Random temporary freeze

I'm experiencing some strange symptoms - usually but not exclusively with IE and OE. My system
is Win98se, 256MB ram, 1200MHz AMD processor. The OS and software are updated.

When I use the backspace key or the arrow keys to reposition the cursor, my computer will (on
random occasions) freeze for 30-40 seconds, then resume normal operation. Those are the visible
symptoms. I haven't a clue as to the cause of the problem. It occurs in both Internet Explorer
and Outlook Express. In IE it usually happens when I'm changing a URL. In OE it can be
anywhere on the screen. It seems to make no difference whether I'm making individual
keystrokes or holding down the key. At some point, the movement of the cursor stops. I can
still move the pointer, but the insertion point is frozen and so is everything else.

When this happens, the computer will search for something in A\: drive. I have no clue what it
could be looking for and I can't swear that it happens every time, but it does so at least most
of the time.

After about 30 seconds or so, the cursor starts blinking at me again and everything seems
normal, with one exception - the drive light on A\: drive remains lit.

When this happens, the computer seems to search briefly for something on A\: drive. I can't
swear that it happens every time, but it seems to at least most of the time. When normal
operation resumes, the drive light in A\: drive usually but not always remains lit.

I have Tweak UI and have run "repair system files." No help. I have Googled for "computer
freezes temporarily" but found nothing relevant. Unless someone can suggest something, my next
move will be to reformat the hard drive and reinstall from scratch. And that may not solve the
problem, because that's what I did about 2 weeks ago and that's when I started having the
problem.

All suggestions or advice are welcome, thank you.

Perhaps you installed a program from the A:\drive or used it recently and
did not exit it properly.
If so, insert the last floppy you used, go to the A:\ drive in Explorer and
view its contents and then go to a different drive and finally remove the
floppy.
May or may not work, but it is a quick easy thing to try.
Another thing to look at is the number of folders in My Documents. If it is
around 100, move them to a different folder, at least temporarily. You can
always move them back.
Wait for further adice. :-)
Buffalo

"Terry" wrote in message
...
I'm experiencing some strange symptoms - usually but not exclusively with
IE and OE. My system
is Win98se, 256MB ram, 1200MHz AMD processor. The OS and software are
updated.

When I use the backspace key or the arrow keys to reposition the cursor,
my computer will (on
random occasions) freeze for 30-40 seconds, then resume normal operation.
Those are the visible
symptoms. I haven't a clue as to the cause of the problem. It occurs in
both Internet Explorer
and Outlook Express. In IE it usually happens when I'm changing a URL.
In OE it can be
anywhere on the screen. It seems to make no difference whether I'm
making individual
keystrokes or holding down the key. At some point, the movement of the
cursor stops. I can
still move the pointer, but the insertion point is frozen and so is
everything else.

When this happens, the computer will search for something in A\: drive. I
have no clue what it
could be looking for and I can't swear that it happens every time, but it
does so at least most
of the time.

After about 30 seconds or so, the cursor starts blinking at me again and
everything seems
normal, with one exception - the drive light on A\: drive remains lit.

When this happens, the computer seems to search briefly for something on
A\: drive. I can't
swear that it happens every time, but it seems to at least most of the
time. When normal
operation resumes, the drive light in A\: drive usually but not always
remains lit.

I have Tweak UI and have run "repair system files." No help. I have
Googled for "computer
freezes temporarily" but found nothing relevant. Unless someone can
suggest something, my next
move will be to reformat the hard drive and reinstall from scratch. And
that may not solve the
problem, because that's what I did about 2 weeks ago and that's when I
started having the
problem.

All suggestions or advice are welcome, thank you.

(1) If your virus checker is set to scan the floppy, turn that function
off.

(2) Is "A:\" mentioned at "START, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt, SET"?

(3) If Leboeuf hasn't been here first,
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q272/2/42.asp
Floppy Accessed
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q216/7/52.asp
Floppy Active
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=185619
Floppy Accessed at Startup

(4) Control Panel, System, Performance tab, File System button, Floppy
Disk tab. Uncheck "Search for new floppy disk drives each time your
computer starts". That seems safe enough; there's a huge blurb there
about it; R-Clk that item & select "What's this?".

(5) Write-protect & insert a floppy. Cause the access. Is there an error
message?
Update definitions & check for viruses, and...

http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm#tshoot
http://patrick.kolla.de/spybotsd.html SpyBot- Search & Destroy. SpyBot
is gabby in it's "Checks" & "Fixes" logs. Turn them off in "Settings".
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ AdAware
http://www.lavasoftusa.de/ Also AdAware
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html CoolWebSearch Chronicles
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip & CWShredder
http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip Finally, Hijack This
http://aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm
Hijack This Logs Tutorial-- MUST read!

....may find something. (Actually, they certainly will.)

