freezing

[iz0nlee]

After running for about 5 - 10 minutes my computer starts to freeze , I
can't close any windo or application except by pressing control/alt/delete
to open task manager, close that by clicking twice on the 'x' close button,
this de-freezes the screen for another length of time, then it happens
again. It also affects moving files as I can't copy or move files around in
explorer by drag and drop. Any clues what is wrong?
running win xp home sp2
pentium 4 2.66GHz
512 ram

 

[R. McCarty]

512-MB of RAM should be enough. The problem with diagnosing
this kind of problem is not knowing what apps ( specifically Security )
that you are using. A "Freeze" and not a BSOD or exception event
would likely point to a process that is consuming all of the CPU time
preventing other things from getting a time slice. Are you sure that the
PC is free of Malware ? I'd recommend you start by doing two scans
from:
http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/
http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/
If those are clean, then you need to investigate the System Event log
and see if the PC is logging errors. After that you need to use a tool
called Process Explorer to get a more detailed idea of what is running
on your PC.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
Sometimes an unresponsive PC can be caused by excessive heat, but
that usually results in the BIOS halting the PC - not a freeze

 

[philo]

After running for about 5 - 10 minutes my computer starts to freeze , I
can't close any windo or application except by pressing control/alt/delete
to open task manager, close that by clicking twice on the 'x' close button,
this de-freezes the screen for another length of time, then it happens
again. It also affects moving files as I can't copy or move files around in
explorer by drag and drop. Any clues what is wrong?
running win xp home sp2
pentium 4 2.66GHz
512 ram

check *all* cooling fans

especially the one on the cpu

 

[windmap]

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315/en-us