[louuu]

i had to install ms works before i could install microsoft word. but i did this about a year ago when i got this new computer. and during that year i never say any updates through windows update for xp office. only since a few days ago when i upgraded to vista service pack 1 have i begun to get those updates. if you feel this is not a big deal, then im ok with that. i was just unsure why i was getting xp office updates now when i wasnt before, and i since i dont have either xp or office on my system. i didnt want to waste resources or space on my system unnecessarily. unless vista sp1 automatically now includes those updates? again, if you think its no big deal, im ok with that. let me know what you think.

Edited by louuu, 05 November 2008 - 08:26 PM.

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The updates should pose no problems....

I'm going to play a hunch. Click the Start orb and type memory in the search field. Click on "Memory Diagnostics Tool" at the top of the results and configure it to run on the next boot. Reboot.

You should see the results once Windows starts. Does it show you any errors?

[wannabe1]

The updates should pose no problems....

I'm going to play a hunch. Click the Start orb and type memory in the search field. Click on "Memory Diagnostics Tool" at the top of the results and configure it to run on the next boot. Reboot.

You should see the results once Windows starts. Does it show you any errors?

[louuu]

i ran the test you requested and there were no errors. i too had thought about my memory a few days ago and i ran a different test called windiag on the memory. i dont know if it tests the same things or not, but that one too came back with no errors. thanks again for your continuing help, i know its frustrating when theres no obvious answer.

[Troy]

I'm thinking hard, but it's tough to fight blindly when wannabe1 is hogging all the Winaudit logs.

Do you happen to have Microsoft IntelliPoint software installed? I've had random freezing problems with that, although it was about two years ago now.

As a side note, there are plenty of excellent-performing antivirus tools out there for free. I use Avira Anti-Vir (in my signature) for an anti-virus, and the inbuilt Vista Firewall (which is pretty good).

If you wanted, you could try removing Norton and trying it, although as you say, you've had it for years and you don't think it would be the culprit. I know I sure would try it.

Troy

[louuu]

hi again troy. no, i dont have intellipoint installed on my computer, but thanks for asking and continuing to think about my problem. the reason im hesitant of uninstalling and reinstalling norton again is because the frequency of my freezeups has gone down. before it was 6 or 7 times a day, and now its only 1 or 2. even the amount of times my computer freezes upon bootup has gone down as well. unfortunately i still do have this freeze up problem, but thankfully it is less now. but i shouldnt be having this problem at all, so something is not right somewhere. i believe that if it was norton causing these freezeups, then they would remain constant in how many times they occur. being that they have lessened, and im still using norton with no changes, it leads me to believe that something else or some other variable is causing this. also, i have uninstalled and reinstalled norton a few days ago and if the first installation somehow was corrupted, it should of been fixed on the 2nd installation. another thing is that my norton is running perfect with no problems as well. if we are not able to find any other solution and wannabe1 and you feel there is no other fixes to attempt, then i would try this step of uninstalling norton and installing another antivirus program to test this theory. i hope this is ok with you. i dont want you to think i dont trust your opinion, but i just think in this particular case it really isnt norton that is causing these freezeups. thanks and ill wait to hear back from either of you. and again, i sincerely do appreciate all you do in attempting to help me, take care.

[wannabe1]

I've e-mailed you the WinAudit report, Troy.

I'll continue scouring the log when I get home from work.

[wannabe1]

I'm not seeing much in the report that would cause the hangs unless they are related to those things we've already touched on.

Let's look at a few other things while Troy has a chance to look the report over.

Click on the Start orb and type msconfig in the search field...then click on msconfig.exe at the top of the results. In the configuration utility, click on the "Services" tab. Check the box to "Hide all Microsoft services", then click "Disable All". Reboot and see if the hangs happen with the services disabled.

I'd also like to check the cpu temperatures. If you have an application to monitor those, what are the highest temps you see after using the machine a while? If you don't have an application, you can download SpeedFan from the link in my signature...it should show them, though it doesn't always work with Vista.

