Another Windows ME lockup

[DaveO]

i'm runing windows ME on an Hp pavillion 8755c 800mhz, 128 mb, 30 gb. It locks up (screen freezes including the pointer, only option is to shut off power)under the following conditions:

1.EVERYTIME windows media 7.0 is launched, even if I don't try to play anything, it takes a minute or two to lock. If I exit media player right away, the computer still locks a minute or two later.

2.Usually when running a game off a CD. Quake2 for example sometimes wil run without problem, other times it locks up. I have a TONKA game for my kids, it runs OK for maybe 5 to 10 minutes but eventually will always lock up.

3. Music CD wil play for awhile, then lockup

4. Windows ME pinball, always locks up after a couple of minutes.

other media players such as quicktime or realplayer have never caused a lockup.

Now the funny part, sometimes after a lock up, Quake2 for example, I must wait about 5 minutes before turning the computer on otherwise it locks up before fully loading windows ME.

Also, not sure if this is related, I had a crash a few months ago (different then these lock ups), since then Scan disk always comes up. If I let it run in either mode it eventually locks up, I have to hit cancel. So I am unable to run Scan disk. The lock up problem was happening before that crash.

This has become very aggravating :mad: Especially for my little kids, they want to use the computer!

[Dodge]

Hi Dave, welcome to Cybertech....

It sounds like you have a Heat problem. Take the cover off the PC and take a look at the fans. Make sure they are not covers with Dust and Dirt. If they are then you need to get a can of compressed air and blow the insides out good.

Also make sure the fans are spinning freely...

You can feel of the back of the PC where your Power cord plugs in to see if there is any air flowing through the Power Supply....

Incase it isn't heat related. You can take a look in Msconfig and turn off any unneeded Program as most of them you can access from the start menu. Go to Start/Run/type msconfig and go to the Startup Tab... Uncheck everything except System tray and Scanregistry(I can't remember if Win/ME has that feature or not) and leave your Keyboard and mouse if applicable.... Reboot the PC to allow the settings to take affect. Then try the system out to see if the freeze ups still occur....

[Theoran]

Uncheck everything except System tray and Scanregistry(I can't remember if Win/ME has that feature or not)It does.

I agree that it does seem like a heat related problem, but my first inclination was a hard drive problem. I would boot to DOS using you WindowsME bootdisk **(startup disk)** and then run scandisk.

To run scandisk in DOS, reboot your computer with the bootdisk in the floppy drive. Select to Start computer without CD-ROM support. At the A prompt type scandisk, it should look like this A:\scandisk and hit enter. When finished press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to reboot.