(6)...........Start.......
Here is the drill I go through whenever I encounter this type of
problem. System is constantly checking the A: drive
....snip
3. You have FindFast running. Go to the Control Panel, open FindFast
and delete all indexes and remove the FindFast icon from the Start
folder. Unless you have an extraordinary amount of Office files
FindFast is of little value to you.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=199787
OFF2000: How to Turn Off the Find Fast Indexer
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;158705
OFF97: How to Disable the Find Fast Indexer
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;135476
OFF95: Office for Windows 95 Find Fast Indexer Overview

4. You have a shortcut in the start-programs menu pointed to a
nonexistent drive.
....snip

Some times just putting any 3.5" disk in the drive and accessing it and
then closing with the X in the upper right hand corner will clear the
constant accessing.

Also see the following page on ZDnet. It covers a lot of possibilities.
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/pctech/co...ns/uu1617a.htm
--
Gary Woodruff
MS MVP-DTS (Win XP)
............End........

(7) Alla Nutcase, is it in the Registry? (Take care in the Registry,
though.)
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q183/8/87.asp
Registry Checker-ScanReg
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q221512
Manually Restore Registry

(a) "START, Run, RegEdit".
(b) Select "Find" in the Edit menu. Search string: "A:\", no quotes. (It
may take a while.)

(c) "Registry menu, Export Registry file".

This will create a ".reg" file of the entire Key that is open...
all the items in the right pane & any sub-keys in the left pane
(supposing there was a plus sign on the one highlighted). Give it a name
& location of your choosing, even to the Desktop or My Documents. Then,
if something goes wrong with the following, you will be able to simply
click that file, to Merge it's contents back into the Registry.

(d) R-Clk the item(s) in the right pane that mentions "A\:", and select
Delete.
(e) Continue the search, at step (b).

By default, when a ".reg" is clicked, it will Merge into the Registry.
To alter the default behavior: "START, Settings, Folder Options, File
Types tab". Scroll to & click "Registration Entries", click the "Edit"
button, select "edit" in the window & click the "Set Default" button.
Now, when you click a ".reg" file, it will open in Notepad for
examination. To merge it into the Registry, R-Clk it & select "Merge".

(8) Control Panel, System, Device Manager, is there a ? or ! anywhere,
especially on the Floppy drive? Then, try the Windows Help
Troubleshooter section, perhaps. (There may be a "Hardware
Troubleshooter" button in Device Manager that leads there.) If you
discover blank help screens, then "START, Find, F&F, Tshoot.inf"; R-Clk
it & select "Install". Your T-shooter screens will be restored.

(9) In Device Manager, in Safe Mode (hold CTRL as booting) to ghost
bust, open the Floppy Disk Controller, highlight each device under it in
turn, and click "Remove". Then click "OK" & reboot. The drive should be
redetected and the driver installed. (During boot, you may need to
direct Windows to "C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS" or to the "\Win98" folder of
your Windows Installation CD.)

(10) Open the computer case and poke around. Check for loose plugs,
especially around the Floppy. Un/re-plug firmly. Be sure to touch the
case to discharge static electricity. Be sure computer itself is
UNPLUGGED. Clean the fan while in there.

(11) Floppy drives are cheap ($15 ?); buy a new one.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"Terry" wrote in message
...
| I'm experiencing some strange symptoms - usually but not exclusively
with IE and OE. My system
| is Win98se, 256MB ram, 1200MHz AMD processor. The OS and software are
updated.
|
| When I use the backspace key or the arrow keys to reposition the
cursor, my computer will (on
| random occasions) freeze for 30-40 seconds, then resume normal
operation. Those are the visible
| symptoms. I haven't a clue as to the cause of the problem. It occurs
in both Internet Explorer
| and Outlook Express. In IE it usually happens when I'm changing a
URL. In OE it can be
| anywhere on the screen. It seems to make no difference whether I'm
making individual
| keystrokes or holding down the key. At some point, the movement of
the cursor stops. I can
| still move the pointer, but the insertion point is frozen and so is
everything else.
|
| When this happens, the computer will search for something in A\:
drive. I have no clue what it
| could be looking for and I can't swear that it happens every time, but
it does so at least most
| of the time.
|
| After about 30 seconds or so, the cursor starts blinking at me again
and everything seems
| normal, with one exception - the drive light on A\: drive remains lit.
|
| When this happens, the computer seems to search briefly for something
on A\: drive. I can't
| swear that it happens every time, but it seems to at least most of the
time. When normal
| operation resumes, the drive light in A\: drive usually but not always
remains lit.
|
| I have Tweak UI and have run "repair system files." No help. I have
Googled for "computer
| freezes temporarily" but found nothing relevant. Unless someone can
suggest something, my next
| move will be to reformat the hard drive and reinstall from scratch.
And that may not solve the
| problem, because that's what I did about 2 weeks ago and that's when I
started having the
| problem.
|
| All suggestions or advice are welcome, thank you.
|
|
|
|

Thanks for the pointers, PCR. I've done and/or checked the EZ stuff. Now for more reading
and checking. May take me a while.

----Terry

"PCR" wrote in message ...
(1) If your virus checker is set to scan the floppy, turn that function off.

It was off.

(2) Is "A:\" mentioned at "START, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt, SET"?

There is no reference to "A:\" after the SET command.

(4) Control Panel, System, Performance tab, File System button, Floppy Disk tab. Uncheck
"Search for new floppy disk drives each time your computer starts". That seems safe enough;
there's a huge blurb there about it; R-Clk that item & select "What's this?".

