Application lock-up

[gary]

In Excel 2007, while saving a spreadsheet; selecting, deleting or
inserting columns; etc, an hourglass appears on my monitor and I can
hear the local hard disk spinning (the sound is more noticeable than
when the hard disk is not being accessed).

But, after the process ends, the hard disk repeatedly speeds up and
slows down and I can't work on the spreadsheet (the hourglass remains
on my monitor).

Task Manager's "Application" page shows that "Microsoft Excel" is "Not
Responding". And, the "Processes" page shows that the "Mem Usage" for
EXCEL.EXE does not change.

What is causing this problem and how can I resolve it?

 

[gary]

How do I see what the Event Log contains?

 

[gary]

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name GARY
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model OptiPlex GX280
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 1 GenuineIntel ~2992 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 1 GenuineIntel ~2992 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A04, 02/09/2005
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.
040803-2158)"
User Name GARY\user
Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 136.41 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.20 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

 

[Marc]

How do I see what the Event Log contains?

Windows has multiple ways to run virtually everything, for Event Viewer:

Start > Run > eventvwr.msc

Right click My Computer > Manage > Event Viewer

How to view and manage event logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427


Marc

 

[gary]

Hi Marc,

If the reason for the lock-up is recorded in the Event Log, which
log(s) and what Event Type(s) do I look at?

Gary