Freezing Problems!

[bazman05]

Ok, my computer constantly freezes whenever I run a Virus Check, Spyware program or even simple copying and pasting but am easily able to play games such as BioShock without any problems and surf the net with no interruption.

I have to restart the computer every time, and wait for the inevitable freeze which can vary from 1 minute to 3 hours.

Any ideas?

[Wirenutt]

What virus check and spyware are you running? What OS are you running?
Have you tried restarting it in safe mode and then running the spyware and virus check. You can also try running check disk or system restore.
I'm not a computer expert but these basic steps could help.

[bazman05]

I'm running XP service pack 3, with Norton 360 and Spybot search and Destroy for my virus and spyware scanning ( Norton 360 does both).

I've tried various scans in Safe Mode with the same freezing problems, and System Restore doesn't seem to work either.

[Wirenutt]

I'm running the same thing. When I installed Nortons the program said that I would have to uninstall Spybot because there would be a conflict between the two programs. That might be your issue.

[DIY Guy]

I don't like to slam anyone's product without knowing all the details, but...

I used Norton 360 and had nightmare issues. After removing it and using another product, problem solved. I have read a lot of similar statements to this affect.

Ordinarily I have been an advocate for Norton products.

[bazman05]

[QUOTE=Wirenutt]I'm running the same thing. When I installed Nortons the program said that I would have to uninstall Spybot because there would be a conflict between the two programs. That might be your issue.[/QUOTE]

I installed Norton 360 before Spybot, so was not asked to uninstall it, but Norton also has problems with Microsoft Antispyware so did not bother this time and still have same problems so I'm not sure it's a conflict of software that is causing my system freezes but I'll give it a shot and let you know.

[bazman05]

[QUOTE=bazman05]I installed Norton 360 before Spybot, so was not asked to uninstall it, but Norton also has problems with Microsoft Antispyware so did not bother this time and still have same problems so I'm not sure it's a conflict of software that is causing my system freezes but I'll give it a shot and let you know.[/QUOTE]

Removed Spybot and ran a full system scan with Norton 360 and my computer froze after about 300,000 files (not even half done) and had to restart computer.

Any other ideas anyone?

[Wirenutt]

The only thing I can think of is to uninstall Norton 360 and see if it still freezes.

If that doesn't work you can try checking here... http://community.norton.com/norton/
It's a Norton message board. Someone in there might be able to help.

[bazman05]

[QUOTE=Wirenutt]The only thing I can think of is to uninstall Norton 360 and see if it still freezes.

If that doesn't work you can try checking here... http://community.norton.com/norton/
It's a Norton message board. Someone in there might be able to help.[/QUOTE]

I can't really try that at the moment (no reliable replacement), but should I have any reason to suspect hardware problems as the cause for the freezes, ram for example?

[Wirenutt]

[QUOTE=bazman05]I can't really try that at the moment (no reliable replacement), but should I have any reason to suspect hardware problems as the cause for the freezes, ram for example?[/QUOTE]
To be honest I don't know. I'm not an expert at computers. Not having enough RAM could be the problem too. Nortons does use up a lot of resources. That's why I might replace it on my computer.

[RegUS_PatOff]

If you don't have enough room on the "C" drive (a few GB), it may freeze.

[DIY Guy]

In my former life, I was a computer repair guy. There are a million reasons for a PC to bog down. In my experience, for some of my clients it would be cheaper to replace a PC than to fix some of the problems that could occur. That was rare, but Windows has sooo many things wrong with it, that sometimes sorting out a problem could take too many hours to be worth the effort.

One option is always to wipe the drive and reinstall everything. But that too can take quite a bit of time, plus you need all the disks and all the pass codes etc. Then you have to apply all the updates that have accumulated over the time since you bought the software.

I mentioned my experience with Norton 360 not because "I" had a problem with it. I mentioned it because the product seems to have some serious flaws. I would try removing 360 completely and use another product to see if that resolves the problem.

And while I am slamming products - Windows Vista is the most unholy nightmare operating system I have had the displeasure to lock horns with. But then, thats just me. I have been a PC and Windows guy since the 90's. After using Vista, I very seriously considered buying a Mac. Finally, I just got a new PC with the older Windows XP Pro OS installed.

[bazman05]

Thought I'd update on some things, and give my (possible) solution to my problem, for whoerver might suffer from similar problems, however unlikely.

Firstly, I found that I was using the wrong mouse driver which I got using a program called Drivermax (great software but you have to be carefull). So far, my computer has been much more reliable. If this is not an advert for using the correct drivers, I don't know what is.

Secondly, I ran a program called Speedfan, and used the S.M.A.R.T feature (for newer hard drives) and found that my main hard drive was running at only 75% fittness and that certain sectors could not be mapped or written to. Not sure if this is causing my computer to freeze while running Norton 360 or Spyware programs though.

Appreciate the help guys, you provided some good idea's, and hope the problem is solved for now, or else, I'll be back. :eek: