XP & Programs Running Slow and Crashing -- Shoujld I Reformat?

[MIkey]

I've been running Windows XP on a new Dell system for the
past 2 months now without any issues.

I keep my Spyware, and Anti virus programs up to date and
scan regularly and ran scans of both day, which came up
negative.

Everything has been working fine until this morning.

I've had my XP machine networked with an old Win98 SE
machine. Up till now, I've had no problem. Been able to
share files back and forth between the machines.

This morning I attempted to get my Win98 SE machine to
recognize the printer on my XP machine so that I could
print to it. This is things started to fall apart.

I was not able to get the Win98 SE machine to recognize
the printer, and then I started having problems on my XP
System. Namely, VERY slow performance, programs locking
up, half of my wallpaper is missing, can't access Outlook
2003 -- the list goes on and on.

Here's what I've tried so far, none which has seemed to
help:

1. Reboot several times, both warm and cold.

2. Reboot in "Safe Mode".

3. System Restore to several different points

4. Turn off all startup programs within MSCONFIG

5. Contacted Dell Tech support.

Regarding issue 5, they are telling me that it sounds
like my XP OS is corrupted and the ONLY solution is to
reformat the disc and reinstall XP.

I has asked if there was a way to attempt to locate the
currpet file and they said no.

This sounds VERY extreme to me and I want a "second
opinion" before I go through the
reformatting/reinstallation process.

Please let me know if there are ANY other steps that I
should try. I'm in a really sticky situation and would
appreciate any assistance you can offer.

Thanks in advance --
Mikey

 

[Malke]

I've been running Windows XP on a new Dell system for the
past 2 months now without any issues.

I keep my Spyware, and Anti virus programs up to date and
scan regularly and ran scans of both day, which came up
negative.

Everything has been working fine until this morning.

I've had my XP machine networked with an old Win98 SE
machine. Up till now, I've had no problem. Been able to
share files back and forth between the machines.

This morning I attempted to get my Win98 SE machine to
recognize the printer on my XP machine so that I could
print to it. This is things started to fall apart.

I was not able to get the Win98 SE machine to recognize
the printer, and then I started having problems on my XP
System. Namely, VERY slow performance, programs locking
up, half of my wallpaper is missing, can't access Outlook
2003 -- the list goes on and on.

Here's what I've tried so far, none which has seemed to
help:

1. Reboot several times, both warm and cold.

2. Reboot in "Safe Mode".

3. System Restore to several different points

4. Turn off all startup programs within MSCONFIG

5. Contacted Dell Tech support.

Regarding issue 5, they are telling me that it sounds
like my XP OS is corrupted and the ONLY solution is to
reformat the disc and reinstall XP.

I has asked if there was a way to attempt to locate the
currpet file and they said no.

This sounds VERY extreme to me and I want a "second
opinion" before I go through the
reformatting/reinstallation process.

Please let me know if there are ANY other steps that I
should try. I'm in a really sticky situation and would
appreciate any assistance you can offer.

Thanks in advance --
Mikey

Hi, Mikey. You may have hardware problems. Here are some generic
hardware troubleshooting steps:

1) open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing); 2) test
the RAM - I like Memtest86 from www.memtest86.com - let the test run
for an extended (like overnight) period of time - unless errors are
seen immediately; 3) test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from
the mftr.; 4) the power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for
the devices you have in the system; 5) test the motherboard with
something like TuffTest from www.tufftest.com. Testing hardware
failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good
parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable
opening your computer, take the machine to a good local computer repair
shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store) or if it is still under
warranty with Dell, insist that they deal with it without reinstalling
Windows. They will take you through a long process with their
diagnostic utilities, but you have to do it.

Malke