Member Avatar for Christiaan

Hi to all,
I trust that you are all enjoying the holidays, even those of us who have to work! ;o) I've got two problems which I know you bright sparks will help this old buddy with.

One: My computer freezes just after log-on. It shows the desk top and refuses to do anything after that. I'm running xp home sp2 and have tried everything I know but to no avail. I'm able to run it in safe mode and have saved all my files on a memory stick. Now I want to format the hd and re-install xp. But..., before I start I just want to make sure I'm going to do it right. Any help will be truly appreciated.

Two: I'm using my wife's computer in the mean time, but noticed something strange. There's a web address on IE "" which I don't recognise. I have deleted the cookies, files and history on IE properties and it shows clear, but this unknown address keeps appearing and when I click on it without going on line, it starts to run but after half an hour I stopped it, because nothing visible has appeared. I'm afraid that it might be something with malicious intent. When it runs the desk top screen appears on the IE page. Any explanations or comments are most welcome.

Regards,
Christiaan.

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Brief companion note for the thread: the symptoms reported (desktop appears then the system locks, while Safe Mode runs) strongly point at a software startup/driver problem rather than a core OS failure. ’s browser redirection was removed after a full malware clean, and suggestions from and to scan and consider a fresh install are sensible. Below are focused diagnosis steps, safe checks, and a tidy reinstall checklist that apply years later.

Because Safe Mode works, start with a clean‑boot diagnosis: run msconfig, hide all Microsoft services, disable the rest, and disable all startup items. Reboot to normal; if stable, re-enable items in small groups to find the culprit. Also test with a newly created Administrator account to rule out a corrupted user profile. Inspect Event Viewer for Application/System errors that match the freeze time — those error messages narrow the cause quickly.

Check hardware and file system next. Run a full disk surface check and repair, and run a memory tester from bootable media for several passes to exclude flaky RAM. Physically inspect fans and heatsinks; remove dust with compressed air (avoid using a household vacuum inside the case). Reseat RAM and expansion cards if intermittent hardware faults are suspected.

Before formatting: back up everything (user profiles, email stores, browser bookmarks, product keys, driver installers). Collect network/chipset/video drivers on removable media so the machine can go online after install. If preserving applications is desirable, consider a repair install first; if malware or rootkits are suspected, a full clean install is safer. Note that Windows XP is no longer supported; installing it and connecting to the internet carries security risk — prefer a supported OS or keep the machine isolated behind a firewall. For suspicious background processes, identify the file path and digital signature with a trusted process viewer rather than deleting files at random.

Recommended Answers

All 11 Replies

Member Avatar for gaurav_indian

Hi to all,
I trust that you are all enjoying the holidays, even those of us who have to work! ;o) I've got two problems which I know you bright sparks will help this old buddy with.

One: My computer freezes just after log-on. It shows the desk top and refuses to do anything after that. I'm running xp home sp2 and have tried everything I know but to no avail. I'm able to run it in safe mode and have saved all my files on a memory stick. Now I want to format the hd and re-install xp. But..., before I start I just want to make sure I'm going to do it right. Any help will be truly appreciated.

Two: I'm using my wife's computer in the mean time, but noticed something strange. There's a web address on IE "" which I don't recognise. I have deleted the cookies, files and history on IE properties and it shows clear, but this unknown address keeps appearing and when I click on it without going on line, it starts to run but after half an hour I stopped it, because nothing visible has appeared. I'm afraid that it might be something with malicious intent. When it runs the desk top screen appears on the IE page. Any explanations or comments are most welcome.

Regards,
Christiaan.

It seems many people have this computer freezing problem.:(

Member Avatar for caperjack

Hi to all,
I trust that you are all enjoying the holidays, even those of us who have to work! ;o) I've got two problems which I know you bright sparks will help this old buddy with.

One: My computer freezes just after log-on. It shows the desk top and refuses to do anything after that. I'm running xp home sp2 and have tried everything I know but to no avail. I'm able to run it in safe mode and have saved all my files on a memory stick. Now I want to format the hd and re-install xp. But..., before I start I just want to make sure I'm going to do it right. Any help will be truly appreciated.

Two: I'm using my wife's computer in the mean time, but noticed something strange. There's a web address on IE "" which I don't recognise. I have deleted the cookies, files and history on IE properties and it shows clear, but this unknown address keeps appearing and when I click on it without going on line, it starts to run but after half an hour I stopped it, because nothing visible has appeared. I'm afraid that it might be something with malicious intent. When it runs the desk top screen appears on the IE page. Any explanations or comments are most welcome.

Regards,
Christiaan.

the site take me to mild Chinese porn ,i would scan computer with AVG antispyware and spybot search and destroy,both can be found at www.filehippo.com, sypware section

Member Avatar for caperjack

Heat ,caused by dirty inner computer,fans ansd stuff is the main cause of computer freezing !

Member Avatar for gaurav_indian

Heat ,caused by dirty inner computer,fans ansd stuff is the main cause of computer freezing !

Vaccum cleaner will help?

Member Avatar for Christiaan

A genuine thank you to Caperjack. AVG antispyware worked like a charm. Problem #2 is solved. Problem #1 seems to me will only be solved by reinstalling xp. Thanks again.
Christiaan.

Member Avatar for caperjack

A genuine thank you to Caperjack. AVG antispyware worked like a charm. Problem #2 is solved. Problem #1 seems to me will only be solved by reinstalling xp. Thanks again.
Christiaan.

maybe not heat!reread post,the fact it stays running in safe mode ,i change my opinion,could be you need to run some virus and spyware tools on you computer too. or clean install .

Member Avatar for Christiaan

Been busy the last few days. Thanks for the clean install tip. My wife's computer is not 100% ok yet. It now gives a window called REG.exe - Application Error, and than states that the application failed to initialize properly 0xc0000142. There's also a file running continously in the background which I manage to trace - TxoMoU.exe. Spybot reckons it's no risk, but I have my doubts. Ani suggestions? Thanks.
Christiaan.

Member Avatar for caperjack

google txomou.exe and you find a few chinese links and few english ones it appeares to be virus /
link fro mgoogle search .

reg.exe--google---
http://www.file.net/process/reg.exe.html

Member Avatar for Christiaan

I've installed quickheal. Worked beautifully. I'll use the computer for a couple of days and see how it goes. Thanks again.
Christiaan.

Member Avatar for caperjack

hope all goes well ,

Member Avatar for Christiaan

Yeah, thanks. Everthing went well. PC's working fine now. Thanks for assistance.
Christiaan.

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