System freezing after enters "sleep" mode

[farseer]

Hi,
i have problem with my system...occassionlay it freezes. BUT, here is
the thing, it doesn't freeze while i am actively using the system, only after i
have locked it and go to bed. when i wake up, and try to log back in,
i find the system has frozen. The other case is if i left the computer
on in the morning, then retun back in the evening and try to use it
again, i find it has been froozen. So it seems after a long period of
inactivity, the system just freezes. This to me suggest the problem
might be related to the sleep mode that kicks in. Also, this all only
recently started happening, i think after i installed the dreaded AOL
9.0, which i only did so i could cancel my account, since they don't let
you do that from their website. In any event i have uninstalled AOL
(although it crashed during the uninstall, i did confirm the files
were removed...it still appears in the list in the Add/Remove
scrreen). I don't think AOL is the problem though...

The symtoms are:
-a complete system lock up
-or if i am at the "lock" screen (where i have to press ctrl+alt+delete
to enter my password), what happens occasionally is that when i move
the mouse over that dialogue, it disappears or at other times, it shows an hourglass.

in both cases, there is not much i can do..the system at that point is
dead and will not react to anything but a hard reboot.

How can i debug what this might be? IS THERE any software that will log
what process or files are being accessed prior to system freeze?
Are there any log files to look at?

specs on my sytem:
Dell Dimension XPS Gen 4.
Windows XP PRofessional
1GB Ram
P4 - 3.4Gz
Radeon 850XT

[russian master]

try running spybot search and destroy, adaware, and get spyblaster. also run hijack this. (you will find info on these in the spyware forum, its a sticky). However, my problem is somewhat similar to yours...xcept mine freezes WHILE im using the computer...which proves to be really annoying. The way i solved the problem...at least for now, havent had any freezes fora day...is by changing the sata ports in use. either that, or use a different cable. Also, make sure all your video card and mobo drivers are the latest available. same goes for the chipset.

[farseer]

Originally Posted by russian master

try running spybot search and destroy, adaware, and get spyblaster. also run hijack this. (you will find info on these in the spyware forum, its a sticky). However, my problem is somewhat similar to yours...xcept mine freezes WHILE im using the computer...which proves to be really annoying. The way i solved the problem...at least for now, havent had any freezes fora day...is by changing the sata ports in use. either that, or use a different cable. Also, make sure all your video card and mobo drivers are the latest available. same goes for the chipset.

i actually did all that.
-ran S&D
-ran detail virus scan using Avast
-downloaded all updates, included bios for my system

all to no avail. my next step is to purchase one of those compressed air canister and head open this thing up and give it a cleaning. maybe it's overheating. Are there any software utils to tell you if your CPU's are overheating?

[russian master]

yea, go to google and search everest home. that (free) program gives u the temps in your pc...and also, there is a temp section in your bios. (when the brand name of the mobo comes up, you usually have to press delete or f something on other comps)

[Rikky]

How old is your comp?looks brand new from dell,kick it back to them to sort out,let them clean it out with there own compressed air if there any dust in there at all.