Windows Explorer Freezes - have to use Task Manager to kill it

  • Thread starter Thread starter TedM
  • Start date Start date
T

TedM

I am having a very frustrating problem with Windows Explorer freezing and
the only way to free it is to use Task Manager to kill it. I am at a point
that my PC is becoming unusable.

I am using Windows XP SP2 with all the latest updates. My PC's basic config
is:
- Motherboard - MSI 865GM3-LS Motherboard with 1GB of RAM

- Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHz

- Ultra ATA-133 PCI to IDE and RAID controller from Silicon Image



I have the following disk drives attached to the PC:

- a Seagate 150GB SATA drive which is my main (Windows) drive (with two
partitions one of which is used as the "Windows XP" drive.

- a Maxtor 300GB PATA drive with two partitions one of which has "My
Documents" folders and data. This is the one that I am having Windowns
Explorer freeze on me as I try to access my folders and files. /this drive
is connected to one of the two IDE connectors on the motherboard.

- 120GB drive (Seagate or Western Digital) attached to the PCI/IDE card

- an Emprex 16X DVD+/-RW attached to separately to the other IDE connector
on the motherboard





In terms of software:



- as I mentioned above Win XP Pro SP2 with all the latest MS updates.



- I had IE 7.0 installed which I removed after reading somethings that
raised doubt in my mind that it might be causing the problems that I am
seeing. However I still have the problems, so I am guessing that it is not
the source of the problem, though I don't know if removing IE 7.0 CLEANED up
all the things it had changed, .



- I have MS Office XP



- Firefox 1.5 and later 2.0



- Symatec/Norton SystemWorks 2006 - with all the updates





The problem with Windows Explorer is caused when I try to use it to access
my files. It usually happens after a couple of clicks to navigate my folder
hierarchy. Then it just freezes and will not respond to anything except
removing it using Task Manager.



Initially I thought it was tied to one folder hierarchy, so thinking that it
might be tied to the disk, I copied it to another drive - the one on the
PCI/IDE controller card. However I still have the same problem.



Now however I have found that the problem arises with other folder
hierarchies. It intitially seemed to be happenning to one folder hierarchy
because that was the one I happened to try to access and use at the time I
was running into this problem.



I have contacted Microsoft support thinking that I might get quick
resolution to this problem but I am still waiting for help from them. Since
it was taking too long, I decided to bite the bullet and get set up on this
News Group to post and get some help.



Thanks for any Help getting this vexing problem solved,



Ted M.
 
TedM said:
I am having a very frustrating problem with Windows Explorer freezing
and the only way to free it is to use Task Manager to kill it. I am at
a point that my PC is becoming unusable.

I am using Windows XP SP2 with all the latest updates. My PC's basic
config is:
- Motherboard - MSI 865GM3-LS Motherboard with 1GB of RAM
- Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHz
- Ultra ATA-133 PCI to IDE and RAID controller from Silicon Image
I have the following disk drives attached to the PC:
- a Seagate 150GB SATA drive which is my main (Windows) drive (with
two partitions one of which is used as the "Windows XP" drive.
- a Maxtor 300GB PATA drive with two partitions one of which has "My
Documents" folders and data. This is the one that I am having Windowns
Explorer freeze on me as I try to access my folders and files. /this
drive is connected to one of the two IDE connectors on the
motherboard.

- 120GB drive (Seagate or Western Digital) attached to the PCI/IDE
card
- an Emprex 16X DVD+/-RW attached to separately to the other IDE
connector on the motherboard

(snippage)

You've got an awful lot of power-hungry stuff in and connected to that
machine. I see that you left out your power supply specs. If you've
just got a 350-400W psu that came with your case, swap it out for a
really high-quality beefy one and see if that makes a difference.
Otherwise, strip the machine down and add one component at a time to
find out which hardware is giving you the issue. If the psu is adequate
and healthy it could be the RAM, overheating, a lot of things. I don't
think this is software-related.

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

Malke
 

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