XP Crashing

[Bob Hansen]

Hi Group, I'm having a problem with my Dell XPS 600, about 4 months old. It
has the dual core processor with 2 GB of ram. I've been having a problem
for several months. The PC goes into a partially crashed state. It becomes
very slow and sluggish. The cursor jumps around wildly. The CPU use is
50 -70 percent, with no programs open. It looks like one of the 2 processors
is running at 100% all the time. The sound is choppy or stuttering.
Restarting does not fix it. This problem is intermittent. Runs fine much of
the time. Then this problem develops and lasts for 10 minutes to 2 hours and
then just goes away. I've removed all my USB devices except mouse and
keyboard. I've also reloaded all the drivers from the resource CD. I run 3
spyware programs. I've disabled all the items in system configuration. I run
an up to date Mcafee virus scan. I've run the Dell diagnostics and all the
internal hardware passes the tests. Dell has worked with me on this, but
they are unable to resolve it. I'm not sure what to do next.

 

[DL]

Are any error msgs shown in Event Viewer (Administrative Tools)

 

[Bob Hansen]

Yes, here and there there is an error. Under "application", there are a few
application hangs and various other things. How can I interpret these things
to find the cause of my problem?

 

[DL]

By posting the err msgs, eg Source, Category, Event ID Description
or looking here
http://www.eventid.net/display.asp?eventid=1003&source=System+Error[/URL]

 

[Bob Hansen]

Here is an event that was recorded about the time I had crash this morning.
Hope you can read the small font: Hanging application msimn.exe, version
6.0.2900.2180, hang module hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address
0x00000000. Looks like it is connected with Outlook Express.

By posting the err msgs, eg Source, Category, Event ID Description
or looking here
http://www.eventid.net/display.asp?eventid=1003&source=System+Error[/URL]

Yes, here and there there is an error. Under "application", there are a few
application hangs and various other things. How can I interpret these things
to find the cause of my problem?

 

[Ron Martell]

Here is an event that was recorded about the time I had crash this morning.
Hope you can read the small font: Hanging application msimn.exe, version
6.0.2900.2180, hang module hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address
0x00000000. Looks like it is connected with Outlook Express.

msimn.exe *is* Outlook Express

(msimn = Microsoft Internet Mail and News, the original name for
Outlook Express).

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Bob Hansen]

Thanks. So, if outlook express is responsible for my crashing, How can I
resolve this?

 

[Ron Martell]

Thanks. So, if outlook express is responsible for my crashing, How can I
resolve this?

The error messages for hanging applications are very sparse in terms
of specific details that would allow tracing of the underlying cause,
so it is difficult to say based on what you have provided so far.

Very often these "hanging application" errors are just a symptom of
another problem, often with other applications or device drives, that
is the genuine culprit.

You said that this error occurred at "about the same time" as your
crash this morning. What other items are recorded in event view
(system or application categories) at this same time?

Going back to your original posting and the comments about high CPU
usage. The next time this happens press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to bring up
the Windows Task Manager. Go to the Processes tab and click twice on
the CPU column header. That will sort the process list based on CPU
usage with the highest usage items at the top (descending order). The
name(s) of the 4 or 5 processes with the highest usage may provide a
clue as to the actual cause of your problems.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."