Tweet
(Windows XP Pro SP2)
Tuesday I downloaded the Firefox update(the only major change thing I did that day so far). Then I tried to open a zip purportedly containing Avid Free DV (a video editor that I found off a link from Wikipedia) and the computer hanged for a minute, then I could close my programs but it was real slow. So I closed them (MSN Messenger, Firefox, a folder) and was going to reboot, and on shutting down Windows selected the option to install updates then shut down. So they installed and then the PC shut down, and a couple minutes later I turn it back on.
It goes through the little black screen with the blue progress bar (the WinXP start screen) and stops there. The progress bar is moving, but it stays that way for about thirty minutes. Something was amiss. So I restarted again and got the same thing. Starting in safe mode worked but I got the freezes again, where I'd click something or start a new program and it would freeze for a minute (or so) before moving along. I run a virus check and spyware check, find nothing. The good news is the next time I rebooted, Windows actually started.
Yet it was still slow - so I opened Mozilla to search for help (wasting you guyss time with a post like this isnt a first resort), and an error came up that said "C:/etc/firefox.exe is not a valid Win 32 application." AAGH So I'm using Internet Explorer the last few days. I downloaded the last virus definitions and spybot S&D update, and neither found anything still. I went to Microsoft Update (update.microsoft.com) and installed the activex, then a box that said You will have to reboot for system changes to take effect (I wish I could remember it specifically, it might have been "changes to system settings"), and I clicked Restart.
Windows starts, I get - (this specific error was on the back of another note and I tossed it) Cannot register OCX c:/file path/muweb.dll. (Sorry for being so helpful.) So I click OK, go to update site again, install the activex control again, restart again, the same thing happens. So I just put my thinking cap on and used the update tool in the system tray on the bottom right end of the screen. I just installed genuine windows notification and another security update. No help.
The computer is still slow as molasses. I Ctrl+Alt+Del and looked up all the tasks running, and the only ones that were close to not belonging was spoolsv.exe (search said it was a printer-related thing - I don't have a printer installed???) and six instances of svchost.exe (although another search said that many was typical.)
I've tried about everything I can think of, and if you guys are stumped too I'll just do a fresh reinstall of Windows. I have some pictures I would like to back up first though, so I right clicked "My Documents" to see the size of the folder and I got an error titled "Desktop" that said "The properties of this item are not available."
That's it. Hopefully someone here can recognize what my computer's problem is and point me to a fix.
Thanks in advance
mrmitchell
Tuesday I downloaded the Firefox update(the only major change thing I did that day so far). Then I tried to open a zip purportedly containing Avid Free DV (a video editor that I found off a link from Wikipedia) and the computer hanged for a minute, then I could close my programs but it was real slow. So I closed them (MSN Messenger, Firefox, a folder) and was going to reboot, and on shutting down Windows selected the option to install updates then shut down. So they installed and then the PC shut down, and a couple minutes later I turn it back on.
It goes through the little black screen with the blue progress bar (the WinXP start screen) and stops there. The progress bar is moving, but it stays that way for about thirty minutes. Something was amiss. So I restarted again and got the same thing. Starting in safe mode worked but I got the freezes again, where I'd click something or start a new program and it would freeze for a minute (or so) before moving along. I run a virus check and spyware check, find nothing. The good news is the next time I rebooted, Windows actually started.
Yet it was still slow - so I opened Mozilla to search for help (wasting you guyss time with a post like this isnt a first resort), and an error came up that said "C:/etc/firefox.exe is not a valid Win 32 application." AAGH So I'm using Internet Explorer the last few days. I downloaded the last virus definitions and spybot S&D update, and neither found anything still. I went to Microsoft Update (update.microsoft.com) and installed the activex, then a box that said You will have to reboot for system changes to take effect (I wish I could remember it specifically, it might have been "changes to system settings"), and I clicked Restart.
Windows starts, I get - (this specific error was on the back of another note and I tossed it) Cannot register OCX c:/file path/muweb.dll. (Sorry for being so helpful.) So I click OK, go to update site again, install the activex control again, restart again, the same thing happens. So I just put my thinking cap on and used the update tool in the system tray on the bottom right end of the screen. I just installed genuine windows notification and another security update. No help.
The computer is still slow as molasses. I Ctrl+Alt+Del and looked up all the tasks running, and the only ones that were close to not belonging was spoolsv.exe (search said it was a printer-related thing - I don't have a printer installed???) and six instances of svchost.exe (although another search said that many was typical.)
I've tried about everything I can think of, and if you guys are stumped too I'll just do a fresh reinstall of Windows. I have some pictures I would like to back up first though, so I right clicked "My Documents" to see the size of the folder and I got an error titled "Desktop" that said "The properties of this item are not available."
That's it. Hopefully someone here can recognize what my computer's problem is and point me to a fix.
Thanks in advance
mrmitchell
Comment