Freezing Problem

dkbond07 · 05-30-2008, 06:07 PM

You guys are going to get tired of me visiting this site *lol*

I have gotten the problem fixed with the storage space messing up on my computer. The videos on youtube locking up my computer, not so much. Anyway, my problem is this: When I'm watching videos on Youtube or Yahoo Videos my pc freezes.

If I'm using my downloaded Yahoo messenger, or a downloaded chat client my pc freezes up. Catch is it doesn't freeze up when I log in or anything. It only freezes up once someone sends me a message or an im.

Any ideas on what is causing this? I'm thinking about taking Windows ME off of my computer and going back to Windows 98. It seems I didn't have all these problems then.

**OldGrayGary** · 05-31-2008, 12:40 PM

Hi dkbond07

Many techs will likely agree that Windows 98 2nd Edition is the most stable and compatible of the Win9x/Me series. If you have Win98se available, it's a reasonable choice.

Should you wish to save your current WinMe installation:
1) If the freezing trouble only appeared recently, try using WinMe's System Restore, selecting a restore point from before the video/IM/freezing trouble started.
2) If the trouble has existed constantly during the entire time of the WinMe installation --
---a) Make sure no hardware misconfiguration occurred by coincidence
-----a1) Check your Bios settings (timings/IDE/graphics/date/time/temps/voltages)
-----a2) Check in Device Manager for 'flagged' devices (red Xs or yellow exclamation points)
---b) Check your system resources usage (Win9x/Me can have trouble with heavy multi-tasking) After opening IM (but before a freeze) right-click on My Computer > select Properties > select the Performance tab [I don't have a WinMe system handy anymore, so the path for checking free-resources might be slightly different] ... if the Resources are showing less than 30% free, I would expect you'd have trouble with any program that requires media streamed from an Internet connection. Here's an example of a thread where resource usage is the issue --- http://www.computing.net/answers/win...ces/46027.html --- Notice that they also ran malware scans -- and trimmed their startup processes -- as part of their troubleshooting. (It turns out that in that thread, the use of SpyBot's TeaTimer was problematic for the WinMe system).
---c) Test IM and video functions with different programs & browsers to see if the problems exist regardless of the individual programs/browsers used.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

dkbond07 · 05-31-2008, 03:28 PM

I'm still not sure what is causing it but it's gotten till I notice a few more times it freezes. I can't even use any instant messenger on firefox.

I can go to like meebo.com or ebuddy.com which lets you use web based messengers. Everything works fine until someone sends me an im. When I get an im it freezes.

**OldGrayGary** · 06-01-2008, 11:55 PM

Hi again

It sounds like the trouble has existed the entire time you've had WinMe (since your WinMe installation is recent, right?). In that case, go through all the steps in #2) above. If you see signs of serious infection, try the 5-Step Security Checklist for extra help --- IMPORTANT - Read This Before Posting For Malware Removal Help

Also - do you have a make/model & some system specs for that PC? The amount of installed system memory could be of interest, as well as the free space, and the virtual memory settings. Also -- whether the Internet connection is broadband or not, and what routers, firewall, & malware protection is in place.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

dkbond07 · 06-03-2008, 07:07 AM

I've had another string of bad luck with the computer. I have since had to unhook that one I was referring to, and had to hook back up the room mate's computer. A friend had me put AVG antivirus on my pc because they thought I had a virus or something on it causing it to do all the weird stuff. Well when I put it on there it came up and told me that I had to restart my computer. When I did restart my computer it loaded up. When it got to the main desktop, nothing loaded and a little box popped up and said can not start explorer something, and that I needed to reinstall windows.

So I've hooked up the room mates computer and his is the one with the flash problem that I referred to before. It doesn't seem as bad, but sites like myspace shut my computer down constantly. Any ideas on what I can do? I've removed flash and reinstalled it and everything is still the same.

A friend told me that I needed to uninstall Windows ME because the program is loaded with bugs, and I didn't have these problems until upgrading to Windows ME.

Only problem is I can't find my windows 98 cd to put it back on here. In the control panel there is an option to delete Windows ME. If I do that will I need the CD or will it just take off all the Windows ME stuff and put me back to 98 where I want to be?

**OldGrayGary** · 06-03-2008, 11:55 PM

Hi again

Theoretically, you can uninstall Windows Me if you upgraded to Me from within Windows 98. So long as you didn't delete the uninstall files, it has a chance of successfully uninstalling. It's not always a trouble-free route to take, of course --- especially if malware is present on the PC, or if there is underlying hardware failure.

Regardless of your eventual operating system choices, I think it is still a good idea to go through the troubleshooting procedures in the "step 2" section in my first reply. It will help save you time if it turns out that a hardware device is failing. Better to know if the hardware is OK ... earlier rather than much later.

It would be perfectly normal for some of the hardware in a Win98 era PC to be failing by now.

Windows Me, while certainly not a perfect operating system, wasn't the worst, either. If it is setup with well-matched drivers, it's not so bad.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

dkbond07 · 06-09-2008, 11:04 AM

I've uninstalled Windows ME and put Windows 98SE on the computer and I haven't had that much problems at all. I'm going to do it to the other computer a well and see if it fixes its problems.

The only thing I have noticed still messed up so far is I get the shockwave flash error every now and then.

