Hi, I'm new here, very frustrated, and about five minutes from having a stompfest with my computer.
My problem started when I was playing a game on my computer and it froze. I couldn't do anything, so I restarted my computer by holding down the power button. It started up normally, came up to the desktop and started to load like it always does. I then noticed the icon that showed my wireless internet status didn't show up on the task bar. I waited another few minutes, still it never came up. So I opened the start menu to manually access my internet connection and my whole computer freezes except for my mouse. I had to use the power button to restart again. The same actions happened again.
Third restart I decided to use Avast! to scan. I clicked the icon, the splash screen showed up, it ran its memory test, the screen disappeared and then... nothing. The program never showed up. I clicked the icon again, it did its memory test and the actual program pulled a no-show. Then my computer froze again and I had to restart with the power button.
Next restart, I tried to run Malwarebytes. I selected the option for a full scan, it prepared itself for the scan, then the computer froze again. I let it sit for an hour, hoping it was only a temporary stall rather the the epic freeze of death but it was still stuck in the same spot; nothing worked except the mouse. I restarted and tried the quick scan option but it froze yet again after about a minute into the scan.
I restarted again, this time trying safe mode. It continued to start for a minute before it shut down and told me it couldn't do it. I tried all the safe mode options, all with the same result.
I also tried to access System Restore (Check Point Restore) but nothing seems to happen there either. The outline of the window showed up but thats as far as it got. (Curious side note: Upon looking for it, I opened the control panel. All the icons and options showed up for roughly five seconds before disappearing and showing the searching (flashlight and folder) animation. The computer promptly froze after that except for the mouse and the animation [which did ultimately stop, but not immediately.] It almost seems like a program has to 'start up' in the background and then freezes all actions. Is this just my imagination or could there really be something?)
Now I'm not sure what what to do. I don't really want to recover my system and wipe out all my files, although I'm afraid I might have to. I was hoping someone would have some solution or thoughts on this. Anything would be much appreciated!
Also, if I ultimately have to, should I use the Restore CDs (5 cds) or the Operating System Disk?
I have a Gateway computer using Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. I believe its a Pentium 4. I use Avast! and have Malwarebytes as a backup. (I do not know much about the computer itself; it was given to me by my father when I moved.)
Thank you so much for any help!
~Ashley
