XP temp. hangs and sometimes stops responding

[Guest]

OK so I've done the obvious here - deep scan in safe mode for viruses (using
Computer Associates AV) and deep scan for SpyWare and Malware using Adaware
SE and SpyBot (which found DyFuCa which I removed from the reg file etc.) but
I have the following problem:

When I log into my machine (which BTW is fairly new) it will boot up all the
apps but then I'll click "start" and it stops responding. I then have to hard
shut down and reboot. But you see, it doesn't always do this.

Sometimes, it will boot up and if I wait a couple of mins will let me open
applications. Then occasionally I'll try and save, or open a file (in no
particular program) and it stops responding. All the apps go white and I just
get the window boarder. ALT+CTRL+DEL brings up the task manager, but it wont
end any tasks. If I leave it for a couple of minutes it eventually sorts
itself out and allows me to cintinue, until the next time it randomly decides
to stop responding again.

I have not installed new apps, have tried regclean, hijack this and deep
scanning in safe mode but I cant shift this error. Any ideas?

Running SP2 and up to date.

 

[Malke]

OK so I've done the obvious here - deep scan in safe mode for viruses
(using Computer Associates AV) and deep scan for SpyWare and Malware
using Adaware SE and SpyBot (which found DyFuCa which I removed from
the reg file etc.) but I have the following problem:

When I log into my machine (which BTW is fairly new) it will boot up
all the apps but then I'll click "start" and it stops responding. I
then have to hard shut down and reboot. But you see, it doesn't always
do this.

Sometimes, it will boot up and if I wait a couple of mins will let me
open applications. Then occasionally I'll try and save, or open a file
(in no particular program) and it stops responding. All the apps go
white and I just get the window boarder. ALT+CTRL+DEL brings up the
task manager, but it wont end any tasks. If I leave it for a couple of
minutes it eventually sorts itself out and allows me to cintinue,
until the next time it randomly decides to stop responding again.

I have not installed new apps, have tried regclean, hijack this and
deep scanning in safe mode but I cant shift this error. Any ideas?

Running SP2 and up to date.

This sounds like a hardware issue. The fact that the machine is new
means nothing. Usually if hardware is going to fail it does so right
away or goes for years. Do some hardware troubleshooting, or if the
machine is under warranty - bring it back to where you got it.

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org - let the test
run for an extended (like overnight) period of time - unless errors are
seen immediately.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system - this isn't applicable to a laptop, of course.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a good local
computer repair shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Thanks for your email but I'm almost completely sure this isn't a hardware
issue. You see, it started when I got the DyFuCa spyware (I got an email
saying I'd recieved a postcard from "Aunt Edna" and was stupid enough to open
it). My PC will work perfectly fine UNTIL I open either My Docs, My Comp or
try to open a save dialogue, which surely means this isn't related to
hardware?

Also, I foudn an article on Google mentioning this can sometimes be becuase
of sync settings being corrupt between my XP machine and the SBS2003 server?

Any more ideas please?

 

[Malke]

Hi,

Thanks for your email but I'm almost completely sure this isn't a
hardware issue. You see, it started when I got the DyFuCa spyware (I
got an email saying I'd recieved a postcard from "Aunt Edna" and was
stupid enough to open it). My PC will work perfectly fine UNTIL I open
either My Docs, My Comp or try to open a save dialogue, which surely
means this isn't related to hardware?

Also, I foudn an article on Google mentioning this can sometimes be
becuase of sync settings being corrupt between my XP machine and the
SBS2003 server?

If you are really really sure your computer is 100% clean:

1. Consider posting your HijackThis log at one of the following sites
just to be sure:

http://forum.aumha.org/
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/

2. Try repairing any damaged system files by running System File
Checker:

Start>Run sfc /scannow [enter]

You may need your XP cd.

I don't know about the interfaction with SBS, but there are SBS experts
who post here. Otherwise, after you've done at least #2 above, you
might want to post in one of the SBS newsgroups. Here's a link to a
list of all the MS newsgroups:

http://aumha.org/nntp.htm

Malke