Threaders said:
I fixed this by eventually booting into Windows and doing the following.
My system received a much needed service at the same time and is now
running much faster:
Deleted all redundant programs including various potentially conflicting
antimalware programs but leaving AVG8.5.
RNorton Removal Tool.
Used CCleaner to remove over 4GB of rubbish
Ran Malwarebytes and Superantispyware to remove malware (before deleting
both) Defragmentation
Also: run>sfc /scannow (I required an installation CD) to replace dodgy
system files
Ran full chkdsk (checkdisk) including all options (required reboot which
worked!).
If the above had not worked I would have suspected PSU, Memory and then HD
in that order.
I changed my CMOS battery for the sake of it (mine 5+ years old).
My system is now working perfectly. All programs used are freeware
downloaded from the Web. Although often the case, this symptom does not
always mean a hardware fault.
I'm glad you solved the issue. Thanks for posting your solution. Here is the
line you originally wrote that made me put hardware failure as a first
possible culprit:
"It does this on, perhaps, nine out of every ten occassions [sic]."
Usually random failures point to hardware issues with software problems
tending to occur regularly and at the same point. It is always important to
bear in mind that when you are getting tech advice in a newsgroup that
unless there is an error message or behavior with an exact known cause,
diagnosing a machine that one cannot see or test based only on what someone
has written is not precise.
In any case, it is good to hear that your computer is now working well.
Malke