[heatsky]

I have a Gateway 1.4 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, 120 GB main drive, 180 MB slave. Win XP w/ Service Pack 1.

I use the computer mainly for audio production, but have a DSL router and a few various common programs (Word, etc.) as well as a reputable utility program. Since I need max CPU most times, virus/spyware applications are turned "off" in the background.

About three weeks ago, I was forced to reformat my main drive after my audio production software (Pro Tools) started behaving badly (got the blue screen). I reinstalled XP, and updated to Service Pack 1. My audio software manufacturers suggest not installing SP 2 as it can interfere with the program.

The problem is the computer has started to "freeze" intermittently. It doesn't matter what I'm doing -- surfing, recording, etc. -- every now and then the machine will lock up and I have to do a hard restart.

I've scanned all disks, checked the registry, etc., and ran several virus and spyware programs (including Ad-Aware), and it did find an Alexa worm, but removed it. Since then, it's been clean but still freezes up -- especially during and after using Mozilla Firefox. I have completely removed and reinstalled Firefox, but get the same problem. It also freezes occasionally when I haven't used Firefox. I've also run System Mechanic and Error Nuker dozens of times. No errors.

I never had the freeze problem prior to initializing the disk. Thanks.

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ok.....i know that you've done it before (remember some of your other posts) but you still need to go through the full process in the malware forum to be sure....also try this to test your ram http://www.memtest86.com/

and you really do need a virus scanner or a firewall on your machine at all times....if you can't have these programs running on your computer to do your work then you need to unplug it from the internet connection.... or get a hardware firewall at least

[dsenette]

ok.....i know that you've done it before (remember some of your other posts) but you still need to go through the full process in the malware forum to be sure....also try this to test your ram http://www.memtest86.com/

and you really do need a virus scanner or a firewall on your machine at all times....if you can't have these programs running on your computer to do your work then you need to unplug it from the internet connection.... or get a hardware firewall at least

[heatsky]

I've run all the adware and malware tests again, and nothing found. I have a DSL router which acts as a hardware firewall. I have several virus applications which I run regularly -- just not in the background at all times. I spend little time on the internet, and never do any surfing or downloading which i know could put the box at risk.

The problem is, the computer ran from July 2002 until just a few weeks ago without an unexplained freeze. As soon as I reformatted the C drive and reinstalled everything, the freezing began.