05-30-2008, 06:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
dkbond07 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 20 OS: Windows 98SE	Freezing Problem You guys are going to get tired of me visiting this site lol I have gotten the problem fixed with the storage space messing up on my computer. The videos on youtube locking up my computer, not so much. Anyway, my problem is this: When I'm watching videos on Youtube or Yahoo Videos my pc freezes. If I'm using my downloaded Yahoo messenger, or a downloaded chat client my pc freezes up. Catch is it doesn't freeze up when I log in or anything. It only freezes up once someone sends me a message or an im. Any ideas on what is causing this? I'm thinking about taking Windows ME off of my computer and going back to Windows 98. It seems I didn't have all these problems then.

05-31-2008, 12:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 1,979 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: Freezing Problem Hi dkbond07 Many techs will likely agree that Windows 98 2nd Edition is the most stable and compatible of the Win9x/Me series. If you have Win98se available, it's a reasonable choice. Should you wish to save your current WinMe installation: 1) If the freezing trouble only appeared recently, try using WinMe's System Restore, selecting a restore point from before the video/IM/freezing trouble started. 2) If the trouble has existed constantly during the entire time of the WinMe installation -- ---a) Make sure no hardware misconfiguration occurred by coincidence -----a1) Check your Bios settings (timings/IDE/graphics/date/time/temps/voltages) -----a2) Check in Device Manager for 'flagged' devices (red Xs or yellow exclamation points) ---b) Check your system resources usage (Win9x/Me can have trouble with heavy multi-tasking) After opening IM (but before a freeze) right-click on My Computer > select Properties > select the Performance tab [I don't have a WinMe system handy anymore, so the path for checking free-resources might be slightly different] ... if the Resources are showing less than 30% free, I would expect you'd have trouble with any program that requires media streamed from an Internet connection. Here's an example of a thread where resource usage is the issue --- http://www.computing.net/answers/win...ces/46027.html --- Notice that they also ran malware scans -- and trimmed their startup processes -- as part of their troubleshooting. (It turns out that in that thread, the use of SpyBot's TeaTimer was problematic for the WinMe system). ---c) Test IM and video functions with different programs & browsers to see if the problems exist regardless of the individual programs/browsers used. Best of luck . . . Gary __________________

05-31-2008, 03:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
dkbond07 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 20 OS: Windows 98SE	Re: Freezing Problem I'm still not sure what is causing it but it's gotten till I notice a few more times it freezes. I can't even use any instant messenger on firefox. I can go to like meebo.com or ebuddy.com which lets you use web based messengers. Everything works fine until someone sends me an im. When I get an im it freezes.

06-01-2008, 11:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 1,979 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: Freezing Problem Hi again It sounds like the trouble has existed the entire time you've had WinMe (since your WinMe installation is recent, right?). In that case, go through all the steps in #2) above. If you see signs of serious infection, try the 5-Step Security Checklist for extra help --- IMPORTANT - Read This Before Posting For Malware Removal Help Also - do you have a make/model & some system specs for that PC? The amount of installed system memory could be of interest, as well as the free space, and the virtual memory settings. Also -- whether the Internet connection is broadband or not, and what routers, firewall, & malware protection is in place. Best of luck . . . Gary __________________

06-03-2008, 07:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
dkbond07 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 20 OS: Windows 98SE	Re: Freezing Problem I've had another string of bad luck with the computer. I have since had to unhook that one I was referring to, and had to hook back up the room mate's computer. A friend had me put AVG antivirus on my pc because they thought I had a virus or something on it causing it to do all the weird stuff. Well when I put it on there it came up and told me that I had to restart my computer. When I did restart my computer it loaded up. When it got to the main desktop, nothing loaded and a little box popped up and said can not start explorer something, and that I needed to reinstall windows. So I've hooked up the room mates computer and his is the one with the flash problem that I referred to before. It doesn't seem as bad, but sites like myspace shut my computer down constantly. Any ideas on what I can do? I've removed flash and reinstalled it and everything is still the same. A friend told me that I needed to uninstall Windows ME because the program is loaded with bugs, and I didn't have these problems until upgrading to Windows ME. Only problem is I can't find my windows 98 cd to put it back on here. In the control panel there is an option to delete Windows ME. If I do that will I need the CD or will it just take off all the Windows ME stuff and put me back to 98 where I want to be?

06-03-2008, 11:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 1,979 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: Freezing Problem Hi again Theoretically, you can uninstall Windows Me if you upgraded to Me from within Windows 98. So long as you didn't delete the uninstall files, it has a chance of successfully uninstalling. It's not always a trouble-free route to take, of course --- especially if malware is present on the PC, or if there is underlying hardware failure. Regardless of your eventual operating system choices, I think it is still a good idea to go through the troubleshooting procedures in the "step 2" section in my first reply. It will help save you time if it turns out that a hardware device is failing. Better to know if the hardware is OK ... earlier rather than much later. It would be perfectly normal for some of the hardware in a Win98 era PC to be failing by now. Windows Me, while certainly not a perfect operating system, wasn't the worst, either. If it is setup with well-matched drivers, it's not so bad. Best of luck . . . Gary __________________

06-09-2008, 11:04 AM	#7 (permalink)
dkbond07 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 20 OS: Windows 98SE	Re: Freezing Problem I've uninstalled Windows ME and put Windows 98SE on the computer and I haven't had that much problems at all. I'm going to do it to the other computer a well and see if it fixes its problems. The only thing I have noticed still messed up so far is I get the shockwave flash error every now and then.