Unchecked it, read the blurb. Not quite sure what I learned.

(5) Write-protect & insert a floppy. Cause the access. Is there an error message?

No error message. Tried a couple times, still no error msg.

Update definitions & check for viruses, and...

Using McAfee VS Pro v8. All up to date. Full scan done a couple days ago.

3. You have FindFast running. ...remove the FindFast icon from the Start folder.

Went there. Did all of that.

4. You have a shortcut in the start-programs menu pointed to a nonexistent drive.

Sorry. I don't.

(10) Open the computer case and poke around. Check for loose plugs, especially around the
Floppy. Un/re-plug firmly. Be sure to touch the case to discharge static electricity. Be sure
computer itself is UNPLUGGED. Clean the fan while in there.

Already got side panel off, so checking that should be easy.

(11) Floppy drives are cheap ($15 ?); buy a new one.

I read that floppies will be completely passe before long. Maybe that's a good idea,
even though I've still got tons of stuff on them.

You are welcome. All of that was collected right here at this site, when
that problem was more prevalent. Good luck with it. Here is something
else that may prove to be worthwhile...

First pick one of these to identify what loads at boot. Next, see
whether there is an option in it's menus to disable it from starting up.
If you really want to rid yourself of it on a more permanent basis, then
look for it in "Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs". However, it isn't
often easy to know what is what in there. One of these URL's may say.
Only last, go to StartUpCop.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;q137367
Startup Items
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q179/3/65.asp
Startup Group
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q282107 Startup
http://aumha.org/a/loads.htm
http://users.westelcom.com/rogersr/clean.htm
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/sheppard.p/startup.htm
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...tasklist_a.htm
http://www.djbdesigns.com/wtvzone/startup.html
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.htm
http://www.sysinfo.org/startupinfo.php
http://www2.cajun.net/~theriots/blk/start.htm
http://www2.whidbey.com/djdenham/Uncheck.htm
http://www.3feetunder.com/krick/startup/list.html

http://www.pcmag.com/ 's StartUpCop has "undo", and it is more than a
combination of "START, Run, MSInfo32, Software Environment, Startup
Programs" and "START, Run, MSConfig, Startup tab". It can even do a
permanent delete. Of course, first see whether the app has an option in
it's own menus to remove itself from the Startup Group. This is
configurable, and one may maintain multiple configurations.

Update definitions & check for viruses, and...
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm#tshoot
http://patrick.kolla.de/spybotsd.html SpyBot- Search & Destroy. SpyBot
is gabby in it's "Checks" & "Fixes" logs. Turn them off in "Settings".
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ AdAware
http://www.lavasoftusa.de/ Also AdAware
http://www.merijn.org/cwschronicles.html CoolWebSearch Chronicles
http://www.merijn.org/files/cwshredder.zip & CWShredder
http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip Finally, Hijack This
http://aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm
Hijack This Logs Tutorial-- MUST read!
....may find something. (Actually, they certainly will.)

.......Quote..........................
Download and run Hijack This, but don't remove anything with it yet:
http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip
Follow the instructions at this Tutorial:
http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/
to save the log files and paste them into a new post at one of these
forums:
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showforum=11
http://www.net-integration.net/cgi-b.../ikonboard.cgi
http://tomcoyote.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=4&t=499

--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
....End of quote..............


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"Terry" wrote in message
...
| Thanks for the pointers, PCR. I've done and/or checked the EZ stuff.
Now for more reading
| and checking. May take me a while.
|
| ----Terry
|
| "PCR" wrote in message
...
| (1) If your virus checker is set to scan the floppy, turn that
function off.
|
| It was off.
|
| (2) Is "A:\" mentioned at "START, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt, SET"?
|
| There is no reference to "A:\" after the SET command.
|
| (4) Control Panel, System, Performance tab, File System button,
Floppy Disk tab. Uncheck
| "Search for new floppy disk drives each time your computer starts".
That seems safe enough;
| there's a huge blurb there about it; R-Clk that item & select "What's
this?".
|
| Unchecked it, read the blurb. Not quite sure what I learned.
|
| (5) Write-protect & insert a floppy. Cause the access. Is there an
error message?
|
| No error message. Tried a couple times, still no error msg.
|
| Update definitions & check for viruses, and...
|
| Using McAfee VS Pro v8. All up to date. Full scan done a
couple days ago.
|
| 3. You have FindFast running. ...remove the FindFast icon from the
Start folder.
|
| Went there. Did all of that.
|
| 4. You have a shortcut in the start-programs menu pointed to a
nonexistent drive.
|
| Sorry. I don't.
|
| (10) Open the computer case and poke around. Check for loose plugs,
especially around the
| Floppy. Un/re-plug firmly. Be sure to touch the case to discharge
static electricity. Be sure
| computer itself is UNPLUGGED. Clean the fan while in there.
|
| Already got side panel off, so checking that should be easy.
|
| (11) Floppy drives are cheap ($15 ?); buy a new one.
|
| I read that floppies will be completely passe before long.
Maybe that's a good idea,
| even though I've still got tons of stuff on them.
|
|
|