Mark said:
Hi
I've had a problem with my pc which has only occured
since installing SP2 with Win XP. It now seems to totally
freeze after being on for a couple of days and then when
I try to reboot my PC, it always freezes and takes
numerous attempts to reboot before it finally works.
When trying to start the PC in Safe mode, it always seems
to stop at the point of loading driver agp40.sys.
Does anybody know what may be causing this, is it SP2 and
is there someway to fix it?
Perhaps your video card is overheating. Your description of the problem
certainly sounds like hardware might be involved. You haven't given
enough information to do a more specific diagnosis. Here are general
troubleshooting steps for both hardware and software:
A. For software issues -
1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2003)
antivirus using updated definitions;
2) remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy
(
www.safer-networking.org) and Ad-aware (
www.lavasoftusa.com). These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
You may also want to run CWShredder and HijackThis from
http://aumha.org/freeware.htm. Although CWShredder is no longer being
updated, it will still clean older variants of the CoolWebSearch
malware. If you do not have success with this, there are new removal
steps at
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html. A combination
of HijackThis and About:Buster (
http://www.majorgeeks.com) works well
in removing homepage hijackers. Always read the instructions before
running a spyware removal tool. Be sure to update these programs before
running, and it is a good idea to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode.
Make sure you are able to see all hidden files and extensions (View tab
in Folder Options);
3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore because malware will be in the Restore Points. With ME, you
must disable System Restore completely. With XP, you can delete all but
the most recent (presumably clean) System Restore point from the More
Options section of Disk Cleanup (Run>cleanmgr).
4) delete temporary and Temporary Internet Files;
5) stop unnecessary services/programs from starting with Windows - see
www.blackviper.com for services info and
www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm for programs info;
6) look in Event Viewer for clues;
7) make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update;
8) run a firewall.
B. For hardware issues -
1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing);
2) test the RAM - I like Memtest86 from
www.memtest86.com - let the test
run for an extended (like overnight) period of time - unless errors are
seen immediately;
3) test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr.;
4) the power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system;
5) test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out
suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing
yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer, take the
machine to a good local computer repair shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy
type of store).
Malke