[louuu]

hi wannabe1. first let me say that ive been on the computer all day today and i havent had any freeze ups yet. i went ahead and did the msconfig steps you asked me to do. but before i rebooted, i went ahead and installed the speedfan program. when i clicked to run the program, i had my first freeze up and had to reboot. not sure if the reboot happened because i didnt reboot first like you told me do or not. upon reboot, i did the msconfig steps again and rebooted. upon that reboot i ran the install program successfully for speedfan. the temps in c degrees right now, and ive had my computer on all day are as follows: the hard drives are at 45 and 46, the 4 cores are at 38-44. thanks.

[wannabe1]

The temps, at this point, are well within normal range. Keep your eye on them and see if they rise. Check the voltages, too. A misbehaving power supply can sometimes cause hanging, though power problems are more likely to cause a sudden shutdown.

Let me know if you experience any hangs with the services disabled. If you don't, we'll enable them a couple at a time and see if one of them may be causing the problem.

[louuu]

ok, i watch the temps and leave the services disabled and ill keep using the computer. as far as the voltage, how do i check this? thanks.

[wannabe1]

The voltages should be displayed at the bottom portion of the SpeedFan window. Sometimes it can't find the mobo sensors on Vista machines so it may not display them.

[louuu]

thanks for the reply regarding voltage. the bottom of my speedfan window is empty, so what you said is probably what happened and im not getting those readings. thanks again and ill use the computer for another day or so and update you as to what has happened. take care.

[Troy]

Those logs aren't showing too much to me either...

The only thing that comes to mind is that you seem to have a lot of stuff on there. I would be tempted to do some cleaning up, uninstalling unused programs and cleaning out temporary files, defragmenting, that sort of thing. It always helps, even if it doesn't help us pinpoint this freezing problem.

Oh one thing did come to mind, it says you have Word 2002 installed? As far as I know, Vista is only compatible with Office 2003 and above, Word 2002 was part of the Office 2002 suite (and comes with some Works suites). This would be why you are getting Office updates. I think I'm going to have to research this one more.

If Speedfan isn't displaying much, you can run it by right-clicking the program and selecting Run As Administrator. You'll have to allow the UAC prompt. I find my Vista computer displays more information by starting the program in this manner.

Cheers

Troy

[louuu]

hi troy and thanks for your reply. i will take your advice and follow the steps you gave me to clean up my system. i also started speedfan the way you told me to do as administrator. as far as word 2002, i think youre right. now that i think back, when i upgraded my system a few days ago to vista sp1, one of the updates required me to install my microsoft word 2002 disc into the machine. before i upgraded to vista sp1, i never got those xp office updates. so obviously vista sp1 somehow triggered my machine to get xp office updates because im running microsoft word 2002. i dont use word much, and the reason im using 2002 is because i already owned it. over the years, each time ive upgraded my computer, i didnt want to spend the extra $79 or $89 to get the latest version of microsoft works (wich includes word) since i already owned the 2002 version and i hardly use it. so i guess in my case ill just leave it the way it is as i dont want to spend money to upgrade a product i hardly use and honestly, word 2002 serves its purpose when i need it. wannabe1 also told me that getting these updates wouldnt pose any kind of problem for me, so i guess im ok with keeping word 2002. by the way, i havent gotten anymore office updates since that last time. probably what happened was since it first recognized my need for those updates after installing vista sp1, it must of given me all the missing updates for the last few years and thats why it seemed like alot at once. now that im up to date, theyll probably come few and far between. thanks again troy for all you good help, its always appreciated. now ill go and do the cleanup you suggested. take care.

[louuu]

UPDATE: hi again wannabe1 and troy. today during a reboot, i noticed norton internet security 2009 didnt start. when i went to start it manually, a norton screen popped up saying there were some problems and i should use the norton removal tool to completely remove it from my system and then reinstall it from scratch from the norton website via my norton account. before i only uninstalled it and reinstalled it, but i didnt use the norton removal tool to completely take it off my system. apparently by only uninstalling and reinstalling and not using the norton removal tool, some files were kept on my system, and maybe those files were the corrupted ones causing my trouble? so now i went ahead and used the norton removal tool to completely take every norton file off my computer and now i reinstalled norton and its running properly. i also went back into my msconfig services tab and allowed all the services to run again. now ill give it some time and see if any more freezing problems happen. ill keep you guys updated as i want to run the computer for at least a day or so before i update you again. ill keep my fingers crossed and hope that this time my problems are gone for good. thanks again to both of you for your ongoing support, its sincerely appreciated.