it happens every week or so. my windows freezes for half a second and unfreezes but after a few seconds it freezes again and unfreezes again. it lasts for about a minute. then it's ok for about a minute and then it starts freezing again. by freezing I mean that if I move the mouse, for example, then the mouse pointer stops moving (and usually disappears) but I continue moving it. then when it reappears I don't know where it is and I have to move the mouse around till I see it again. of course I can't get any work done like that. if I'm watching a movie then the movie pauses and then continues, pauses and continues.restarting usually solves the problem, but sometimes it continues after a restart and I have to restart again and again, or go to a restore point. very annoying. especially when I'm in the middle of something. how do I fix this?1 person needs an answerI do too

Hi kedbecker, There is a possibility that some third party programs installed on the computer is causing the issue.I would suggest that you perform clean boot and check. To help troubleshoot error messages and other issues, you can start Windows XP by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This kind of startup is known as a "clean boot." A clean boot helps eliminate software conflicts. Refer the below link to know more about clean boot procedure.How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" statehttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353 Reset the computer to start as usualAfter you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to reset the computer to start as usual:a) Click Start, type msconfig in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.b) If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.c) On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.d) When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart. Hope this helps!Halima S - Microsoft Support.Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.