[jhranjr]

I have a desktop computer that has Windows XP Home Edition installed and it just continually keeps "locking up". After about 5-10 minutes the computer will just freeze. I tried to troubleshoot and here is what I tried: I thought it might be overheating. So I moved every component except fans and CPU to another tower and that didn't work. I thought it might be the RAM. So I took out the existing RAM and tried some more and that didn't work. Does anyone have any idea on what might be causing this?

[JRiffle]

Do you get a blue screen(BSOD) or anything? In that short 5-10 minutes navigate to C:windowsminidump (if it exists, it should) and check for minidump files....This could help in locating the problem.

[pcgeekworld]

[quote name='jhranjr']I have a desktop computer that has Windows XP Home Edition installed and it just continually keeps "locking up". After about 5-10 minutes the computer will just freeze. I tried to troubleshoot and here is what I tried: I thought it might be overheating. So I moved every component except fans and CPU to another tower and that didn't work. I thought it might be the RAM. So I took out the existing RAM and tried some more and that didn't work. Does anyone have any idea on what might be causing this?How much more RAM do you have and how much more did you try? It could be locking up because the system is accesing too much the HD. Are the Fans working properly?

[Hamuller]

I have a Dell Dimension with 256K ram and a Celeron processor which slowed down considerably. It would take 20 minutes to start up. I finally reinstalled windows XP Home edition and did not allow any updates and it works fine:). I think Wiindows creates its own problems as it installs updates. javascript:emoticon(':)')Smile

[Digerati]

quote:014a60cef1]It could be locking up because the system is accesing too much the HD[/quote:014a60cef1]Umm, no, sorry, that does not happen. If you are suggesting he may have been low on free space on the hard drive, and because the system has only 256Mb of RAM it must access the sloooowww HD a lot for the Page File, then that will certainly cause a system to slow down - but not cause a BSOD. Something else caused the system to halt.XP loves RAM and 256 is barely enough for XP to support itself. 512Mb is much better and 1Gb seems to be the sweet spot - that is, the best performance for the price - for single core processors. More memory gives the CPU a bigger room to work in, and it also means the slow hard drive is not beat to death all the time with XP accessing the PF. I recommend [CrapCleaner, a great disk cleaning program that is excellent at cleaning systems of temporary files, including all history and cache files. During installation, uncheck the option to install the Yahoo toolbar. Before first use, check Options, Settings and ensure Only delete files in Windows Temp folders older than 48 hours is unchecked. To delete all "tracking" cookies, (which I urge you do), you must delete all cookies, so ensure the Cookies setting remains checked, and make sure you know your user names and passwords for sites you visit as you will have to login at next visit. Note that CrapCleaner's "Issues" checker is a great Registry cleaner as well. Ensure you follow the prompts to backup the Registry before making changes to the Registry.This should free up a lot of wasted space and is a good time to boot into Safe Mode and defrag your drives.I use CC before every manual AV or AS scan and before defragging to ensure I am not scanning or shuffling around 1000s of temporary files. Have you scanned for malware? I have a canned text that walks you through if you like. Did you re-mount your CPU? If so, did you use a super thin layer of thermal paste?Very long bootups and/or shutdowns often indicate hardware or hardware driver issues. Do you see any errors (yellow or red icons) in Device Manager? Failing or overworked/stressed power supplies can cause system failures, as can failing RAM. To test your RAM, download MemTest86. Select Download - Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win). Unzip the file to a convenient location, insert a formatted floppy disk in the floppy drive, double-click on install.bat+ to install. Then, with the floppy in the drive, reboot the computer. The computer should boot to the floppy and start testing your RAM. Let it run for several passes or even overnight. You should have no reported errors. An excellent guide is available here, with full instructions, including how to create and use a CD version - for those that insist floppies no longer have a use. Leaky capacitors cause system freezes. Inspect your motherboard, looking for soda-can devices. There will be many surrounding the CPU socket. Ensure none are bulging or have white to dark-brown, dry foam leaking from the tops or bottoms. A failing or over heated video card can cause freezes.Obviously - with so many causes, troubleshooting reboots and freezes is difficult at best and is often fixed only by trial and error. Check Control Panel > Administrative Tool > Event Viewer for errors that occur immediately before the freeze, if it happens again. You still need to run the updates - especially SP2 if not there already - they are essential to protect your system from badguys, and to protect the rest of us from you, should your unpatched system become compromised. I recommend you set Windows Update to download, but NOT automatically install. Then you can do a few at time.

