XP seems to Hang unexpectedly

[EuriMouse 0]

I've noticed recently, well, for a little while now, actually, that XP has began to hang quite frequently for no apparent reasons. Sometimes Windows hangs and restores itself within a couple of seconds/minutes; on other occasions, I have to restart the computer because it takes so long.

 

I think it has something to do with the internet connection, since when Windows does hang, I can still open music files in Winamp but cannot open actual programs or use the internet connection to browse or open IE because if I do this, then computer then tends to show evidently that it is not responding by displayin the usual symptoms, ie. single windows showin through each other etc.

 

It could also be that the CPU usage is at 100%, but this always seems to be the case for me when I press ctrl+alt+delete: I see the CPU usage at 100% for a second and then it drops to a normal level. So I don't know if it is actually 100% when I'm not viewing or if it is just 100% because I start Windows Task Manager.

 

Any solutions?

 

EuriMouse

[EuriMouse 0]

Hi

 

Thanks for your reply. I cdon't think I have added, installed or radically changed anything on my PC since this behaviour has started happening. I have a USB Cable Modem, which I think might be the problem.

 

After your explanation about the CPU usage, I'm adamant now that the system does not lag because of that (after surveying it for a good couple of hours!)

 

Are there any known issues with USB Cable Modems with XP?

 

EuriMouse

[adamvjackson 0]

When the CPU utilization spikes to 100%, what is the PROCESS NAME that is spiked?

[Sampson 0]

It is possible that it is the cable modem. Personally, I can't stand the USB cable modems. The ethernet modems seem not to have as many problems. Given that, it sounds like your computer is paging to disk a lot and it is this that is causing the delay. When is the last time you defragmented that thing? How many programs or processes are you running? And how much ram do you have?

[EuriMouse 0]

28 processes running at this very moment. I have 256 MB of SD RAM, I think. I haven't defragmented for a little while - I'll try that and also try switching my modem to ethernet! Thanks guys; you're ace!

 

EuriMouse

[yakkob 0]

I agree on the cable-modem solution.

 

Go ethernet :yes:

[EuriMouse 0]

So do I just plug the ethernet cable in? Do I need to configure it differntly or anything on the machine?

 

Also, the computer I am having these hanging problems on is a host computer on a home network connected to one other machine... this one is XP and the other is 98 SE. Is this the problem, do you think? Are there any known discrepancies with XP being unstable when on a network or anything, especially when connected to a 98 SE machine?

 

EuriMouse

[EuriMouse 0]

So any replies?

 

EuriMouse

[Sampson 0]

There should be no problem with the modem. By now you have probably found that out.

 

As to your XP machine, you don't say if the instability begins to become apparent when you are actively using your network. If that were the case, you should make sure that the two computers share the same workgroup or domain.

 

When a computer crashes as yours seems to it is generally because of some peripheral - video card or hard disk. Video cards are the usual suspects because of driver issues. Hard disk also cause these kinds of things when one begins to develop bad sectors. Windows is constantly paging in the background; when it encounters an error, usually a write error, unexpected things happen.

[EuriMouse 0]

I mean, I still havent switched to ethernet. Do I just plug in the ethernet cable and take out the USB connection; would I not need to configure it differently on the computer or will Windows recognise I have connected through eternet instead automatically?

 

EuriMouse

[Sampson 0]

Yes, it should connect right through without a problem. Power down the computer. Make your connections. The modem should have have four or five lights on the front. When you plug the power cable into the modem, two lights should come up - power and "cable/DSL". When the computer is powered up, a third light should come on showing the the modem is acknowledging the PC connection and finally a fourth light (usually blinking) will show that Data is being transmitted. Bring up your browser and your homepage should come up.