In the past several weeks I have experienced a very peculiar problem with my Windows XP pro machine.
All of a sudden, my icons (shortcuts) on the desktop stop functioning. I click – nothing happens. After the first reboot it works for a while and then stops again. When that happens again, the computer doesn’t boot at all – not even in safe mode.
I boot the machine using a CD ROM - David’s Ultimate Boot CD, and then I can access the hard drives, internet etc. as if everything is OK. At this point my only recourse is to reinstall Windows, which I did.
The same thing happens again, normally after a week or so. So far I had to reinstall Windows 3 times.
In between, the computer in a sudden manner freezes completely- even the mouse and the clock. I then must turn off the machine.
The computer is about 2.5 years old, and worked fine until about a couple of months ago.
Computer details
Asus K8v SE Deluxe MB, AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU, 1.5 Gig RAM
Actions I took
When it happened the first time, I first thoroughly cleaned the machine, removing several viruses, spyware and other pests. I used several different Anti Virus and Spyware Removal programs.
I also updated various device drivers, particularly the video driver (nVidia GeForce FX 5200) as I am aware that the video controller could be responsible. It didn’t help. Furthermore, the machine worked fine for an extended time when booted from the CD.
On every reinstall I reformatted the C drive. The first time it happened I also reformatted my other physical hard drive.
At this point I am at a complete loss. In the 25 years since I started using computer I never felt so helpless and lost. Did I overlook anything? Any ideas of what could be the problem and how to solve it?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Reuven
All of a sudden, my icons (shortcuts) on the desktop stop functioning. I click – nothing happens. After the first reboot it works for a while and then stops again. When that happens again, the computer doesn’t boot at all – not even in safe mode.
I boot the machine using a CD ROM - David’s Ultimate Boot CD, and then I can access the hard drives, internet etc. as if everything is OK. At this point my only recourse is to reinstall Windows, which I did.
The same thing happens again, normally after a week or so. So far I had to reinstall Windows 3 times.
In between, the computer in a sudden manner freezes completely- even the mouse and the clock. I then must turn off the machine.
The computer is about 2.5 years old, and worked fine until about a couple of months ago.
Computer details
Asus K8v SE Deluxe MB, AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU, 1.5 Gig RAM
Actions I took
When it happened the first time, I first thoroughly cleaned the machine, removing several viruses, spyware and other pests. I used several different Anti Virus and Spyware Removal programs.
I also updated various device drivers, particularly the video driver (nVidia GeForce FX 5200) as I am aware that the video controller could be responsible. It didn’t help. Furthermore, the machine worked fine for an extended time when booted from the CD.
On every reinstall I reformatted the C drive. The first time it happened I also reformatted my other physical hard drive.
At this point I am at a complete loss. In the 25 years since I started using computer I never felt so helpless and lost. Did I overlook anything? Any ideas of what could be the problem and how to solve it?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Reuven
