Laptop running XP locks up

[Eric]

I have a laptop here that whenever it boots up in a normal mode it locks up
about 15 seconds after logging into windows. We've noticed there is a lot of
hard drive activity after lockup. When booting into safe mode or diagnostics
mode it runs fine.

We've done the following actions and still haven't resolved the issue.

Checked for viruses
Four brand name rootkit scans
Cleared bios
Used spin
Cleared startup list
Changed memory

 

[SC Tom]

I have a laptop here that whenever it boots up in a normal mode it locks up
about 15 seconds after logging into windows. We've noticed there is a lot
of
hard drive activity after lockup. When booting into safe mode or
diagnostics
mode it runs fine.

We've done the following actions and still haven't resolved the issue.

Checked for viruses
Four brand name rootkit scans
Cleared bios
Used spin
Cleared startup list
Changed memory

What make and model is the laptop? How old is it? Has it ever been cleaned
out internally of dust, pet hair, etc.? When booting into safe mode, look in
the event log for errors. What did you use for a virus checker? Are the
definitions up to date? Have you tried a malware scanner such as
MalwareBytes? Do you get any errors on the screen when it locks up? If you
do a Ctrl-Alt-Del, does it bring anything up? If you leave it alone for at
least 30 minutes, does it stay locked up, or does it finally get into
Windows?

SC Tom

 

[R. McCarty]

If Safe Mode runs properly, then something is starting in a normal
boot that is causing the "Lock Up" You can use an excellent tool,
AutoRuns to examine what is starting. You did not mention what
Security Tools you used so it's possible you've got a Malware issue.
No single AntiVirus product will detect 100% of the infectors that
are known to exist. You should occasionally use an alternate AV
web scan to cross check your machine. Personally, I use either
Eset's NOD32 or Kaspersky's online scanning tools. I would also
download/install/update & run Malwarebytes (Free).

Download link for AutoRuns:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx