PC problem

[Phil]

A neighbor is having a strange problem with his PC as described below:

"My computer is a Dell Dimension DIM 3000, with an Intel Pentium processor
@2.80 GHz & w/ 2 GB RAM The Operating System is Windows XP, SP3 Windows
"Defender" and AVG Anti virus have been active for a long time.

Over time, my computer began taking longer and longer to boot up & to load
any programs. It then began rather frequently locking up to the point that
it would not shut down normally, and the only way to get re-started was to
unplug the computer, then re-start. After re-booting, it would run as above
for a while, then freeze up again.

CCleaner, Spybot, UWClean, and PC Pitstop were run and many loose ends
corrected and unnecessary things eliminated. Some problems still existed,
so Windows Repair was run and SP's 1,2,&3 re-installed. NOW, the computer
boots and runs quite well except that occasionally the Internet Explorer,
the Earthlink Mailbox Icon, and any icons in the "Quick Launch Toolbar" will
become inactive (right clicking on the icon and choosing "properties" shows
them to be "Not a valid shortcut".

Re-booting the computer eliminates the problem for an indefinite time,
sometimes for several hours, sometimes for a few minutes."

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Phil B.


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[RJK]

A neighbor is having a strange problem with his PC as described below:

"My computer is a Dell Dimension DIM 3000, with an Intel Pentium processor
@2.80 GHz & w/ 2 GB RAM The Operating System is Windows XP, SP3 Windows
"Defender" and AVG Anti virus have been active for a long time.

Over time, my computer began taking longer and longer to boot up & to load
any programs. It then began rather frequently locking up to the point that
it would not shut down normally, and the only way to get re-started was to
unplug the computer, then re-start. After re-booting, it would run as
above
for a while, then freeze up again.

CCleaner, Spybot, UWClean, and PC Pitstop were run and many loose ends
corrected and unnecessary things eliminated. Some problems still existed,
so Windows Repair was run and SP's 1,2,&3 re-installed. NOW, the computer
boots and runs quite well except that occasionally the Internet Explorer,
the Earthlink Mailbox Icon, and any icons in the "Quick Launch Toolbar"
will
become inactive (right clicking on the icon and choosing "properties"
shows
them to be "Not a valid shortcut".

Re-booting the computer eliminates the problem for an indefinite time,
sometimes for several hours, sometimes for a few minutes."

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Phil B.

Have you checked that your bios options are correctly set ? i.e. check that
they haven't "bombed out" to fail-safe or "default settings" ?
....the XP "repair install" that you ran, (in my experience at least), would
have required most, if not all, application programs to be reinstalled -
particularly AVG.

....a registry cleaner / fault finder such as "WinCleaner OneClick Cleanup,"
which allows you to inspect ALL proposed registry changes, might be of use.
....so long as you MANUALLY WORK THROUGH the list of changes it suggests.
i.e. DON'T let such a program whistle through your registry doing just what
it likes - that would do more harm than good.

regards, Richard

 

[Miker163]

If they are on the web alot-- you may want to use the DISC CLEANUP utility.
Go to Programs, Accessories, Disc cleanup. This will get rid of alot of
junk. Also
try removing some programs that are not used &/or overlap. These can cause
alot of hidden conflicts.

miker163
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