pc freezes

it started about 3 weeks ago, pc keeps freezing after short use when gaming or watching movies. to the point that im forced to manually restart pc :cry

scanned with couple different antivirus but found nothing. pc is quite old but capable of tasks im using it for.

btw im using XP, any help is very appreciated.

 

Zipas...really recommend Process Lasso for anyone in the situation you mention here. I have installed it on a 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 and am using the blow the doors settings. It works great.

I recommend this thread, but the posts are very long. It helps to understand how Windows optimization works and how Process Lasso helps, when it comes to using PL:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=275409

I especially recommend a good look at post three and then you can scan the rest and/or use it for reference...

 

Hello AtlBo

yesterday ive installed all 3 programs and followed exact directions. pc seems to work faster but it still freezes. it takes longer when using less demanding tasks, but now it freezes on reading news sites as well.

could it have anything to do with new version of avast home? it started happening not long after.

also im guessing it could be problem with HD but im not sure how to check that.

 

Zipas...

Stick with the three programs if you can. I have been using the setup for about 2 1/2 months, and the longer the better. Optimization I am discovering is two processes. First, it's optimization now, such as placing data in RAM and page file on the fly. The setup helps here with smoother mouse movements and scrolling (and with the power lifting too like dragging heavy windows, games, etc.). Second, there is a sort of a pseudo intelligent information gathering that goes on underneath the surface. I honestly think that's what's there for this in Windows must be absolutely brilliant. Basically, Windows can read into your usage patterns and will assign small amounts of data to RAM based on the idea that you tend to use one program after another, etc. The problem is that Windows is abysmally poorly invested in reaching this type of optimization. The three programs will give you the brawn and the brains to reach Windows and push it to activate it. Really, a day doesn't go by that this machine doesn't blow my mind at some point after 2 1/2 months of using the setup.

As for Avast. Seems like problems like this have happened in the past, although few and scattered. Perhaps if you disable Avast in your start up programs you could boot with it off to see if the problems persist. There are alot of options for dealing with freezes, this being just the first. To turn it off as a start up program....start menu->run->type msconfig (enter)->Startup tab->uncheck all references to Avast.

BTW...using the setup I recommended is not going to immediately fix your PCs state necessarily. It's going to start a process that will rid you of these kinds of problems, if you see what I mean. If you can really stick with it, I believe you will see it...

If turning off Avast doesn't work, we'll move on to the next tests...

 

i can deal with slow pc, ive had this one for like 9 years and tbh never did format. it runs wow(game) well enough and never had such problem. freezes started no more than month ago.

removing avast from startup didnt help, disabling all shields and then removing didnt help either, so ive deleted avast.

 

OK..well, you can always reinstall Avast later if you'd like to have it back. Before you do, there is a program here that will remove remnants of previous versions of Avast:

http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility

Use it to remove any remnants of any of the versions you have had previously.

The next step is to go through your start up processes and deselect them, so that they won't run on start up. Run->msconfig->Startup tab. Deselect anything that looks like a program you added. Then try to reboot again to see if the freezes disappear.

This will test to see if it's a software conflict.

BTW, have you added any programs or updated any recently? Also, do you have SP3 for XP on this machine?