[pcgeekworld]

[quote:05b663b9cc]Umm, no, sorry, that does not happen. If you are suggesting he may have been low on free space on the hard drive, and because the system has only 256Mb of RAM it must access the sloooowww HD a lot for the Page File, then that will certainly cause a system to slow down - but not cause a BSOD. Something else caused the system to halt. [/quote:05b663b9cc] Before quote me read carefully what I said. I never said the system accessing the page file will cause a BSOD. I said the system it may be slow because its accessing the page file too much.

[Digerati]

[quote name='pcgeekworld']Before quote me read carefully what I said. I never said the system accessing the page file will cause a BSOD. I said the system it may be slow because its accessing the page file too much.:shock: Come on pcgeekworld! The readers here are not stupid! Everyone can just look up through this thread at your original post and see that is simply not true! I quoted you precisely! You need to read then quote your OWN words first - VERBATIM - then read what I said in response - Note where I gave you a way out - you could have come in and said, "Oops sorry, I must have been 1/2 asleep - that's what I meant. Thanks" and that would have been it! Instead you came in with obvious falsehoods! :cry:You said nothing about accessing the PF in your comments. You said, and I quote again,(my emphasis added) > {quote:title=pcgeekworld wrote:}{quote}How much more RAM do you have and how much more did you try? It could be locking up because the system is accesing too much the HD. Are the Fans working properly?I don't see "Page File" in there, and I don't see the word "slow".As everyone can clearly see, the truth is, you originally said, [quote:d264419995]It could be locking up because the system is accesing too much the HD.[/quote:d264419995]Now you are claiming you said,[quote:d264419995]it may be slow because its accessing the page file too much.[/quote:d264419995]You didn't - the proof is in your own posts. You are correct, however, and neither the OP or you used "BSOD". I apologize for any misunderstanding. You said "locking up". And although BSODs do occur when a system locks up, a system can lock up without throwing up an error screen. I should have said "freeze" or stayed consistent with the proper term, "halt", instead of using "BSOD". This only shows that we BOTH need to be more precise in our posts - not only for those reading today, but for future readers searching for answers to their problems. My suggestion at this time is to just drop it and let's move on. Our goals are the same here, right? To help those that we can. Let's see what jhranjr says after he or she comes back with an update.

[jockdownsouth]

jhranjr - When did this problem start? I've encountered it only this week, on a rather old but servceable IBM ThinkPad laptop. It seems to have followed installation of the February monthly Windows Updates, but I have no proof to lay the blame there. Sometimes it happens before the computer is fully booted; at other times it can be 10 or 15 minutes after startup. In all cases the screen goes blank then flashes a couple of times before returning to "normal" state apart from the fact it's locked up and nothing works. Does this sound like the same problem?

[Digerati]

[quote name='jockdownsouth']jhranjr - When did this problem start? I've encountered it only this week, on a rather old but servceable IBM ThinkPad laptop. It seems to have followed installation of the February monthly Windows Updates, but I have no proof to lay the blame there. Sometimes it happens before the computer is fully booted; at other times it can be 10 or 15 minutes after startup. In all cases the screen goes blank then flashes a couple of times before returning to "normal" state apart from the fact it's locked up and nothing works. Does this sound like the same problem?The problem is, you have described symptoms that can be caused by many things. Since he posted his problem in January, it does not seem likely it is related to the Windows Update in February that you are suggesting may be involved. Even so, your problems are quite different - his "desktop" freezes after it has been up for awhile, with your "laptop", "Sometimes it happens before the computer is fully booted". I emphasize desktop and laptop because even though they run the same operating system (actually we don't know that because you never said what you are running), they have vastly differently hardware - including different type RAM, drives, cooling, monitors, PSUs, and different drivers, configurations, software installed, etc. So even though your problem may seem similar, it is not and so you should start your own thread and in this way, your problem can get the undivided attention it deserves.