PC crashing/freezing

[Craig T]

I have an old PC, it's an AMD 2400+ running Windows XP HE SP2.

Everything was fine until today, when suddenly the mouse froze and the PC
crashed. I rebooted it with the restart button, but after loading Windows,
the same thing happened. I've tried loading safe mode, with and without
networking, but to no avail - I can't do anything because the cursor is
frozen. (I have tried another mouse and it's no different, also another USB
port).

Does anyone know what the problem could be, and how I can overcome this,
please? I have Googled the problem, but can only find solutions where the
mouse is functional.

With thanks.

 

[Daave]

I have an old PC, it's an AMD 2400+ running Windows XP HE SP2.

Everything was fine until today, when suddenly the mouse froze and
the PC crashed. I rebooted it with the restart button, but after
loading Windows, the same thing happened. I've tried loading safe
mode, with and without networking, but to no avail - I can't do
anything because the cursor is frozen. (I have tried another mouse
and it's no different, also another USB port).

Does anyone know what the problem could be, and how I can overcome
this, please? I have Googled the problem, but can only find
solutions where the mouse is functional.

With thanks.

You say this is an old PC. If it has the correct port, try a PS/2 mouse
and see if it works then.

What is the malware status of your PC?

You can try a Live Linux CD like Knoppix or Ubuntu to see if your mouse
works. This will tell you if your problem is Windows-related or not.

What is the make an model of your PC? Do you have access to a Windows XP
installation CD?

 

[Craig T]

You say this is an old PC. If it has the correct port, try a PS/2 mouse
and see if it works then.

Hello Daave,
I'm afraid I don't have a PS/2 mouse anymore... I'll have to see if I have
an adaptor somewhere in the house.What is the malware status of your PC?
I use Avast antiVirus and MBAM, the machine has been scanned recently, and
the results came back clean.

You can try a Live Linux CD like Knoppix or Ubuntu to see if your mouse
works. This will tell you if your problem is Windows-related or not.

Where can I obtain one, and what do I do with it?

What is the make an model of your PC? Do you have access to a Windows XP
installation CD? My PC was privately made about 6 years ago, and this is
the first time this has happened. I have the original XP disc, yes. I
really don't want to lose any data if at all possible.

Thank you.

 

[Daave]

Where can I obtain one, and what do I do with it?

Knoppix:

You can purchase one or make your own. I see on Ebay there is a seller
with 246 feedbacks, all 100%. He is selling it for 99 cents plus $3.99
shipping.

Or you can make your own. You need access to a working PC and CD burner
(and blank CDRs). You can go here:

http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

Then click on the Download button for a choice of locations to download
the .iso file from. Example:

http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirr...&link=http://www.kernel.org/pub/dist/knoppix/

Clicking on Accept takes you here:

http://www.kernel.org/pub/dist/knoppix/

This is the one you want:

KNOPPIX-ADRIANE_V6.2CD-2009-11-18-EN.iso

Save this .iso file to a directory on a good PC. You will then need to
use a program to burn a CD from it. I like this one:

http://www.imgburn.com/

(By the way, with this and all other Web pages, ignore all the ads!)

BTW, here is a direct download link:

http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

This is the name of the installation file:

ImgBurn_2.5.0.0.exe

Install it. Run it. Point to the .iso file you downloaded. Pick your
destination drive (the CD burner). The finished product will be a
*bootable* CD.

In order to boot off the CD, you will need to change your PC's BIOS so
it boots off the CD first (usually, the hard drive is the first choice).
In order to access the BIOS, see this page:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

The process for Ubuntu is similar. Just Google these terms:

live
ubuntu
cd

I'm sure you can find a reputable seller on Ebay for this one, too.

Once you boot into the Linux environment, you can see if your mouse
works. If it does, then you know you have a Windows issue. An added
bonus of doing this is you can now safely copy all your important data
if you haven't done so yet to an external hard drive.

 

[Daave]

My PC was privately made about 6 years ago, and this is the first
time this has happened. I have the original XP disc, yes. I really
don't want to lose any data if at all possible.

This is good. You may need to use this CD for one of the following:

1. Recovery Console
2. Repair Install
3. Clean Install

But before you do the above, try PS/2 mouse first. And booting off a
Live Linux CD will let you know if your problem is Windows-related or
not. And hopefully you will have the opportunity to make ure all your
data is safely copied!

