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General discussion

PC freezes when opening files

Dec 8, 2003 7:08AM PST

I'm running a Windows 98 PC, whenever I'm in a program (lke Photoshop) and go to open a file, I can navigate the hierachy all the way up until I reach the My Computer/Desktop level. At this level the computer freezes up and I have to reboot. The same thing happens when I try to double click the My Computer icon on the desktop...it stops responding, as if it it can't access that particular window/level. Any idea what the problem might be?

Discussion is locked

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Tredilla, A Few Things To Start With...(Part 1)
Dec 8, 2003 9:11AM PST

First, run the programs at the link below to clean out the spyware:

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6132-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=1313&start=0

Next, shut down unnecessary start up programs like this:

Click on Start-Programs-Start Up. If there are any listings in the Start Up area, you need to delete as many as you can.(Right click the listing and choose "Delete". Please remember that these are just shortcuts to programs and not actual program files, so its safe to delete them.

Then click on Start-Run, in the typing area put "msconfig" (without the quotes), press Ok. When the System Configuration Utiltiy box opens, click on the Start Up tab. You will see a number of listings with boxes and check marks in them. These are programs that run at start up. You can safely uncheck many of the boxes. Don't uncheck System Tray, Scan Registry, or your Virus Scan startup programs. After you?re done, click ?Apply?, then 0K, and the computer will ask you to restart. Do it and then check your resources again. Hopefully they are much higher.(Don't worry too much, if you make a mistake you can always go back to this box and put a check back in any of the listings you want)

If you have any questions about which programs to UNCHECK in "msconfig", post back, or check for yourself at this site: http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.htm. At this site, wait for the page to load completely, then scroll down to the "The Programs" section and click on the "Full List" link. You should be able to find most programs you have questions about.

Hope this helps and keep reading.

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Tredilla, A Few Things To Start With ...(Part 2)
Dec 8, 2003 9:12AM PST
Try cleaning up the hard drive a little:

Click on Start-Search-Files or Folders, type "*.tmp" (without the quotes), click on the "Search" button. Once all the files show up in the box, and there can be quite a few some times, click on "Edit" in the upper left of the window, choose "Select All" and all the files will be highlighted. Then click on "File", choose "Delete" and the files will be deleted. You can safely delete .tmp files, as they are only temporary files and are placed by Windows when using various programs.

Next, do the same procedure for .chk files that have been placed there by the Scandisk program after a bad start up. Click on Start-Search-Files or Folders, type "*.chk" (without the quotes), click on "Search" button. If any files are found, delete them using the "Edit, Select All, File, Delete" method from above.

Next, you need to clean out all files from these folders. C\Windows\Cookies, C\Windows\History, C\Windows\Temp, and C\Windows\Temporary Internet Files. Start by doing this. Click on Start-Settings-Control Panel, double click on the Internet Options icon. When that loads, make sure you're viewing the "General" tab, then click on the "Delete Files" button in the "Temporary Internet Files" section. When the little box pops up, place a CHECK mark in the "Delete all offline content", then click on OK. Now click on the "Settings" button in the "Temporary Internet Files" section and change the number on the "Amount of disk space to use" section to a number of 5. (Some default settings allow for hundreds of mb in this area) Click on Ok, then "Apply" if its not grayed out, then Ok again.

Continued immediately below:
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Tredilla, A Few Things To Start With ...(Part 3)
Dec 8, 2003 9:14AM PST

Next, RIGHT click on Start, choose "Explore" from the menu, then looking on the left side of the window that loads, make sure the Windows folder is expanded so all folders within it are displayed below, by double clicking on the folder. Next, double click on the "Cookies" folder. Delete all the files within this folder by using the "Edit, Select All, File, Delete" method. Next, double click on the History folder and delete all files from each one of the days listed. Next, double click on the Temporary Internet Files folder and remove all remaining files from that folder. (You'll notice that the "index.dat" file probably can't be deleted. That's ok, leave it there. It can be removed in DOS, but for now, ignore it.)

At this time, empty your Recycle Bin of all files.

Next, double click on the Temp folder within Windows. There may be a bunch of files in this folder that were placed there by various program installations and uninstallations. Normally, these all should be safe to delete, UNLESS you have "saved" any personal documents here. Just to be careful, highlight a small group of files and delete them to the Recycle Bin. Restart the computer, run the programs, and generally test to make sure that any necessary files haven't been removed. If you don't experience any problems, and you shouldn't, then remove that bunch from the Recycle Bin, then choose another group of files from the C\Windows\Temp folder and delete them to the Recycle Bin.

Continued again immediately below:

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Tredilla, A Few Things To Start With ...(Part 4)
Dec 8, 2003 9:16AM PST

At this time run Scandisk and Defrag to correct and align the file system to its optimum. Do the Scandisk first, then the Defrag. After opening Scandisk, place a CHECK mark in ?Automatically Fix Errors. Click on the "Advanced" button, then make sure the settings look like this:
Display Summary=Always
Log File=Replace Log
Cross-linked File=Delete
Lost File Fragments=Free
Check Valid Files For=Place a check in ALL of the options
Check Host Drive First


Hope this helps.

Grif