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Computer freezes right after it's started


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#1
jh1866

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Hi,

I have a Dell Dimension 8400 with Windows XP Media Edition. My computer has been doing some odd things recently, including going to a black screen which can't be reactivated with the mouse. I was unable to get internet access today and ran Glary Utilities to clean up the registry and turn-off some of the unnecessary processes which have been starting automatically. After running Glary my internet access was restored and the computer seemed to be operating well. Later in the day, however, it was back to a black screen that was unresponsive to the mouse or to the "on" button. The computer had to be shut down by holding the "on" button for several seconds. Now the computer starts up only briefly when turned on. It then freezes at the initial Dell screen. The same thing happens when trying to use either the Windows Resources CD or Norton Internet Security CD as emergency start-up disks.

One other clue. I deleted a couple of stray .dll files that were sitting on the computer desktop, and now wonder whether they were important. I don't know how they ended up on the desktop.

Do you have any suggestions? I'm assuming that this is probably unresolvable and I'll have to move on to a new computer, but wanted to check with you first.

Thanks for your help.

JH
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#2
123Runner

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Hi jh1866

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. Lets start and see if we can figure this out.

First, even though Glary Utilities seemed to work for you, we do not recommend the use of registry cleaners. Generally they do more harm than good. They can render the computer useless. Cleaning the registry does no good what so ever.

Have you added any new hardware or software to the computer?
Are you able to get to safe mode?

To enter safe mode start tapping the F8 key while the computer is booting up.
This brings you to windows advanced options menu

Try the last known good configuration first.
If that does not work, then try safe mode.
Safe mode loads default drivers. The screens will look different and the screen resolution will be default also.
If you get to safe mode, try a system restore to a previous time.

I assume that the computer is not bootable using the normal mode.
Were you able to backup your data?
If not, we will need to take care of that while we can.

123runner
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#3
jh1866

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Hi Runner123,

Thanks for your quick response! I like your suggestions, but unfortunately I've been turning on the computer periodically and it freezes on startup before the {F8} key can take effect. I was able to start up normally once yesterday. The computer ran for a short while and then a blue screen error appeared which indicated a "PFN_LIST_CORRUPT" error and "STOP: 0x0000004E."

(Some earlier blue screen errors that I had seen before the major shutdown were "BAD_POOL_HEADER" AND "STOP:0X00000019," AND "Ntfs.sys," "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA," "STOP: 0x000000F4.")

Luckily I have been backing up critical files so I should have them on an external drive. However, there are several files that I'd like to recover which have not been backed up, such as Outlook messages.

I'll keep trying the computer periodically to see if I can get to the safe boot screen.

Thanks,
JH
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