Topic: computer freezing up

[greenking]

Somebody please help me. my computer will suddenly freeze up for no apparent reason. when it does this all i can do is turn the thing off and re-boot it.
I only have a small hard drive and this is pretty well full. Could this be the cause

[Simon]

Hi Greenking, and thanks for taking an interest in our forum!   We're very friendly to new members, in fact, it almost feels like we already know you!    

We need a bit more information before we might be able to help.  What operating system are you using?  Does the freezing happen at random, or is it always when you are running a particular program?

[bat69]

Hi Greenking, welcome to the forum. I hope you have fun and get the answers you require. We're all a very friendly bunch, so feel free to join in and enjoy the banter.

I think Simon has asked the necessary questions. But one more, has this occurred after you've done something?

[greenking]

Hi Simon,
The freezing up seems to be at random and occurs even when I'm off line. My comp is a hp Vectra Vl and I'm running windows 98 on it and regularly AGV virus scan and also defragmenter out of my system tools.
Thanks for taking an interest. Great site which is bound to catch on big time.

[Clive]

Welcome greenking.  What Bat means is have you recently added any new software or hardware to your system beacuse that is often the cause of freeze ups.  I have also been experiencing the same thing and it appears that it was due to the installation of software for an optical mouse.

[greenking]

I installed quite a few things all in a short space of time so could be.
I suppose I'll have to un-install and re install every thing to find out which one or is there an easier way

[bat69]

Thanks Clive for making me speak clearly

I've just noticed you said that your HD is quite full, how full? You need enough space for the swap file Windows uses to put information into when the memory is fully used. If this swap can't grow in size as the disc is full, then I've found that Windows will crash

[Simon]

Hi Greenking,

How long has this been happening?  If only recently, can you remember what you were doing just before the problem began?  Can you pinpoint an event that coincided with the first time this happened?  It's just that 'freezing' could be caused by any number of things, but it's usually either a software program fighting with another, or a glitchy piece of hardware, like a graphics card, or, as Clive said, a mouse.

This happened to me after I installed a new graphics card on my old PC, but when I put the original back in, the problem was cured.

I've just read your last post.  Taking what Bat said into account, (he knows what he's talking about!), my suggestion would be to uninstall each of your recently installed programs one by one, until you come to a point where the problem is cured.  You can then start to reinstall your programs, and if you keep track, you should be able to pin the cause down by a process of elimination. It also seems that you could either do with a new, bigger hard drive, or a radical clear out of your old one!!  

[greenking]

Thanks for all your help it is much appreciated.

You've given me loads to work on. I'm sure I can overcome this problem now I know where to look.

ONCE AGAIN THANKS

[Simon]

Let us know how you get on, GK - we like to know that people have solved their problems!  

[bat69]

Thanks for that Simon, I would have said the same thing, uninstall the progs using "Add/Remove Programs", if I find the link to a RegCleaner, I'll post it here, these little progs take unused Registry entries out and cleans it all up.

THere are lots of useless guff installed with Windows that you can also remove, that should free up quite a lot of space too.

Please keep us informed GK, and we'll try to help best we can

[Clive]

Remember to do a complete defrag once you hacve removed the faulty software.  It's also a good idea to clear out your temporary internet files at that stage because they can cause quite a few problems if you allow them to build up.

[Simon]

Here's a link to Reg Cleaner, which Bat was talking about earlier.  Hope this has saved you a job, Bat!

http://www.vtoy.fi/jv16/shtml/regcleaner.shtml

[bat69]

Thanks Simon, it was quiz night tonight, so I had to dash off.

I usually use a reg cleaner every couple of weeks to get rid of all the dead links that fill the registry, these can slow things down and cause trouble in extreme cases

[greenking]

Hi All,
Thanks once again for your help.
I used the Reg Cleaner and had a major clearout of all unwanted programs. Fingers crossed I haven't had a problem since. It's convinced me that once the christmas expense is over I'm going to bite the bullet and invest in a new hard drive