Member Avatar for Fairfieldfencer

I bought a video game over a service called Steam. The game was Garry's Mod. I was installing it, it was on for about an hour before it got to half way and I was doing work and talking to people since everything was stacked at the same time. I had on Internet Explorer and Skype. To give my computer an easier time, I turned off Explorer and then Skype. Then my XP (which I just got back from my repair guy) froze just as the latter was shutting down. I think the biggest mistake was choosing to hold down the power button and have it immediately shut down. I forgot you could make it shut down slowly by just pressing it once. Anyway, I turned it back on and now when I turn most applications on, it starts out slow then freezes after a minute or two and some things come on without my command so that means the computer has applications like Skype running that I can't stop.

A friend suggested I go to Task Manager and shut down the Steam.exe process, but the moment I pressed X on the Task Manager to turn it off, the whole computer froze except for the cursor again. I've done a few searches and some things have come close to this situation, but things like the computer model have been different. It's hard to access stuff in time to do anything with the computer. Because of stuff that comes on automatically like Skype, it just freezes completely without me even touching it. It could be stuff besides Skype that I don't know about too. I really need help with this.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rch1231

Dani AI

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As reported by , the machine began freezing shortly after a forced power-off during a Steam/Garry's Mod install; the cursor remains movable while the rest of the UI locks, and killing Task Manager caused a complete hang. That pattern is consistent with either file-system corruption from the abrupt shutdown, a kernel/driver (often graphics) problem that leaves only low-level input responding, or a runaway/hidden startup process or malware. and were right to point toward a minimal boot — but the next steps below are ordered to preserve data and isolate the cause.

Fast triage (in order):

  • Boot to a minimal environment (Safe Mode) as suggested by and . If the system stays up there, it is almost certainly a software/startup item problem; if it still freezes, suspect hardware, disk corruption, or a kernel driver.
  • In a stable minimal session: disable all non-Microsoft startup items (use msconfig), uninstall/reinstall the display driver, then reboot normally. Re-enable one item at a time to find the offender.
  • Repair the file system and system files (forced shutdowns often damage the NTFS metadata). If the system cannot run reliably long enough, make a file backup from a bootable Linux/Windows PE USB or connect the drive to another computer first.
  • If malware is suspected or antivirus cannot run inside Windows, boot and scan from a trusted rescue/bootable antivirus media created on a second PC.

Useful commands (run from an elevated prompt or recovery console):

chkdsk C: /f /r
sfc /scannow   (Windows XP requires the original XP CD)

Additional notes and cautions: avoid repeated hard power-offs (they worsen corruption). Check Event Viewer for timely Application/System errors if available. If disk SMART errors or memory faults appear, prioritize backing up important files and consider swapping the drive or running Memtest on a separate boot medium. If the above steps do not restore stability, a repair install or clean OS reinstall after a full backup will be the last reliable fix.

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Member Avatar for jholland1964

Boot to Safe mode and see if you can locate this Steam and stop it from auto starting. Sounds like it may be too much for your machine.

Member Avatar for rch1231

Hello,

Try starting it in safe mode and running your antivirus program from there. As the computer starts to boot start hitting the <F8> key and you will get options for starting windows. One of the options is Start Windows in Safe Mode. This will load the minimum drivers and apps and get windows up and running. Let us know what happens and we can work from there.

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