hi,

recently my comp seems to be always freezing up. i cant click anything w/ my mouse, and i have to do a hard reboot. then, sometimes the comp won't even boot into windows xp, and i have to reboot again, and again, and sometimes i have to turn it off, then turn it back on a while later.

i find that it happens especially (but not limited to) RAR and ZIP files.

any help appreciated, thxs!

Use the pinned topic Slow Computer? to sort out

Furthermore hereunder some more tips :

Please follow these steps :

• Defrag your system. Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when a file is opened. Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on the hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. This speeds up reading and writing to the disk. Read "The Importance of Disk Defragmentation" for instructions.

• Check for disk errors by running CHKDSK. CHKDSK can be run from the Recovery Console, the command prompt or through the Windows GUI.
To run chkdsk from the Win XP GUI see these instructions.
To run chkdsk from the command prompt see these instructions.
To run chkdsk from the Recovery Console see these instructions.
The problem with running CHKDSK from Win XP is that it will not check files that are being used by Windows. Using chkdsk in the Recovery Console with the /r switch is a way to resolve this.

• Check for damaged, altered or missing critical system files by running the System File Checker. If SFC discovers that a protected file has been damaged, altered or missing, it restores the correct version of the file from the cache folder. You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to run sfc and it may ask you to insert your XP Installation CD so have it available.

• Clean up your hard drive by removing unused programs and transferring old data, pictures, music files to a CD or an external hard drive. When you have moved/saved the files you want to keep, run Disk Cleanup and let it scan your system for files to remove. "Don’t clean out the Prefetch folder" - This is a common myth that will not improve performance.

• Check for any unnecessary running services. If you have a typical installation, many services are configured as "automatic"; that is, they start automatically when the system starts or when the service is called for the first time. Use "Black Viper's Services Configuration" to help fine tune this area.

• Check for any unnecessary applications loading at startup when Windows boots with MSConfig. Some startup programs are necessary so be careful what you disable. If you are unsure what any of the startup entries are or if they are safe to disable, then search one of the following Startup Databases:
Startup Programs Database
StartupList Index

Note: MSConfig.exe is a troubleshooting utility used to diagnose system configuration issues. Although it works as a basic startup manager which allows you to enable/disable auto-start programs, msconfig should not be used routinely to disable startup programs.

A better alternative is to use a startup manager. If you have have Spybot S&D 1.4 installed, launch it, go to Mode and select Advanced. Then go to Tools, select System Startups. You will be provided with a list of programs that load when Windows starts. If you untick an entry it will no longer run at startup. This will allow you to experiment and see how your system performs with any of them disabled. Other startup managers you can download and use for free are Startup Control Panel, Autoruns and Starter by CodeStuff.

• Remove any third party "Memory Manager" or "Optimizer". Windows XP memory management was designed to make the best use of Ram and these memory management utilities defeat that purpose. They push applications out of RAM into the pagefile, creating holes in the RAM and by doing so, slow down your computer.

• Disable some visual effects. While visual embellishments that may be attractive, they don’t do anything else for you. Disabling some of them frees up system resources and makes the operating system perform better. Right click My Computer, choose > Properties > Advanced, click on "Settings" under performance...UNcheck all the visual effects, except for the last three. Click "Apply", then "OK", then "OK" again. Then right click your desktop and choose > Properties > Appearance > "Effects...Uncheck the first two boxes and hit "OK".

ok i've run Spybot... no threats found

when i try running the system file checker utility, it seems to freeze up, and it can't do anything

any talk on y this happens?

Look in the Event Viewer for any error messages at the time your system froze. Post the error message back here.

How To Use the Event Viewer

ok....in the 'applications' section... there's a bunch of errors:
http://www3.filehost.to/files/2007-05-05_0...ventviewer1.jpg

the properties of the errors are:
http://www3.filehost.to/files/2007-05-05_0...ventviewer2.jpg


then in the system section... theres errors:
http://www3.filehost.to/files/2007-05-05_0...ventviewer3.jpg

properties:
http://www3.filehost.to/files/2007-05-05_0...ventviewer4.gif


and an 'interesting' error...
http://www3.filehost.to/files/2007-05-05_0...ventviewer5.gif


any thing look wrong?

o yea and i also scanned my comp for viruses and spyware....it came up clean

and i also tried defraging too

A lot of errors seem to relate to your anti-virus software. I would first try uninstalling and reinstalling your anti-virus to see if that helps.

hm...it seems like if i disable my antivirus first, i can access my ZIP files w/out my comp freezing up....

im using Shaw Secure btw

is there something wrong w/ it maybe, that causes my system 2 lock up?

Did you try reinstalling your antivirus?

ok...apparantely its cuz i set my antivirus to scan all files b4 opening them..including ZIP and RAR files....so it lagged my comp..


seems 2 be OK now....lets c wat happens


btw sry for the late reply