Computer hangs unexpectedly

Hi everybody
My computer of unknown brand-name but with 1.8GHz CPU, 224MB RAM, 20GB
HD (7GB free) and WinME runs very well. Boot time is 65 seconds
(switch-on to ready-to-go) and shut down takes less than 15 seconds.
Apps appear very fast and, within the limitations of dial-up. interent
operation is reasonable.
However, it does tend to hang every now and again (perhaps three times
per week). Indeed, it has even happens during a cold boot. When it does
hang, I am unable to check what is causing the problem as everything is
paralyzed.
When things are running normally, the System Resources monitor shows
typically 70-80% free and Process Explorer shows a Commit Charge about
20% of total.
Note that this computer is used only lightly with e-mail, browsing,
Excel and an ocassional game being the principal uses. Very rarely is
there more than two windows open.
So, it is not clear to me what can be causing these hanging episodes or
what I can do to eliminate them.
I´d be grateful for any tips or pointers from anyone more enlightened
than me.
TIA
Paul

Hello, PaulFXH!
You wrote on 31 Mar 2006 11:15:22 -0800:

P ....
P So, it is not clear to me what can be causing these hanging episodes or
P what I can do to eliminate them.
P I´d be grateful for any tips or pointers from anyone more enlightened
P than me.

I had something similar occur when I first started using WinME about 6 years
ago. My pc is/was extremely light duty but it tended to "hang" after a
while of just sitting idle actually! But what fixed it for me was disabling
DMA access on the CD-RW (via Device Mangler).

Hi Ogg,
Thanks for your reply.
OK, I´ve taken your advice and unchecked the DMA box on the CD drive.
I imagine I can leave it like that until the young lady with whom I
share this computer starts complaining that the games she plays
directly off CD are not as responsive as they used to be. But that
should be enough time to know whether your tip has worked for me or
not.
Frankly, I would be surprised if this were the only problem, but let´s
see.
I should point out that my computer here is not as lightly used as
yours seems to be (or to have been). It runs every day for typically
2-4 hours and never sits idle for long periods.
Paul