A club member called a few days ago claiming his computer would randomly lock up. I went over and the system started for me. I left him with several updates being applied. He later called and was experiencing the same thing. I brought it home, to further study the problem.I have successfully installed all Windows updates both Critical and optional. IE8. SUPERAntiSpyware found three insignificant problems. CCleaner removed 1.2GB temp files. Malwarebytes and removed a few items. Spybot Search & Destroy found nothing.This morning, I ran the Disk Defragmenter. My guess is that it hadn't been processed for some time. Around noon, I decided to try for another update. The system froze about the time the Windows Update window opened. The task manager can't be started, the mouse seems to be working.It is running with 3GB RAM, 80GB Hard drive with 40GB unused.On restart, I inserted a USB Flash drive. Immediately on presenting the Found new Hardware blip, it froze.I have restarted in safe mode, the USB Flash drive was recognized, and installed. Then it froze, this time the mouse pointer doesn't move.Have again restarted and it seems to be running.Any thoughts? Chuck the 80 year Old dogstill learning new tricks!1 person needs an answerI do too

Youre best bet,open "event viewer" & see what problems the OS has (d)..In event viewer,locate the "events/warnings",once youve opened one,click on the URL listed,this opens xp knowlege base,usually with a fix to the problem...

Hi Charles,"The task manager can't be started" - This kind of scenario comes up in case of some kind of virus/malware.I would recommend you to boot the computer in "Clean Boot" i.e using Run open MSCONFIG and disable all 3rd party services and startup items.Secondly, try booting the computer in "Safe Mode with Networking" and try using the USB Flash Drive. If it freezes this time, I believe the final resolution would be either run a In-Place Upgrade or Parallel Install.Keep the post updated ! Cheers !Saurabh Yadav | Email removed for privacy

Please provide additional information about your system:What is your system make and model?Click Start, Run and in the box enter:msinfo32Click OK, and when the System Summary info appears, click Edit, Select All, Copy and then paste the information back here.Since outdated video drivers are a popular item contributing to malfunctions, provide that information too:For video driver information, expand the Components, click Display, click Edit, Select All, Copy and then paste the information back here.There will be some personal information (like System Name and User Name), and whatever appears to be private information to you, just delete it from the pasted information.You've already installed, updated and run full scans with Malwarebytes (MBAM) and SUPERAntiSpyware (SAS), right?This will minimize back and forth Q&A and eliminate guesswork.If your system stops responding, hangs or freezes and you can't figure out why, you can force a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) which will create a crash dump file that you can analyze and see what is running at the point of the freeze and get some ideas that do not involve guesswork.While it may seem odd to think about purposely causing a Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD), Microsoft includes such a provision in Windows XP. The feature is built in to XP specifically to diagnose the problem when a system hangs, freezes or stops responding.This will eliminate trying things or guessing about what might be happening maybe. You will know what is happening, then you can fix it.When the system hangs, there will often not be any indication or clues in the Event Viewer logs, but feel free to look and see if there are any significant event around the time of the failure. Chances are you will not find anything of interest since the system would not be able to write an event if it is hung.Here's how to force your system to create a BSOD:First make sure your system is not set to automatically restart on a system failure and is set up to create a crash dump file when a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) occurs.Right click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Startup and Recovery, Settings.In the System failure section:Put a check mark in the "Write an event to the system log" boxPut a check mark in the "Send an administrative alert" boxUncheck the "Automatically restart" boxIn the Write debugging information section, choose:Small memory dump (64 KB)Set the Small dump directory to:%SystemRoot%\MinidumpClick OK twice to save the settings.Now enable the XP feature to generate a crash dump on demand.Before making registry changes, backup your registry with this popular free and easy to use tool:http://www.snapfiles.com/get/erunt.htmlFor PS/2 keyboards, launch the Registry Editor (Start, Run, regedit.exe) and navigate to:HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\ParametersFor USB keyboards, launch the registry editor (Start, Run, regedit.exe) and navigate to:HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\kbdhid\ParametersClick Edit, select New DWORD Value and name the new value:CrashOnCtrlScrollDouble-click the CrashOnCtrlScroll DWORD Value, type 1 in the Value Data text box to enable the feature, and click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows XP for the changes to take effect.When you want to cause a BSOD (when your system has stopped responding), press and hold down the [Ctrl] key on the right side of your keyboard, and then tap the [ScrollLock] key twice. Now you should see the BSOD and you will have a crash dump file to analyze.You may not see the information about your problem on the BSOD screen, but you will find the answer in the crash dump file. You may need help interpreting your crash dump file if you have never seen one before.You can read about the feature here:http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff545499.aspxThere is no harm in leaving the feature enabled (mine is always on), but if you are compelled to remove it, just undo the change you made in the registry.Launch the Registry Editor (Start, Run, regedit.exe) and navigate to:HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters orHKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\kbdhid\ParametersSelect the CrashOnCtrlScroll value, click the Edit menu, and select the Delete command. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows XP. Go ahead and test the new manual crash dump on demand feature to be sure it works as expected, then wait for the system to hang again.When you have some crash dump files accumulated, you can learn how to figure out what is going on with the system when it is hung or not responding and then you can decide what needs to be done to fix it.Do, or do not. There is no try.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!

Hi Jose,I don't think that Crash Dump Analysis is the need of this hour here. Start with the basics and then move on to advanced steps - this is what it means Liniear and Logical Troubleshooting! Help people with the attitude of helping to get problems resolved and not for earning points or votes!Saurabh Yadav | Email removed for privacy

Andrew, thanks for the try.The error is clearly explained in this manner:7001EVENT_SERVICE_START_FAILED_IIMessage: "The %1 service depends on the %2 service which failed to start because of the following error: %3"Enough of the humor, the error (error 2) seems to be that the Plug and Play device manager can't find a file. Therefore, it can't be started.I hate to reload the operating system for this one seemingly simple problem.Any new thoughts? Chuck the 80 year Old dogstill learning new tricks!