XP-Pro Frezzing up!

[Forrest Ganther]

Blankrecently, (after some MS updates ) my XP-Pro started locking up. this
usually occurs when I am opening/closing folders. It usually recovers
after a couple of minutes.

It does this quite often and is very annoying. I have used Ad-Aware
checking for spyware, ran Norton checking for whatever it could find,
everything check OK.

Any help appreciated! Thanks
Forrest

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

If your system is clear of viruses, open Control Panel, open System, go to
the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery, remove the
check from "Automatically Restart" under System Failure. This will cause
the system to blue screen instead of restarting on errors and the
information on the blue screen may give a clue as to the source of the
issue.

Open Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, open Event Viewer, look for
errors corresponding to the crash, double click the error, the information
contained within may give a clue as to the
source of the problem.

Assuming you have an XP CD and not a recovery CD, place the XP CD in the
drive, when the setup screen appears, select "Check System Compatibility,"
the report it generates may point to problem hardware or software on your
system. If you do not have an XP CD, you can download this application
known as the Upgrade Advisor from the following site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp
Note: If you have access to a broadband connection it might be best to
download using that as this is a rather large download.

Check for the latest drivers for your hardware, especially your graphics
card and soundcard and all peripherals connected to your system. No not use
Windows Update for this, go to the device manufacturer's web sites and if
you install updated drivers, ignore the message about drivers being unsigned
by Microsoft.

 

[Rusty]

I am having a similar problem. Try this; after a cold
boot, before running any programs, do a Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

This should bring up the "Windows Security" window (at
least it does on my XPPro.) Click "Task Manager" (center
bottom row.) Note any running programs on the
Applications Tab. Then click the Processes Tab. I've
seen (as a casual user) that "System Idle Processes" is
normally about 95-97% CPU time when healthy. If some
other process takes all the CPU time, that knowledge may
help you and others here isolate the problem for you. I
remember hearing somewhere that a "SP1" glitch caused
some of this type problem, but I don't know how to
isolate it yet either.

Somehow, on my machine,I don't know yet, "System" takes
the focus, going from 0 to 50-75%CPU and slowly my
machine turns to molasses. What's more, since I'm on a
laptop, the shut-down process wanders off and I can't
even turn the machine off!!

Thanks to all in advance!

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Same advice as I've already posted in this thread:

Be sure your antivirus software is up to date and run a scan of your entire
system.

Download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com

If your system is clear of viruses and ad ware, open Control Panel, open
System, go to the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery,
remove the
check from "Automatically Restart" under System Failure. This will cause
the system to blue screen instead of restarting on errors and the
information on the blue screen may give a clue as to the source of the
issue.

Open Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, open Event Viewer, look for
errors corresponding to the crash, double click the error, the information
contained within may give a clue as to the
source of the problem.

Assuming you have an XP CD and not a recovery CD, place the XP CD in the
drive, when the setup screen appears, select "Check System Compatibility,"
the report it generates may point to problem hardware or software on your
system. If you do not have an XP CD, you can download this application
known as the Upgrade Advisor from the following site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp
Note: If you have access to a broadband connection it might be best to
download using that as this is a rather large download.

Check for the latest drivers for your hardware, especially your graphics
card and soundcard and all peripherals connected to your system. No not use
Windows Update for this, go to the device manufacturer's web sites and if
you install updated drivers, ignore the message about drivers being unsigned
by Microsoft.