system freezes/locks up

[maximaaa]

Hi. My computer freezes/locks up after using it for a few hours and
even sooner after printing/scanning.
I check my system resources after start up and it says 97% since I only have explorer and systray running. I get on the internet, browse and log off after an hour and my sytem resources is down to 84%. it doesn't go back up. after using a few more programs, my resources goes down even more and starts to slow down. the resources do not go up even after closing all the programs I've been using.it freezes/locks up when the resources get down to the low 40s or 30s. I will then have to turn the power off and restart my computer and then start at 97% resources again. It's just one big cycle. Why is my system resources not going back up?
I'm running a 200mhz pentium w/ 256meg of memory.

 

[Rollin' Rog]

The system resources figures you are reporting would not be a factor in the freezing. Only if they fell below %20 would they be a threat to do that. The values you are getting are quite good actually.

I would be more concerned about overheating. Even though Pentiums are not as susceptible to it as AMD's, the fact that this is an older system, with lots of ram installed may be causing the case to heat up, particularly if it has never been opened and cleaned.

You need to check the fan as well.

Also, what browser version are you using? And are you connected through a network?

To restore some lost resources without rebooting, try closing out your browser while still remaining on line -- then relaunching it.

 

[maximaaa]

it's been doing this even when I only had 32mb of ram.
The main ? is why won't my resources go back up when I close out of all the programs and only hv explorer and systray running?
I know it freezes up after my resources go below 40%.
I'm not on a network. I have the latest internet browser w/ msn.

 

[rkselby98]

Close out all programs at start up except the ones that are needed. Go to the following site and follow the instruction that are followed by the 3 red ***. Make sure you follow the instructions listed under MSCONFIG.

http://www.rselby.com/Windows.html

This should resolve your problem.

 

[maximaaa]

rkselby98, I've already done those things you have 3 red*** after. I start w/ 98% resources at startup but goes down as I open programs.
What is the reason that my resources don't go back up even after I close out all programs and just leave explorer and systray?

 

[rkselby98]

Some programs are not programed the way they sould be and they don't close all holes when you use a program when they close. You can tell which ones they are by closing the programs and then checking the resources. Office 2000 is one of them. These programs you just don't want to use if you don't have to. There are a lot of programs like this.

That is why it is good to shut your computer when you are not using it. On my site I have instructions on how to force windows to unload .dll when you close a program and this could help some.

http://www.rselby.com/Windows.html#72