System Locks Up

[Bob Truetken]

I have a Sony Vaio and have windows xp and internet
explorer 6 sp1 loaded. My system will lock up. I cannot
ctl/alt delete to get to my task manager. The only way
to unfreeze the system is to do a hard shutdown. It does
not matter what app you are in or just cruising the
internet, the system locks up. I am thinking maybe it is
a driver problem, but have not located the problem. Any
clues on anybody.

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Bob,

Could be hardware or software - I am guessing hardware as there is no =
specific pattern (or at least you don't mention one). Try this to help =
eliminate possible software conflicts:

HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=3D316434

If that doesn't resolve it, then it may very well be a hardware issue =
and the machine should be brought in for testing.

--=20
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x - =
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone -
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Win98 Help - www.rickrogers.org

"Bob Truetken" > wrote in message =
...
> I have a Sony Vaio and have windows xp and internet=20
> explorer 6 sp1 loaded. My system will lock up. I cannot=20
> ctl/alt delete to get to my task manager. The only way=20
> to unfreeze the system is to do a hard shutdown. It does=20
> not matter what app you are in or just cruising the=20
> internet, the system locks up. I am thinking maybe it is=20
> a driver problem, but have not located the problem. Any=20
> clues on anybody.

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

"Bob Truetken" > wrote in message

> I have a Sony Vaio and have windows xp and internet
> explorer 6 sp1 loaded. My system will lock up. I cannot
> ctl/alt delete to get to my task manager. The only way
> to unfreeze the system is to do a hard shutdown. It does
> not matter what app you are in or just cruising the
> internet, the system locks up. I am thinking maybe it is
> a driver problem, but have not located the problem. Any
> clues on anybody.

The most likely cause is buggy video drivers. Check the site for your video
board manufacturer. Meanwhile you can do the following:
1. Use the default mouse pointers.
2. Turn down your color depth. (Right click the desktop and choose
Properties | Appearance | Settings) Some people find that increasing color
depth helps.
3. Turn down your graphics hardware acceleration a notch or two if you can
find it in WinXP. I can't. You will see little, if any, performance
degradation.
4. Turn off your desktop wallpaper.

If these make the problem go away you need new video drivers.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP
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