.

I do not create Adobe documents, only read them. I also do very little photo
work, just dump digital photos to the PC and use the SONY SW to edit a little
bit (cropping, red eye reduction and such) but I do it every 2 or 3 weeks
with, say, 10 or 20 photos, not a lot of them and not daily.

I agree the problem seems to be RAM and I do think McAfee may have kicked
things off somehow (a prompt request to update their SW was on my screen when
it froze the first time) but their (for fee!) help person was not helpful AT
ALL and I gave up on that route.

I will need to get back to you after running the defrag. I also can't do
much with the mal-ware until I get the internet connection on my laptop back,
but will let you know once I do. (Since I've only deleted what the clean up
SW said to, I hope that it will fix itself when I restart.)

Again, I am very grateful for your help, especially as things seem quite
sticky with my system.
Deb

 

[Gerry]

Deb

You are going to have to test the RAM -please see the link for
instructions
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

I am not a fan of Wireless. I would change to an ethernet connection if
it is practical. Does your Dad have Propel Accelerator software
installed? If not it is a pointer that it is not needed. Could it have
been installed when you connected up elsewhere?

Download and install cCleaner
http://www.ccleaner.com/ccdownload.asp
http://www.ccleaner.com/

With any cleaner you need to proceed with caution. To be safe you
should create a restore point before using cCleaner. cCleaner also
offers backup before removal.

When using cCleaner think twice before checking Autocomplete Form
History under Internet Explorer. You do get a warning but this one has
irritating consequences. You may need to restore your system's
recollection of passwords after use so keep a record off computer so
that they can easily be re-entered.

Leave the Scan for Issues option alone.

Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in
the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. No
Information Reports or Duplicates please. Indicate which also appear in
a previous boot.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer.

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

Gerry, you've been very kind and I wanted to let you know what else I have
done.

I did download the RAM test but have not yet run it. I'm a bit reluctant to
change the BIOS at startup because it seems like something I could get into
trouble with. But I will try to run the test later today and see if it will
go without that. I did run a preliminary test (I know not as rigorous by far)
that comes with the ThinkPad and it tested memory as OK, so at least (I'd
think) there's no huge memory defect.

I checked on my Dad's system and he did not have the Propel Accelerator and
I have gotten that out of the background tasks. I think at this point I need
to shut off some of McAfee. I did call their support line and had a dreadful
experience. Even though it was a fee line the fellow kept arguing with me
about what I was telling him. So annoying! I shall not renew with them for
sure.

If these things don't work I probably will give up. The local guy my Dad
uses said he could take the machine Wednesday. I'd rather do that than
attempt the cleaner myself, although I think I could do it and although my
machine does offer the ability to take a snapshot before any change. I don't
want to be stressed about making the wrong decision, especially while
everything is quiet at Christmas. But maybe I'll get bored and brave....

I do have all my data backed up (thank heavens!) and I will write back and
let you know how I do. I've learned a great deal from your generous sharing
of your knowledge of tools and techniques, Gerry. I deeply appreciate your
help and wish you a most wondeful holiday!
Deb

 

[DEBTHINKPAD]

I have some not so good news, Gerry. I ran memtest overnight (It's still
running, actually) and it's doing its 7th pass right now, but has already
recorded 159 errors! I did not read anything on the website where I got the
tool about what (if anything) one can do once the errors are found, or how to
save the report.

Before I ran the report I was experiencing more trouble with the wireless
card, but I think that's secondary for now.

My initial freeze happened when I was doing online email and I got a pop-up
to updtae my McAfee security software. I kept typing my note in its window
before dismissing the box, and soon after it froze. (I had the Internet
Explorer mail inbasket plus one for reply plus the McAfee one open.) But I'd
been experiencing slowness and some random issues with programs not
responding when I shut down the computer, so maybe something was happening
all along.

I haven't figured out how to turn off the McAfee site advisor from their
main screen yet. They make it exceedingly difficult to stop using some
things, but I have the option of looking at what's being launched (I printed
the instructions on Autostart, but haven't tried that yet) or uninstalling
the software.

I am wondering if you suggest the malware next or if what type of errors I
have in memory matters, or...? I know it's doing disk checks at reboot after
freezing (most of the time) but not sure if that's also taking a toll on
memory.

I'm wondering now how huge a problem I have and if there's anything else to
be done short of trying to find a new Pentium III (if that's even
possible/advisable).

I hope you enjoyed Christmas.
Thanks again,
Deb

 

[Gerry]

Deb

See if Crucial can offer you suitable memory at a reasonable price:
http://www.crucial.com/

You should get a Pentium 4 if you go for a replacement computer.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~