Program Locked

My computer has been freezing up and shutting down a lot in the past few days. Today I tried to close out of IE and it was non responsive. I used ctrl-alt-delete and got the message "This program can not close because it is locked by the system." So with out shutting down I can not get out of it. I don't know why this is happening. I have scanned with trend micros, spysweeper, super anti spyware and gotten no infections. I used ccleaner to clean up with the registry function (654 items related to the video card??) as well. I have defragged, checked out my startups (though I could probably do more there.)
Other than this, I can not update Java with out it locking up and shutting down. Also can not update Adobe Flash with out the whole thing freezing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Windows XP
AMD Anthlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800

1.0 Gig Ram
Vision Tek ATI Radeon 1550

Thanks,

Eliluca06

 

have you looked at your AV/FW/suite to see if a recent .DAT file update (database update) could have done something? i have KIS 2010 (Kaspersky) and another member reported possible similar issues with BDIS (BitDefender).

make certain the Windows Security Center didn't somehow get changed (open Control Panel then Windows Security Center). firewall and anti-virus need to have the "i have an anti-virus/firewall program" box "checked." sometimes, the automatic update installs things that conflict with a whole host of other things. i have mine set to "off" ("just tell me" is also good) and i have the icon "always hidden" in my systray. i check every few days and get updates by opening IE and only getting the ones that apply/i want. i only do a little at a time (IE, Office, SP, Searchlight, Live, etc. individually and separately).

in my case, complete system/browser slowdowns/freezing reported by everyone at the Kaspersky forums. most of the problems were fixed by a hotfix that they put out as fast as they could.

your anti-malwares could even be in conflict with each other, whether directly or through a recent database update. try shutting them down then activating them individually to check. make sure only ONE is set to start automatically with Windows, if any. i don't use them because i believe the features in KIS 2010 are so powerful i don't need any.

personally, i don't care for IE (too many security holes that they can't seem to fix. i'm talking all the way back to IE6 and they continue with IE8) and only use it to get Windows updates. i've been a Firefox (with some really awesome security addons) user for YEARS and even they've had issues when they've put out new updates. generally fixed within days.

you might try rebooting (press F8 at vendor, AMD/intel info, BIOS screen) and choosing "last known good configuration."

last resort, if you can remember when your problems started, you might try a system restore since you're reporting no malware infections. i'd pick a "system checkpoint" to restore to. remember to save anything (new installers, created documents, etc.) elsewhere (floppy, re-writable cd, flashdrive, external usb drive - make sure these aren't included in system restore monitoring so you don't lose what you saved).

last, last resort, could be to toggle system restore. turn it off, restart, then turn it back on.

caveat: i'm no expert. i'm just fairly familiar with my Win32 XP Home SP3 and the problems i've had. others know WAY more than me and can pinpoint other things (especially to do with IE) that may help in your situation.

 

Thank you for you comments. I have not checked the AV updates but I am not sure how to tell if anything was corrupted or did not update correctly. The Windows Security Center is all set to "ON". Trend Micros and Spysweeper are both set to start up with Windows, but have been for the past two years with no conflict. Any other scan I use is manual only. The problem with the system restore, is that we can not seem to save any of our media to disc. It just says that it has encounterd an error and won't allow us to save. I'm not quite sure where to go from here because we really don't want to loose our files.

 

your AV updates won't necessarily inform you of any errors; neither will your anti-malware updates. if it's an option, you could roll back any updates to a previous one (KIS 2010 has that feature).

i've never actually needed it to "do" anything except to access the System Volume Information folder (haven't gotten around to setting permanent permission), but have you tried (as i'm typing this, with no actual experience, i'm thinking it won't work, but it could) Safe Mode to see if you can save your things there to a re-writable disc?

any luck with "last known good configuration?"

are you positive you have a read AND write cd drive (a cd burner) and not just a plain cd rom drive? you probably do have a burner but just a thought. also, have you checked device manager to make sure you're not in need of updated drivers for your rom drive? (right click My Computer > Hardware tab > Device Manager. see if there are any yellow "?" right click and click Update Driver. do it via web or product cd depending on your situation; i just use web)

only other thing i can suggest is purchasing/borrowing a flashdrive or external usb drive. i got my 500gb external usb drive (only have an 80gb internal; 6 years old) through Dell for around $50 (could have gotten one cheaper but i was desperate & wanted/needed it YESTERDAY, at the time). the flashdrives i looked at were pretty small for the price.

if you can afford it, i really recommend getting an external. no more discs to purchase, except to burn personal copies of music or games & mine has been worth a thousand times more than its weight in gold. EVERYTHING is on there (120gb at last look) and i've plenty more room. it can be excluded from system restore, too. that way, except for the time involved, reformatting won't depress/anger/stress you because you'd lose things.

if nothing i've mentioned works, DON'T go off and reformat. wait for someone else to offer you more help than i can.