Program Not Responding

[Guest]

Windows XP, SP1

For the last couple of months, various applications
have started to lockup for no apparent reason. The
error message is: "This program is not responding".
So I have to close and restart the program. Another
example is sometimes when I Shut-down Windows this
error message appears: "IExplore.exe - this program
is not responding".

I have a virus checker, firewall, and spyware remover.
According to these, I have no viruses, trojan horses,
or adware on my computer. I haven't updated to Service
Pack 2, but I have several automatic updates. And I
suspect that one of them may have caused the problem.
The MS Knowledge Base has plenty of "not responding"
entries, but none fit my setup specifically.

I'd like to know what kind of Windows glitch will
result in repeated "not responding" errors. Any
suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks,

 

[Malke]

Windows XP, SP1

For the last couple of months, various applications
have started to lockup for no apparent reason. The
error message is: "This program is not responding".
So I have to close and restart the program. Another
example is sometimes when I Shut-down Windows this
error message appears: "IExplore.exe - this program
is not responding".

I have a virus checker, firewall, and spyware remover.
According to these, I have no viruses, trojan horses,
or adware on my computer. I haven't updated to Service
Pack 2, but I have several automatic updates. And I
suspect that one of them may have caused the problem.
The MS Knowledge Base has plenty of "not responding"
entries, but none fit my setup specifically.

I'd like to know what kind of Windows glitch will
result in repeated "not responding" errors. Any
suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks,

It doesn't necessarily have to be "a Windows glitch". It could be
failing hardware. There isn't any way to tell from your post, except
that if your antivirus is current and the definitions are updated you
probably don't have malware. Are there any clues in Event Viewer
(Start>Run eventvwr.msc [enter])? Try doing a clean boot. Perhaps
something legitimate that is running in the background has a problem.
Here's a link to how to do a clean boot:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=310353

Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke,

Thanks for the response. I have concluded that this may be an OS glitch,
because I have exhausted most of the other options. As you suggested, I
opened Event Viewer, and it merely confirmed that various applications
suddenly and randomly hang for no apparent reason. [hung apps include:
kernel.dll, MSiInstaller, MS Office, MS Outlook, MS Word, and several
graphics and CAD apps] I have excluded viruses, malware, and hardware [e.g.
ran a memory tester]. I have carefully combed thru running apps and processes
in Task Manager. I have rooted-out some suspicious software in the Registry.
The only other clue I have, is that the problem may have started after an
automatic update of WinXP. Since SP2 seems to wreak havoc on some systems, I
have turned off the automatic updates. I could try to restore to a point
before each update, but since the problem is intermittent, that could take a
long time.

What I'm looking for now is some insight into the mechanics of a hang-up.
What kind of calls or commands could cause "this application is not
responding" errors"? The Knowledge Base showed lots of examples, but not much
of a pattern. Do you have any other ideas or suggestions? Thanks again,

JHE

Windows XP, SP1

For the last couple of months, various applications
have started to lockup for no apparent reason. The
error message is: "This program is not responding".
So I have to close and restart the program. Another
example is sometimes when I Shut-down Windows this
error message appears: "IExplore.exe - this program
is not responding".

I have a virus checker, firewall, and spyware remover.
According to these, I have no viruses, trojan horses,
or adware on my computer. I haven't updated to Service
Pack 2, but I have several automatic updates. And I
suspect that one of them may have caused the problem.
The MS Knowledge Base has plenty of "not responding"
entries, but none fit my setup specifically.

I'd like to know what kind of Windows glitch will
result in repeated "not responding" errors. Any
suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks,

It doesn't necessarily have to be "a Windows glitch". It could be
failing hardware. There isn't any way to tell from your post, except
that if your antivirus is current and the definitions are updated you
probably don't have malware. Are there any clues in Event Viewer
(Start>Run eventvwr.msc [enter])? Try doing a clean boot. Perhaps
something legitimate that is running in the background has a problem.
Here's a link to how to do a clean boot:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=310353

Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"

 

[Malke]

Malke,

Thanks for the response. I have concluded that this may be an OS
glitch, because I have exhausted most of the other options. As you
suggested, I opened Event Viewer, and it merely confirmed that various
applications suddenly and randomly hang for no apparent reason. [hung
apps include: kernel.dll, MSiInstaller, MS Office, MS Outlook, MS
Word, and several graphics and CAD apps] I have excluded viruses,
malware, and hardware [e.g. ran a memory tester]. I have carefully
combed thru running apps and processes in Task Manager. I have
rooted-out some suspicious software in the Registry. The only other
clue I have, is that the problem may have started after an automatic
update of WinXP. Since SP2 seems to wreak havoc on some systems, I
have turned off the automatic updates. I could try to restore to a
point before each update, but since the problem is intermittent, that
could take a long time.

What I'm looking for now is some insight into the mechanics of a
hang-up. What kind of calls or commands could cause "this application
is not responding" errors"? The Knowledge Base showed lots of
examples, but not much of a pattern. Do you have any other ideas or
suggestions? Thanks again,

It could still be hardware. Perhaps your computer is overheating. Or
perhaps you have a bad driver. Did you update any drivers through
Windows Update? This is always a bad idea. Did you do a clean boot? The
clean boot is very important. The idea is to run with almost nothing in
the background and then add one thing at a time.

Malke