XP Pro Stops Working When Idle

[wallyb3219]

If Idle for 1/2 hour or less my system stops working (no SP2)- When i click the icons on the desktop nothing happens and right click does nothing. I can go to Start but cannot open up any programs. I can go to regedit, etc. and I can shut down using Start key, etc.

any suggestions

 

[Wainui2]

Check your Power Options in the Control Panel.
Your hard drive may be set to turn off after half an hour.

 

[wallyb3219]

i have checked all my power settings and all are at standard default setting

 

[gpalmer711]

Have you enabled hibernation on the machine? If so it could be that the machine is trying to hibernate but something is stopping it.

Check the event viewer, Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer

Are there any errors that tally with the date and time of your problems?

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Do you have a screen saver enabled? If so try changing the screensaver to none and see if the same problem occurs.

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You could also try the System File Checker to make sure that all your system files are the correct version and not corrupted.

Start > Run > sfc /scannow

You will need your Windows CD handy.

Greg Palmer
Free Software for Adminstrators

http://www.palmersoft.co.uk

 

[wallyb3219]

thanks for your suggestions but I don't think there was any help there:
1. power management is all ok - no hibernation
2. no errors in event viewer - I had a number of warnings concerning the naming of my network group but microsoft insists that those can be disregarded. I have made a fix on that also.
3. ran sfc /scannow and still got the stoppage.

If i leave a program open it does not happen but if i close everything down it stops in about 20-30 minutes.

 

[bcastner]

Install Service Pack 2 and see if things improve. SFC /Scannow will not help this issue, but a repair reinstallation could.

By any chance do you have a broadband connection to the internet? Are you using eMule, eDonkey or another Peer-to-Peer software? Can you bring up Task Manager when it freezes and see if a stuck process is happening?

 

[wallyb3219]

thanks for your suggestions

1. installed service pack 2 but same problem after 20 minutes
2. when i did sfc /scannow it asked for my cd and did a repair

3. i do have a cable connection - not using emule edonkey or anything like it

4. can bring up task manager but only to get into shut down - cannot see if anything is stuck

 

[amen1973]

Just out of curiousity, can you open up cmd through the run box. If you can, see if tskill explorer will kill explorer and it should restart it back up. If it does not you can try using start explorer.exe from the cmd as well. It almost seems like the idle is halting the explorer.

 

[bcastner]

Something that was suggested in the newsgroups strikes a chord with me: go into the BIOS and reset to defaults. Check the settings and make any customizations. Save the BIOS settings, reboot, and test again.