My parents have a five-year-old Dull Dimension 4600, and it's started going through random periods of freezing where you'll be able to move the mouse very slowly (as if it's under intense load) and then it will freeze. Then 5-10 seconds later, you can move the mouse again but again only incredibly slowly. This is a recurring thing, and you can't bring up task manager or any programs while it's doing this - even though you can sort of move the mouse, nothing works when you click on it. Rebooting is the only way out.

It also randomly reboots now and then, which lead me to believe the PSU was on its way out. I had the whole thing apart a couple of months ago when this started and re-tim'd the CPU and reseated the HSF, because I thought it could be overheating, but it doesn't seem to get very hot and the fans all seem kosher. And my Mum tells me it's still doing it now.

Any ideas?

Specs:

2.66ghz Pentium 4
768mb DDR333 RAM
Some Intel 845 motherboard
250w PSU

Virus or maybe spyware?

Could it be bad memory? Try running memtest. Might also be virus/spyware etc etc.

It might be a bad hard drive too; is it spinning up a lot/making grating noises?

Quote: Originally Posted by eascarface Could it be bad memory? Try running memtest. Might also be virus/spyware etc etc. It might be a bad hard drive too; is it spinning up a lot/making grating noises?

Hard drive was only replaced six months ago so that's out. But it very probably could be bad memory. I'll give that a shot

I'm going to suggest memory too, memorys the first thing I check when my computer acts up. I've killed quite a lot (probably 5GB of DDR2).

how long since you formatted?

A fresh format with new drivers can make a PC feel and act like new.

It can also be temp related...that psu might have tons of dirt in it..take the cover off and blow it out with canned air..make sure it is properly discharged first (Google the procedure)

If the above doesn't help..then look at the posibility of bad PSU or ram. (Though a ram test with software is a good idea as many have mentioned)

Quote: Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro how long since you formatted? A fresh format with new drivers can make a PC feel and act like new. It can also be temp related...that psu might have tons of dirt in it..take the cover off and blow it out with canned air..make sure it is properly discharged first (Google the procedure) If the above doesn't help..then look at the posibility of bad PSU or ram. (Though a ram test with software is a good idea as many have mentioned)

I reinstalled Windows on it at Easter. Besides these problems, the PC runs very well considering its age so were suprised when this started happening. I had it apart before I left for Uni in September and blew most of the dust out. But next time I'm down I will take the PSU apart. I've sent Mum and Dad some instructions telling them to run Norton and MemTest.

Thanks for all the replies so far

Umm..alot can happen to a rig in 6+ months.

A format is something I would not overlook, it doesn't take much for XP to "Shoot it's wad"

It's rather fragile at times, one BSOD and it can loose some "Core" files, install and remove a few programs, and sometimes it becomes about as reliable as giving a crackhead some money to buy you beer.

I've had installs go bad in a few weeks, hell I had a buddy kill it in ONE freakin day!

I'm not saying it is for sure...but it's not something you should overlook, it's a hell of alot easier and cheaper to eliminate it for sure than to start replacing hardware.

I know your not there to be able to do this..but next time you visit, I would be prepared to give it a go if none of the other things you have them try work.

If it was just rebooting, I would agree that it could be the PSU. However, not overclocked and not overheated and still freezing during use - I would suspect a background process first.

Quote: Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro Umm..alot can happen to a rig in 6+ months. A format is something I would not overlook, it doesn't take much for XP to "Shoot it's wad" It's rather fragile at times, one BSOD and it can loose some "Core" files, install and remove a few programs, and sometimes it becomes about as reliable as giving a crackhead some money to buy you beer. I've had installs go bad in a few weeks, hell I had a buddy kill it in ONE freakin day! I'm not saying it is for sure...but it's not something you should overlook, it's a hell of alot easier and cheaper to eliminate it for sure than to start replacing hardware. I know your not there to be able to do this..but next time you visit, I would be prepared to give it a go if none of the other things you have them try work.

Quote: Originally Posted by BigAkita If it was just rebooting, I would agree that it could be the PSU. However, not overclocked and not overheated and still freezing during use - I would suspect a background process first.

Yeah, good points. I'll take those into consideration - cheers