Desktop randomly Freezes

OK, lets see if I can get all the info.
1st. Problems: I can sometimes use the computer for a couple of hours or sometimes a few minutes, on or off the internet. It will sometimes move in slow motion when I max or min windows and sounds hesitiate. Screen will freeze, but I can move the mouse but can not click on anything. The only way to turn computer off is unplug computer. If I hit the power button, nothing happens. even if I hold it in.tery on motherboard but computer still does not save time after a restart.
Also I changed bat
2nd. OP System.. I am running Windows XP. on a Gateway Desktop.

Took it to a computer tech, and tested memory, everything fine. thought it might be processor, changed replaced it. Told it might be either Vid Card or Motherboard. not sure which one.
Any Help will be greatly appreciated.

as the tech said it could be a wide range of thing ,it could be the harddrive .
if i were working on it would use a Linux base live boot cd to see how it worked using the live cd .there are many on the net for free ,just download the ISO image and burn it to disk and boot computer to it and use it for awhile to see if it freezes ,it will load into on bootup ram and not use the harddrive so if it doesn't free then it could be harddrive problem ,i then would run a harddrive utility test ,using the harddrive maker tools ,found oon there website

ubuntu is a good one to use .
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

i use imagburn to burn the iso file to disk
http://www.imgburn.com/

good luck

What is the model of the Gateway?

I have a Gateway 700XL

Download System Information for Windows (SIW free version)
No installation required.

After it scans your computer, navigate to Hardware>Sensors and post all info from there.



============================================================

Run hard drive diagnostics: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 (or http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28744&hl=hard+drive+diagnostic)
Make sure, you select tool, which is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), and make the CD bootable.
For Toshiba hard drives, see here: http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=ServicesSupport/FujitsuDrivesUSandCanada/SoftwareUtilities#diagnostic

Note : If you do not know how to set your computer to boot from CD follow the steps here

I can not get the S.I.W downloaded, it keeps saying wait 15 seconds.
I also noted the While my computer is running at slow motion, I will click on Task Manager, and (0) processes are using CP Usage..Is that normal?

Uploaded SIW for you here: http://www.filedropper.com/siw_1

I will click on Task Manager, and (0) processes are using CP Usage..Is that normal?

Download Process Explorer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
Unzip ProcessExplorer.zip, and double click on procexp.exe to run the program.
Click on View > Select Colunms.
In addition to already pre-selected options, make sure, the Command Line is selected, and press OK.
Go File>Save As, and save the report as Procexp.txt.
Attach the file to your next reply.

AS for the SIW screen
All it says for Hardware- Sensors is:
Aarons
Hardware Monitor ID= 0x410029

Aarons (Gateway E-4650)
Hardware Monitor ID= 0x410029

Sorry I am a rookie at these forums, and am not sure how to post the info.

Hmm...

Download, and install SpeedFan: http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
Post your computer temperatures:



Provide processor info (hold Windows logo key, and hit Pause/Break key to find out).

Process Explorer is attached, I think

It looks like Firefox plugin-container is giving you some issues by eating up over 15% of your CPU cycles.
Disable plugin-container: http://www.technogadge.com/how-to-stop-firefox-plugin-container-exe-process/
Restart Firefox

I still want that SpeedFan info.

Speed Fan info.
(Down arrow)GPU 0C
(Down arrow)LOCAL Temp 38C
(Down arrow)Remote Temp 37C

Processor info
Gateway, Inc.
Intel ®
Pentium® 4 CPU 2.40 GHz
2.39 Ghz, 1.00 GB RAM

Can you tell I am not computer savoy

Temperatures look OK.
Please, read my previous reply and disable plugin-container.
Are you doing anything specific, when your computer freezes?

Sorry, computer froze. No sometimes it will freeze after only about 5 minute of having the computer on, and other times I can surf the web( facebook, youtube, pandora)for a couple hours and runs fine.

You may have some hardware problem then.

Run hard drive diagnostics: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 (or http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28744&hl=hard+drive+diagnostic)
Make sure, you select tool, which is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), and make the CD bootable.
For Toshiba hard drives, see here: http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=ServicesSupport/FujitsuDrivesUSandCanada/SoftwareUtilities#diagnostic

Note : If you do not know how to set your computer to boot from CD follow the steps here

==============================================================================================================

A. If you have more than one RAM module installed, try starting/running computer with one RAM stick at a time.

NOTE Keep in mind, the manual check listed above is always superior to the software check, listed below. DO NOT proceed with memtest, if you can go with option A

B. If you have only one RAM stick installed...
...run memtest...

1. Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)
2. Unzip downloaded memtest86+-....iso.zip file.
3. Inside, you'll find memtest86+-....iso file.
4. Download, and install ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
5. Insert blank CD into your CD drive.
6. Open ImgBurn, and click on Write image file to disc
7. Click on Browse for a file... icon:



8. Locate memtest86+-....iso file, and click Open button.
9. Click on ImgBurn green arrow to start burning bootable memtest86 CD:



10. Once the CD is created, boot from it, and memtest will automatically start to run.

The running program will look something like this depending on the size and number of ram modules installed:




It's recommended to run 5-6 passes. Each pass contains very same 8 tests.

This will show the progress of the test. It can take a while. Be patient, or leave it running overnight.



The following image is the test results area:



The most important item here is the “errors” line. If you see ANY errors, even one, most likely, you have bad RAM.