Vista hangs while loading and more

So glad to find Major Geeks!!! I have several intermittent problems. One is that sometimes Vista hangs with the progress indicator and doesn't load. If I turn it off and on, and have the option to do the startup repair, it sometimes gives a message saying "unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused the problem". Other times it goes to blue screen and says "IQRL not less or equal" followed by a string of codes.

Other times everything comes up normally, loads programs, and while I am working (never the same program), the cursor disappears, kbd/mouse don't work and I have to power off to try to get it to reload. Then the fun begins again.

Sometimes it gives me the option to start normally and it may work for a day or two.

I have had the start up hang for a few months and it has gotten progressively worse. The cursor problem seems to have started around the time I downloaded IE8. For some reason, I have been unable to get to the system restore point to go back that far. (Probably an operator problem.)

I have run Ccleaner, Smartdefrag and Spysweeper only found cookies and a few pop up ads. I have an HP8200n and am using Microsoft Live OneCare for virus checking, etc.

Thank you.

 

Thanks, will do as you suggested. Meanwhile, I copied two of the blue screen errors and tried reading the event logs. Here is what I have so far:

7/3 10:00 a.m. kbd/mouse hung, then hung on every restart. Did Startup repair 3 times. System restore error -- Root Cause: Unspecified changes to sys config might have caused the problem

Went to blue screen at 11:18 with:
IRQL Not Less or Equal 0x0000000A (0XBF30009F, 0X0000001B, 0X00000001, 0X8827259)
Says to disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. Can use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, then select Safe Mode.

7/4/09 07:00 a.m. Using AOL, had been on all afternoon and night 7/3, went to blue screen. “A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
If this is the first time you’ve seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check to be sure you have adequate disk space. If a driver is identified in the stop message, disable the driver or check with the manufacturer for driver updates. Try changing video adapters.
Check with your hardware vendor for any BIOS updates. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup options, and then select Safe Mode.
Technical Information:
***STOP: 0X0000008E (0XC0000005, 0X820B2B49, 0XD02F2C50, 0X00000000)
Collecting Data for Crash Dump...
Initializing disk for crash dump...
Beginning dump of physical memory.
Dumping physical memory to disk: 100
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system admin or technical support group for further assistance.”

7/3 Searching thru Admin Event - Browser errors 8003 and 8021 – Dell believes it is the master. (Note: No hardware errors listed in event log.)

7/4 8:21 a.m. In Safe Mode ---Summary page events - DCOM got error “1068" attempting to start the service fdPHost with arguments in order to run the server: {D3DCB472-7261-43CE-924B-0704BD730D5F}
(Note: No hardware errors listed in event log.)

 

I am following the Debug Memory Dumps Guide from Adrynalyne which you suggested. I downloaded the debugging tool. I have Windbg up, clicked open crash dump and when I click open on the minidump file, I get a message saying I don't have permission to open the file. I am signed on as administrator, so am not sure why it won't let me. Looked at permissions by right clicking on the file name and it shows allows for everything but special permissions (it is light gray and won't let me check it.) Is there another way to change it?

Most of my problems began with Vista SP2 and IE8. Also, began using Skype 7 for a group I talk with. Although once in a while it would hang on load prior to that, but very rarely & it would always run on the second try. Was wondering if I could back those off..... and would I just do it as an "uninstall" for SP2 and IE8?