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Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

Luzern
Hero
Posts: 4,823
Thanks: 872
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Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

It may just be perception, but I seem to be getting more instances of progs hanging, so that I have to use Ctrl Alt Del or even use the computers main switch and then reboot.
Computer is on XP Home
Amd Athlon 2400+ processor 80GB hard drive
512 (2*256)MB PC 2700 DDR RAM
I have very recently done a disk clean up and a defrag.
Suggestions as to probable cause and cures would be much appreciated.
Thanks
No one has to agree with my opinion, but in the time I have left a miracle would be nice.
10 REPLIES 10
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

Things to try, if you haven't already:
1. Run a registry cleaner like Tweaknow http://www.download.com/TweakNow-RegCleaner-Standard/3000-2094_4-10262639.html
2. Make sure your antivirus and antispyware software is up to date and do full scans.
3. Temperature can cause this kind of thing. Open the side of your PC (with it plugged in but shut down) and check the heatsinks. They can get clogged with dust and reduce the heat dissipation.
4. Make sure XP's updates are, err, up to date.
5. Has it coincided with installing any new hardware or software? If so uninstall it and see what happens.
7up
Community Veteran
Posts: 15,824
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

Quote from: lucerne
Computer is on XP Home

Yup, theres the problem.
Pro is far more reliable. Home is like the Win9x series (unstable) where as Pro is more like the business aimed NT series which was designed to be stable (Or more to the point the Win9x range was designed to be unstable so business's would buy the expensive NT range).
If you can get XP Pro somehow, I think you'll find your problems disappear. I used to use WinME and while it was better than Win98SE it used to crash quite easily. Upgraded to XP Pro and don't really have many problems now.
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
Not applicable

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

In my experience there's nothing wrong with home for most home users.
Sure some of the tools and options are missing, but I've certainley not experienced any problems with instability on XP Home (if I had, I'd have installed XP Pro for at home as well)
7up
Community Veteran
Posts: 15,824
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

Hi James,
I know what you're saying but sometimes the OS likes or dislikes different hardware for unknown reasons.
I used Win98SE and it was the worst OS I've ever used. It wouldn't stay stable for longer than 40 minutes. A lot of other people I know say it's the best they've had and it never crashes.
I preferred WinME while those same people said it was junk.
My point is, while it may work well for some users, frequently it works not so well for others. I was one of those others. I dumped the 9x series and moved on to XP Pro. No trouble ever since. I get the occassional hardware glitch sometimes but very few crashes or software errors.
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

XP Home isn't part of the 9x series. It is NT based, just like XP Pro.
Luzern
Hero
Posts: 4,823
Thanks: 872
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

Quote from: Denzil
Things to try, if you haven't already:
1. Run a registry cleaner like Tweaknow http://www.download.com/TweakNow-RegCleaner-Standard/3000-2094_4-10262639.html
2. Make sure your antivirus and antispyware software is up to date and do full scans.
3. Temperature can cause this kind of thing. Open the side of your PC (with it plugged in but shut down) and check the heatsinks. They can get clogged with dust and reduce the heat dissipation.
4. Make sure XP's updates are, err, up to date.
5. Has it coincided with installing any new hardware or software? If so uninstall it and see what happens.

Just waiting for new RAM to come, which incidentally I;d ordered before the problems. Will deal with 3 then. BTW what do most sensible folk use to do the cleaning?
No one has to agree with my opinion, but in the time I have left a miracle would be nice.
mcgurka
Grafter
Posts: 764
Registered: ‎09-10-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

physically cleaning dust? Get yourself a tin of compressed air.. or you can try with a vacuum and a corner nozel on it, be careful not to knock anything off the board though!
God
Grafter
Posts: 1,112
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

As well as cleaning the CPU heatsink if you have a seperate video card check that isn't clogged up as well. I am afraid I am also a crevice tool man! I find compressed air either spreads the dust around or drives some deeper into (some) heatsinks.
I can't agree with the XP home theory I have run both with no difference in reliability and as PJ said it is the same code with some sections dropped, mostly through registry changes and selective install routines.
Luzern
Hero
Posts: 4,823
Thanks: 872
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

Finally got round to doing a thorough blow job, and was surprised how firty it all was. Even the old RAM, which I was upgrading had been affected. Computer seems to be faster now.
No one has to agree with my opinion, but in the time I have left a miracle would be nice.
zubel
Community Veteran
Posts: 3,793
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎08-06-2007

Re: Seemingly more hangs (item reposted from incorrect section)

Grin
B.