My computer is starting to freeze

[Avista]

My computer is starting to freeze on me. Control Alternate Delete doesn't do anything. I must turn it off. It is happening more and more frequently. I've run the virus and spyware. All seems OK. Any suggestions or do I need to buy a new computer. Mine is a 2004 Windows XP Thanks all.

[Steve-o]

A computer that freezes or locks up can be caused by a few things.
One of the main causes is a loaded cpu. When you ctrl+alt+delete, you will see the percentage of cpu being used at the bottom of that window.

If there is a high percentage of cpu being used, your computer isn't going to respond very well to anything.
To find the program(s) that are taking too much cpu, ctrl+alt+del and click on processes. Then click twice on the cpu tab and you will see which ones are taking up the cpu.

If one program is doing it, then that program might be corrupt which I will explain how to correct that in a min.
If you have too many programs running, shut down the ones you do not need.
To fix corrupt issues on your computer, click start and then run. In the box, type chkdsk and click ok. Do a search on the Microsoft website on chkdsk and how to fix corruped files and folders.

Something else - when's the last time your computer was cleaned on the inside. Dust and dirt will clog your fans and cooling system on the inside which will cause the cpu to overheat. It's like running a car without coolant and water. Constant overheating will cause the cpu to breakdown to the point of no return.

Other things that would cause this are low memory and failing RAM and low hard disk space.

Thanks
Steve

[jjdees]

One thing that will eat up a hard drive is temporary files and cookies. If they're not removed periodically, they will accumulate and eventually take a lot of space. Go to Settings, Control Panel, Internet options, and on the General tab, click on remove the temporary files, cookies, history and if you haven't done this before, the very least it should do for you is to speed up the system. This isn't why your system is freezing unless you're out of space on your hard drive.

[Avista]

Thank you jjdees and Steve, I don't know much about computers nor what a cpu is, but I did what you said. I did the Control Alternate Delete. At the bottom of the window at first it said 100% then varied betwee 5 and 8%.

Then I looked for the program. It said system idle process was 98 That was the largest number. Others were 3,4, 5, etc.

I then went to start and then run and typed in chkdsk

Well, I don't know what happened, but after that my computer started running just fine and much faster than before.

I know I probably need to clean it. Will do that next.

jjdees, I have not removed temp files and cookies. I am keeping your message and will do that also.

So, I'm not really sure what happened these last few days, but everything seems fine now. Thanks so much!

[The Paintbox]

The best thing for you to do at this point is too do a zero-fill on your hard drive and reload windows. A zero fill will restore your hard drive to its original condition and allow you to start fresh again. 2004 isn't that old. I have a dell from 2002 that still runs like a champ despite the abuse it's taken from me. If you need help I can do it for you. I have a different business than computers, I paint golf carts and cars but I learned computers first. I studied them in college. Just let me know. You can contact me via my website if you would like. www.thepaintboxltd.com Josh

[Bobbie2836]

Be careful that you back up your own files before reinstalling Windows. Some manufacturers 'reformat' as part of reinstalling.

You might check your Config.sys file, too. Click on Start, Run - type msconfig and hit OK. Click on the Start-up tab. You'll see a list of programs that are running in the background and a lot of them don't need to be running.

There is a web page (http://www.netsquirrel.com/msconfig/) that can help you determine whether to take checkmarks out on msconfig. Be careful to not uncheck any really necessary programs. Some you can uncheck, however, are qttask, anyrhing with 'real' in the name, and any that are just there to check for updates.

Bobbie2836@comcast.net
The Villages, FL

[JohnN]

Also, run a defragmentation if you haven't. Whenever my system starts freezing, it's always been that the hard drive is 90% full. So I go in, delete programs and files I don't use anymore, then degrag.