Freeze Up Frustration!

Arghhhh..I am running WINME on a Compaq Presario laptop that is less than a year old. I dont have a lot of programmes installed but my problems seem to stem from about 2 weeks ago when I upgraded my MSN messenger to version 4.6..I am now getting continual freeze ups., browsing etc.including when I try to shut down..error messgae on shut down is the dreaded "blue screeN' with error : 0D:0167:000061DC and it says " an error has occurred, press CTRL/ALT/DEL to restart..that doesnt work!!..it also says to press any key to return to Windows, no go there either..I finally have to resort to just shutting it off and then of course getting " illegal shutdown" when I boot back up......HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

 

welcome to t.S.G carobbean.
there are some conflicts with the new version of msn messenger,looks like you found one.try un-installing it and then see if your box runs ok.
you wont lose any info from messenger as its stored on-line(contact list etc).
then,try seaching for the older version,not sure on the version number,maybe someone will jump in with the info.ill have a look around for it and post back.
good luck and a happy 2002

 

found it.........
http://www.oldversion.com/msn.shtml

 

That sure was quick..thanks $teve!! I shall go try that and see what happens..so I dont have to reload all my buddies?? Also, have been looking through here for people with similar problems and is it also possible I have too many items in my start up?
Thanks again and Happy New Year to you too!!

 

well...as for your start up.....yes,theres a lot you can clean out of it that you dont need on boot.....go to start/run type"msconfig"(without the quotes)then hit the start-up tab,see if you can prune out the stuff you dont need,like real player and the like.
and do a scan for spyware,you will nedd to d/l "adaware"

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
it will tell you all the stuff you have that are spyware....get rid of em........even most download managers come with spyware attached,but if theres something you need there are spyware free alternatives.

 

You are just a wealth of information for someome like me who as she gets more practice, obviously starts to have more problems!!! If I delete things that I dont " think" I need upon startup ( notice the operative word here is THINK) where do they go..I know, a stupid question??You mentioned Real PLayer, if I untick or whatever I'm not uninstalling, right?? It just goes somehwhere else to be opened later?? Am I on the right track here?? Thanks again!