If you can't use the Linux CD (assuming it's a good CD), you have
hardware issues and have to address them:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

If it turns out your Windows system is riddled with malware, this guide
should help:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

If the above is too daunting, simply find a tech who can fix this for
you. Avoid all the chain stores and find someone local and qualified!

If hardware is fine and you are malware-free, the following may be your
solution:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

(and the above method uses the Recovery Console from your CD)

Also, sometimes all that is necessary in a non-bootable situation is to
clear the CMOS:

http://www.cybertechhelp.com/tutorial/article/clear-the-cmos

(you might as well try clearing the CMOS *first*)

Otherwise, a Repair Install might be needed:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

(This can be tricky, though, depending on Service Pack level of XP and
IE version, among other things.)

Last resort (assuming hardware is fine) is a Clean Install (once all
your data is safely copied):

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[Craig T]

This is good. You may need to use this CD for one of the following:

1. Recovery Console
2. Repair Install
3. Clean Install

But before you do the above, try PS/2 mouse first. And booting off a Live
Linux CD will let you know if your problem is Windows-related or not. And
hopefully you will have the opportunity to make ure all your data is
safely copied!

If you can't use the Linux CD (assuming it's a good CD), you have hardware
issues and have to address them:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

If it turns out your Windows system is riddled with malware, this guide
should help:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

If the above is too daunting, simply find a tech who can fix this for you.
Avoid all the chain stores and find someone local and qualified!

If hardware is fine and you are malware-free, the following may be your
solution:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

(and the above method uses the Recovery Console from your CD)

Also, sometimes all that is necessary in a non-bootable situation is to
clear the CMOS:

http://www.cybertechhelp.com/tutorial/article/clear-the-cmos

(you might as well try clearing the CMOS *first*)

Otherwise, a Repair Install might be needed:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

(This can be tricky, though, depending on Service Pack level of XP and IE
version, among other things.)

Last resort (assuming hardware is fine) is a Clean Install (once all your
data is safely copied):

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Wow, thank you very much Daave for all your help I'll get a PS/2 mouse
to try, and I will get the Ubuntu disc (in any case), that sounds very
interesting. I've learned something new today and I'll keep your posts for
future reference - thanks again.

Warm regards,
Craig

 

[Daave]

Wow, thank you very much Daave for all your help I'll get a PS/2
mouse to try, and I will get the Ubuntu disc (in any case), that
sounds very interesting. I've learned something new today and I'll
keep your posts for future reference - thanks again.

Warm regards,
Craig

YW, Craig. Keep us posted!

 

[thanatoid]

(mouse stuff)

You can get a utility called joymouse and kbdmouse which will et
you move the cursor with the arrow keys. I can post them for you
if you can't find them. Those PS/2 adapters don't always work.

--
There are only two classifications of disk drives: Broken drives
and those that will break later.
- Chuck Armstrong (This one I think, http://www.cleanreg.com/,
not the ball player. But who knows. I can't remember where I got
the quote. But it's true.)

 

[Jose]

I have an old PC, it's  an AMD 2400+ running Windows XP HE SP2.

Everything was fine until today, when suddenly the mouse froze and the PC
crashed.  I rebooted it with the restart button, but after loading Windows,
the same thing happened.  I've tried loading safe mode, with and without
networking, but to no avail - I can't do anything because the cursor is
frozen. (I have tried another mouse and it's no different, also another USB
port).

Does anyone know what the problem could be, and how I can overcome this,
please?  I have Googled the problem, but can only find solutions where the
mouse is functional.

With thanks.

What does "crashed" mean?

Are you getting a Blue Screen of Death?

If yes, the information on the BSOD screen is what you need to solve
your problem.

If you can only boot in Safe Mode, choose the option:

Disable automatic restart on system failure

so you can see the BSOD. No mouse required - use the keyboard.

Here are some BSOD blue screen of death examples showing information
you need to provide:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/images/Windows_XP_BSOD.png
http://techrepublic.com.com/i/tr/downloads/images/bsod_a.jpg

Send the information pointed to with the red arrows (3-4 lines
total). Skip the boring text unless it looks important to you. We
know what a BSOD looks like, we need to know the other information
that is specific to your BSOD.

What happens if you choose Last Known Good Configuration?

If you have to resort to the power button, there is some risk of file
system corruption and then your system will never boot until you fix
that.

You can verify your file system with the XP Recovery Console using a
bootable XP installation CD, or if you don't have any XP media you can
make a bootable Recovery Console CD.