I purchased a refurbished IBM Think Centre SS1 8171 Desktop PC. I use Windows XP Professional as my OS. For about the last few months, I have been having very frequent problems daily with inability to pull up programs along with occasional video freezing. What happens with almost every use is that after I pull up just a few files (sometimes just one, or even none) it won’t open because the program won’t initiate. If I try to restart or shut down to reboot, even that won’t initiate. I’m always forced to cut the power via surge suppressor switch then turn it right back on in order to reboot; even to shut the system down properly. I do that on a regular basis more than once, daily. To add, I also get frequent messages while I’m on line that whatever browser I’m using has “encountered a problem”, apologizing for the inconvenience and prompts me to send an error report, and then I get disconnected. I do that on a regular basis, as well. I ran antivirus scans, but no virus was found. I did registry scans, and got different amounts of registry errors ranging from 700 to almost 5,000. I know these are problems that are not unique to my computer. What I would like to know is if these problems are the result of a virus, and if so, what would work best to rectify these problems. Can someone please point me in the right direction?Remember - This is a public forum so never post private information such as email or phone numbers!Ideas:Programs you are having problems with Error messages Recent changes you made to your computer What you have already tried to fix the problem 2 people need an answerI do too

Hi Jazzcrafter, ·Do you have security software installed on your computer?·What is the service pack installed? 1. Check for the exact error message or error codes if any in event viewer. You may refer the below link:How to view and manage event logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427 Follow the below steps: Step 1:Check the results by booting the computer in safe mode. To boot in safe mode you may follow the steps:a. Restart the computer and press and hold F8 key (Press and hold f8 key before the windows logo).b. From the advanced boot option select ‘Safe mode’. If the issue does not repeat in safe made then you may follow with step 2 to narrow down on the issue Step 2:Check the behavior by booting the computer in clean boot state.You may refer the below link on how to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353If the issue does not persist you may continue with step 2 from the above link.Make sure you reset the computer to normal mode after the troubleshooting completes. Refer the section “Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state” 2. You may also runonline virus scan and check if any malware or virus activity found on the computer. Link for online virus scan:http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm Also, refer: 5 ways to speed up your PC: http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/maintenance/speed.aspx Regards:Samhrutha G S - Microsoft Support.Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.