On Fri, 26 Nov 2010 11:13:37 +0000, Mervyn Thomas wrote:

Stephan - I like your reply because it's something I can do readily. I
think the freeze always occurs just after a coming back from hibernation
as I am looking through emails in outlook with nothing else running
though indexing might still be running- I will see! Thanks
Mervyn

Okay. I didn't know you were coming out of hibernation. (So, you're
using a notebook computer, not a desktop. Right?) Also, clarify: Is
your system really hibernating or is it suspending? There's a big
difference.

In hibernation, the system is fully shutdown, not powered, but saves the
state of the system to the hard drive, so when it boots, the computer
returns exactly to where you were left off before hibernating. Suspend
(sometimes referred to as sleeping) is similar, but the computer never
fully powers down. Everything running--apps, browser, etc.--are kept in
RAM, and the system runs at minimum power refreshing the RAM, so nothing
is lost. The hard drive, networking, display, etc. are turned off to
save power. Usually, in this state on notebooks, the power light stays
lit, but flashes or changes to a different color to indicate the system
is suspended. With hibernation, the power light is off.

Now, to the point: Hibernation is more problematically than Suspend.
Although, both can cause what you're experiencing. Although, I think
neither is the problem, since the system returns and runs fine for a
while. Also, I don't think you have a runaway process, but continue to
check. It may be a crashed app or process. However, as to what is
causing the problem, I haven't a clue. More troubleshooting is needed.

Check whether you are Suspending or Hibernating. Double check your Power
Management settings to assure everything is set properly. Also, quit
Outlook before hibernating/suspending, and after returning, don't use it
at all to eliminate it as the possible culprit. Do everything else as
you normally would. Does the system still freeze?

Report the results here.

Stef

"Stefan Patric" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 25 Nov 2010 09:30:59 +0000, Mervyn Thomas wrote:

I am getting, several times a week, situations when the PC totally
freezes with no input via the mouse or keyboard but with the screen
just as it was before the freeze. Powering down fixes it. Can anyone
advise how to go about identifying and fixing the problem?

It could caused by a runaway process. Such an errant process hogs the
CPU preventing it from updating the system, keyboard, mouse, etc. in a
timely manner, and thus gives the appearance that the computer is
frozen or locked up.

What applications are you running and what are doing when the "freeze"
happens? Does the freeze occur under the same circumstances? What
other tasks are running in the background?

Try running the Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del to access it). Place it on
the desktop so that it is visible at all times. When the freeze
occurs, check it to see if any process or task is using 100% of the
CPU's time. Give it time to update. If the cause is a runaway process,
it may take several seconds to minutes to update.

Stef