Programs not responding / hanging up

[Guest]

Dear all
i am having a problem with various programs not responding / hanging up. If
I wait a few minutes then they respond, but waiting is very frustrating.

I have looked at lots of postings relating to this problem and have worked
through the suggested solutions -
- I have thought about what changed between the time things worked OK and
the time they didn't. I did two things - I downloaded and installed SP2 for
MS Office 2003 (see my query posted on the Office General group) - I
downloaded and installed a sound driver Realtek AC'97 Audio from a third
party website, but there was a warning against it in the Device Manager so I
uninstalled it - Is it possible that it left something behind that I don't
know about?
- I have run Norton AntiVirus 2005 (after Live Update) several times, in
Regular Mode and Safe Mode, and found nothing.
- I have run AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy (both up to date) several
times, in Regular Mode and Safe Mode, and fixed or deleted all the problems
found.
- In elephantboycomputers' item 'Removing Malware' I have done everything
except HijackThis and Process Explorer and Killbox etc. because I'm not
clever enough to do things like that.
- I haven't done all the things in Clean Boot because I don't know enough
about the stuff in System Configuration Utility.
- I have run Registry Mechanic several times and repaired hundreds of
problems.
- I have run Windows XP Disk Cleanup several times.
- I have run Windows XP Check Disk and found nothing wrong.
- I have run Windows XP Disk Defrag several times, including in Safe Mode.
- I have manually deleted hundreds of files from a search on 'temp' folders
in Windows Explorer - Is it possible that I could have deleted something
important from a Temp folder?
- I have run the Windows XP Task Manager > Processes and the only anomaly I
noticed was that while I was doing a Disk Defrag the CPU Usage box at the
bottom of the window was showing about 50% while the list above it was
showing about 99% for the System Idle Process.
- i have looked in the Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer
but I don't know whether any of the Errors or Warnings there are relevant to
my problem - Please can you advise me what to look for?

I'm sorry this is long-winded but I wanted to be thorough in my posting, in
the hope of narrowing down my problem. Please can anyone help me?

Regards, Mike

 

[Mike Williams]

Dear all
i am having a problem with various programs not responding / hanging up. If
I wait a few minutes then they respond, but waiting is very frustrating.

Specific programs?

- I have run Norton AntiVirus 2005 (after Live Update) several times, in
Regular Mode and Safe Mode, and found nothing.

Try disconnecting your computer from the net and turning OFF NAV in case
it is the problem.

- I have run Registry Mechanic several times and repaired hundreds of
problems.

DON'T EVER USE these registry "cleaner" programs - they can leave your
system in a worse or even unrecoverable state.

 

[phillip maurice nelson]

try this : click on start, then click run & type:
/scannow press enter.

 

[phillip maurice nelson]

BOOT SECTOR VIRUS-- an infectious program that can
replicate the boot program with a modified infected
version of the boot command utilities often causing
boot & data retrieval problems.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

BOOT SECTOR VIRUS-- an infectious program that can
replicate the boot program with a modified infected
version of the boot command utilities often causing
boot & data retrieval problems.

Yes, that's an accurate definition. But what does it have to do with the
message you're replying to?

If you are suggesting that the symptoms of the problem reported suggest a
boot sector virus, that's ludicrous. It's *highly* unlikely that that's the
OP's problem.

 

[Plato]

BOOT SECTOR VIRUS-- an infectious program that can
replicate the boot program with a modified infected
version of the boot command utilities often causing
boot & data retrieval problems.

Luckily, you dont find them circulating much anymore.

 

[Guest]

Specific programs?

Dear Mike, thanks for your reply. No specific programs, it happens with lots
of them, mainly when I try to open them - MS Word 2003, MS Outlook 2003,
Norton Internet Security 2005 etc. When it is going to hang up, the cursor
changes to 'Busy' for a few seconds then changes back to 'Not busy'. Then
anything else I try to open or close, including my connection to the
Internet, will hang up in a similar manner. In that situation even Windows
Task Manager won't start, and the Microsoft workaround of Start > Log off >
Switch user > Turn off computer hangs up as well.

Try disconnecting your computer from the net and turning OFF NAV in case
it is the problem.

I tried that, thanks, and it made no difference.

DON'T EVER USE these registry "cleaner" programs - they can leave your
system in a worse or even unrecoverable state.

I have been using Registry Mechanic from PC Tools Research Pty Ltd. because
it was recommended in a Spring clean article in 'Personal Computer World'
magazine a couple of years ago, so I assumed it was a reputable utility. I
accept your advice but would be interested to hear why you think I shouldn't
use it? Is there anything comparable that you would recommend?

I look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Mike

 

[Guest]

try this : click on start, then click run & type:
/scannow press enter.

Dear Philip, thanks for your reply. I'm sorry to be a dumbo, but when I do
exactly as you suggest I get the message "Windows cannot find '/scannow'.
Make sure you typed the name correctly ... " I looked up the /scannow command
in Microsoft Help Center and found that it was for the System File Checker
routine sfc.exe, so I typed sfc.exe and pressed Enter. There was a brief
flash of what looked like a dialog window, then nothing. Was this the System
File Checker working (very quickly!) or am I doing something wrong?
Regards, Mike

 

[Guest]

BOOT SECTOR VIRUS-- an infectious program that can
replicate the boot program with a modified infected
version of the boot command utilities often causing
boot & data retrieval problems.

Dear Philip, thanks for the reply. i am running Norton Internet Security
2005 ASE, which I keep up to date with daily LiveUpdates. I also do
occasional full scans with the Norton Antivirus component. Should this find
any Boot Sector Viruses? If not, is there any other utility you would
recommend for finding them? I am running AdAware SE Personal Edition and
Spybot Search & Destroy, I also have Webroot Spy Sweeper.
Regards, Mike

 

[Guest]

Yes, that's an accurate definition. But what does it have to do with the
message you're replying to?

If you are suggesting that the symptoms of the problem reported suggest a
boot sector virus, that's ludicrous. It's *highly* unlikely that that's the
OP's problem.

Dear Ken, thanks for our response. Please see my replies to all the postings
so far.
Please do you have any suggestions to solve my problem?
Regards, Mike

 

[Guest]

Dear Philip, I've just read about System File Checker in 'Troubleshooting
your PC for Dummies' and with their instructions I've been able to run
/scannow. Obviously I'm a real dumbo! I don't know if SFC found any problems,
but if the PC's performance is improved I guess it fixed them. Watch this
space ...
Regards, Mike

 

[Guest]

Dear Mike

Further to my previous posting, I'd very much value your further thoughts on
why 'registry cleaners' should not be used. Registry Mechanic from PC Tools
seems to be highly thought of in some places (I've seen it given a 5-star
rating), also System Mechanic from www.iolo.com. I have bought Norton
SystemWorks, which has a registry tool in it - should I not use it?

Looking forward to hearing from you. Regards, Mike Whitehead

By the way we got so frustrated with the problem of programs not responding
/ hanging up that have reformatted the hard disk and reinstalled Windows, so
we hope the problem has gone away. But my interest in registry tools still
stands.

 

[Guest]

Dear Philip, running the System File Checker did not improve the situation.
We got so frustrated with the problem of programs not responding / hanging up
that we have now reformatted the hard disk and reinstalled Windows, so hope
the problem has gone away.

Thanks for your help. Regards, Mike

 

[Guest]

Dear Ken,
We got so frustrated with the problem of programs not responding / hanging
up that we have now reformatted the hard disk and reinstalled Windows, so
hope the problem has gone away.

Thanks for your help. Regards, Mike