Hi I have a problem with my pc, I am not sure if it is the pc or my software, as follows: If I start up my pc and then do not use it for approx 10 mins, it invariably freezes requiring a restart. This can also happen during use, which can be a pain if things are not saved, I now save everything every few minutes. I am using XP professional and office 2003, plus I have Spysweeper (which can be a real pain most of the time) and Norton 360. Everything is up to date and I have run several defrags and registry cleans but to no avail, I am now losing what little hair I have left, I hope someone can help with this.Thanks.Hope Springs

Registry cleaners are for the most part snake oil and can render the system unuseable, particularly if you dont know exactly what you are doingHow does it run if you boot into safe mode?

On Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:43:39 +0000, Hope Springs wrote:Hi I have a problem with my pc, I am not sure if it is the pc or my software, as follows: If I start up my pc and then do not use it for approx 10 mins, it invariably freezes requiring a restart. This can also happen during use, which can be a pain if things are not saved, I now save everything every few minutes. I am using XP professional and office 2003, plus I have Spysweeper (which can be a real pain most of the time) and Norton 360.I certainly don't know that you are infected with malware, but youare running some of the poorer security software available, so Icertainly suspect that.For an anti-virus program, I recommend eSet NOD32, if you are willingto pay for it. If you want a free anti-virus, I recommend one of thefollowing three: AviraAvastMicrosoft Security Essentials You also need anti-spyware software. I recommend that you download andinstall (both freeware) MalwareBytes AntiMalware andSuperAntiSpyware. Everything is up to date and I have run several defrags OK.and registry cleans Ugh! Do not do that!Registry cleaning programs are all snake oil. Cleaning of theregistry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone anddon't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, andwhat vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you. The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneouslyremoving an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefitit may have. Read http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.htmlAnd alsohttp://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2005/10/02/registry-junk-a-windows-fact-of-life.aspxLet me point out that neither I nor anyone else who warns against theuse of registry cleaners has ever said that they always causeproblems. If they always caused problems, they would disappear fromthe market almost immediately. Many people have used a registrycleaner and never had a problem with it.Rather, the problem with a registry cleaner is that it carries with itthe substantial risk of having a problem. And since there is nobenefit to using a registry cleaner, running that risk is a very badbargain.Ken Blake

Hi Ken thanks for the info, I downloaded MalwareBytes AntiMalware and SuperAntiSpyware, they found a few things but nothing major. The freezing is still happening though, it seems to happen more if the keys have not been touched for about five minutes, espacially at startup (although it can happen during use).I have Norton 360 and Spysweeper (both full paid for versions) which have been fine for the last few years, so I am a little surprised that you say I am running some of the poorer security software available, as they both get good reviews generally, although I am no expert only a home PC user. You may be glad to hear that I have stopped the registry cleans as several articals seem to say the same as you.Thanks Again.Hope Springs