browser problem on XP

[Newbie]

XP home edition + SP3

My notebook starts having a problem with browsers. I have firefox and
iexplorer on it. They behave the same.
The problem is, after startup, sometimes, if I start the browser, it does
not show up. If I start Task Manager, I do not see it under "Applicatiosn",
but I can see it under "Processes". It does not respond if I choose to "End
Process" or "Showdown". The machine starts freezing from this point. The only
way is to power off. It does not seem having any problem if I does not start
browser.

 

[Malke]

XP home edition + SP3

My notebook starts having a problem with browsers. I have firefox and
iexplorer on it. They behave the same.
The problem is, after startup, sometimes, if I start the browser, it does
not show up. If I start Task Manager, I do not see it under
"Applicatiosn", but I can see it under "Processes". It does not respond if
I choose to "End Process" or "Showdown". The machine starts freezing from
this point. The only way is to power off. It does not seem having any
problem if I does not start browser.

The First Question Of Troubleshooting: If the problem is new, what changed
between the time things worked and the time they didn't?

The Second Question of Windows Troubleshooting: what is the malware/virus
status of the machine? If you think it is clean, what programs (and
versions) did you use to determine this?

Be sure the computer is clean:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Malke