System Freezing/ Won't Reboot/HEEEEELLLLP!

Hello everyone. I am having issues with my computer. HP Pavilion a730n with XP on it and this is what's happening with it: booting up fine Windows starts fine but when it goes into standby it freezes. I can move the mouse but nothing else it is just the stand by screen so I have to shut it down.( A few weeks ago I had to buy a new modem for it because the other one was fried by a thunderstorm. So I went to Staples and they suggested an external modem which is working fine,) but now the computer is doing what I just explained above. and it is taking forever to download things and I just recieved a warning about my "minimum virtual memory too low" I am rather green with alot of this stuff but I catch on really quickly on things so if someone could give me some insite I would appreciate it. I am about to throw this thing into the street

 

================

Did the problem start right after you installed the external modem?

If so, for a quick fix you can try
tapping F8 while your computer is booting and
from the list of operations choose,
"Last Known Good Configuration".
This may cause your computer to work normally again.

If this quick fix doesn't work, then you may have to
boot from the XP Disk and choose install
when the R comes up
press R in the recovery console
then try fixboot.

Good Luck . . .

 

It did start a few days after I installed the external modem but after reboot,,, I tried to hit F1, F10 and F8 and I get no response it just sits there. and also I unplugged everything and took the side cover off and blew all of the dust rabbits out and hooked it back up and it worked fine and it seems to be okay right now. (This last time I took it apart I took out the fan and manually cleaned that also should I try to do the F8 thing now that it is in OK mode? I will check back. Thank you!!

 

Oh and I don't have the XP Disk it came on it.

 

If you're system seems to be working properly and you notice that you don't have any problems, you can hold off on doing the Last Known Good Configuration if you like.

If you notice that the problems are starting up again then you can run the Last Know Good Configuration. (The configuration is exactly what it states, it's a Windows startup option that uses the most recent system setting that worked correctly.)

You should also get your hands on the OS Disk for your computer. It's always good to have incase of any problems. Using the OS Disk can solve many problems and helps you avoid grief.

Good Luck . . .