Windows freezing in an odd manner

July 15, 2008

We have an XP SP3 computer that freezes after a while of sitting there. For

instance, in the morning, often we will sit at the computer and we are able

to move the mouse around and single click on different icons in the Dekstop.

But if we double-click on something (like and Internet Explorer shortcut, or

even a folder), the Desktop seems to freeze -- we can still move the mouse

around, but nothing else can be higlighted and we can no longer create

"boxes" by clicking and dragging. Interestingly we can often then hover the

mouse over the arrow that expands the system tray and it will say "Show

hidden icons", but if we click on that, that task bar will feeze as well.

Ctrl+Alt+Delete and Ctrl+Shift+Esc do not bring anything up, so we have to

hold the power button in. We have disabled all programs from starting but

still have the same result. Nothing shows up in the Event Logs except the

general stuff when booting the computer. Haven't tried Safe Mode just yet.

But any other ideas?

Normally takes several hours before this happens (i.e. in the morning or

after work), though once or twice it has happened about 30 minutes after the

computer was last used, and has happened several times when booting the

computer when clicking on the profile to use.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

July 15, 2008

Re: Windows freezing in an odd manner

Nick B wrote:

> We have an XP SP3 computer that freezes after a while of sitting there.

> For instance, in the morning, often we will sit at the computer and we are

> able to move the mouse around and single click on different icons in the

> Dekstop. But if we double-click on something (like and Internet Explorer

> shortcut, or even a folder), the Desktop seems to freeze -- we can still

> move the mouse around, but nothing else can be higlighted and we can no

> longer create

> "boxes" by clicking and dragging. Interestingly we can often then hover

> the mouse over the arrow that expands the system tray and it will say

> "Show hidden icons", but if we click on that, that task bar will feeze as

> well.

>

> Ctrl+Alt+Delete and Ctrl+Shift+Esc do not bring anything up, so we have to

> hold the power button in. We have disabled all programs from starting but

> still have the same result. Nothing shows up in the Event Logs except the

> general stuff when booting the computer. Haven't tried Safe Mode just

> yet. But any other ideas?

>

> Normally takes several hours before this happens (i.e. in the morning or

> after work), though once or twice it has happened about 30 minutes after

> the computer was last used, and has happened several times when booting

> the computer when clicking on the profile to use.

Thanks for the very good description of the problem. It sounds like hardware

failure, possibly caused by overheating. The components that are failing

are all right when cold and fail when they warm up. This is classic

behavior for failing hardware.

You can try doing hardware troubleshooting yourself or take the machine to a

computer professional. I don't recommend using a BigComputerStore/GeekSquad

type of place.

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

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

July 15, 2008

RE: Windows freezing in an odd manner

How many programs are running, how much of your hard drive is used up, and

how up to date is your anti-virus software?

"Nick B" wrote:

> We have an XP SP3 computer that freezes after a while of sitting there. For

> instance, in the morning, often we will sit at the computer and we are able

> to move the mouse around and single click on different icons in the Dekstop.

> But if we double-click on something (like and Internet Explorer shortcut, or

> even a folder), the Desktop seems to freeze -- we can still move the mouse

> around, but nothing else can be higlighted and we can no longer create

> "boxes" by clicking and dragging. Interestingly we can often then hover the

> mouse over the arrow that expands the system tray and it will say "Show

> hidden icons", but if we click on that, that task bar will feeze as well.

>

> Ctrl+Alt+Delete and Ctrl+Shift+Esc do not bring anything up, so we have to

> hold the power button in. We have disabled all programs from starting but

> still have the same result. Nothing shows up in the Event Logs except the

> general stuff when booting the computer. Haven't tried Safe Mode just yet.

> But any other ideas?

>

> Normally takes several hours before this happens (i.e. in the morning or

> after work), though once or twice it has happened about 30 minutes after the

> computer was last used, and has happened several times when booting the

> computer when clicking on the profile to use.

>

> Any ideas?

> Thanks!

July 15, 2008

RE: Windows freezing in an odd manner

I have turned off everything except Windows Defender, Nod32 Antivirus (checks

for updates hourly), Comodo Firewall, etc. There is 1GB of RAM and 20GB of

free disk space. Power Options are all turned off so System Standby,

Hibernate and Turn Hard Disks Off are all disabled. Also run several

antispyware apps every couple of weeks after updating them.

Could this be hardware related in any way?

"Danger_Duck" wrote:

> How many programs are running, how much of your hard drive is used up, and

> how up to date is your anti-virus software?

>

> "Nick B" wrote:

>

> > We have an XP SP3 computer that freezes after a while of sitting there. For

> > instance, in the morning, often we will sit at the computer and we are able

> > to move the mouse around and single click on different icons in the Dekstop.

> > But if we double-click on something (like and Internet Explorer shortcut, or

> > even a folder), the Desktop seems to freeze -- we can still move the mouse

> > around, but nothing else can be higlighted and we can no longer create

> > "boxes" by clicking and dragging. Interestingly we can often then hover the

> > mouse over the arrow that expands the system tray and it will say "Show

> > hidden icons", but if we click on that, that task bar will feeze as well.

> >

> > Ctrl+Alt+Delete and Ctrl+Shift+Esc do not bring anything up, so we have to

> > hold the power button in. We have disabled all programs from starting but

> > still have the same result. Nothing shows up in the Event Logs except the

> > general stuff when booting the computer. Haven't tried Safe Mode just yet.

> > But any other ideas?

> >

> > Normally takes several hours before this happens (i.e. in the morning or

> > after work), though once or twice it has happened about 30 minutes after the

> > computer was last used, and has happened several times when booting the

> > computer when clicking on the profile to use.

> >

> > Any ideas?

> > Thanks!

July 15, 2008

RE: Windows freezing in an odd manner

Nick

I had terrible problems on my system after SP3 was installed and tried

everything to get my computer functioning normally. If you go to windowsXp

support section they have set up a special SP3 support program because of all

the problems. Ultimately my two computers have been fixed, but, only after

Microsoft got involved. The support for SP3 problems is offered free because

of all the problems people are experiencing. You may want to check that help

out as well.