I've had this problem for a few weeks now. The PC keeps crashing, it doesn't seem to matter what programs are running. It was happening about once a day, now it's getting more frequent. Sometimes the screen goes to standby, other times the screen just freezes or turns white. The mouse and keyboard are unresponsive - Num Lock and Caps Lock won't turn on. I can hear the fan in the tower, and the CD drives still eject. But I can't do anything else except switch off or reset.

Sometimes it comes straight back on, other times it takes hours of trying. I see the PC checking the CD trays, but it doesn't get as far as putting anything on the screen.

I usually get no error messages. I think I've seen "Windows has recovered from a serious error", but this might've been as a result of things I've tried. I've updated and run Norton's virus scan and found nothing.

I've tried removing each of the 2 sticks of ram in turn and the problem persists. I swapped the motherboard battery for an old one I had lying around and got the same results.

I would appreciate any suggestions to identify and solve the problem. I'm running Windows XP. Please let me know if you need other info.

P.S. Sometimes when the PC is trying to start up I think I hear two little clicks or ticks which I don't normally notice.

check eventviewer logs for errors or warnings
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427

Cudni

Grab Memtest+ (grab either the .ISO in .zip file, which you can extract and then burn to CD, or the floppy version, if you have a floppy drive and 1.44 floppy diskette) and run it on your computer - this is not to be run from inside windows, but from booting, so if your computer does not boot the CD / floppy, then you may need to use the BIOS boot options key (F11 for my motherboard , yours may vary) to change the boot order temporarily to get the CD / floppy to try to boot first). See if it comes back with any errors.

If that goes good, get SIW and run it on your computer to see what your hardware is, and post back your harddrive manufacturer, so we can start running HD diagnostics on your computer.

Thanks for your speedy response, Cudni! I found errors in the System section of Event Viewer. I don't know what it all means, so I'm attaching the log in the hope it'll help someone help me.

Thanks to johnlgalt too, I'll try what you suggested.

System.txt
Description:	system log from Event Viewer	Download
Filename:	System.txt
Filesize:	251.64 KB
Downloaded:	132 Time(s)

Cudni, unless I am wrong, the most recent errors indicate malicious activity, right? but those hundreds of cdrom3 errors....interesting....

I think a visit to the Malware Self Help page is in order - what about you?

Memtest ran for an hour without any errors.

I then ran SIW, and it describes my storage like this:

Fixed hard disk media Seagate ST3200822A 197GBytes
Fixed hard disk media Seagate ST3300622A 300GBytes
CD-ROM LG LG CD-ROM CRD-8522B
DVD Writer LG Electronics HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4120B

I also attach a report made by SIW. (Unregistered it wouldn't create a txt file, and I can't upload a html file here, so I renamed it txt, hope that's ok.)

john's mention of Malware worried me, but also reminded me to run ZoneAlarm's Spyware Scan. It found and deleted 16 tracking cookies.

It's 4am and I'm going to bed, I'll check back in when I wake.

SIW_20080321_034250_STRANGEMACHINE.txt
Description:	SIW report	Download
Filename:	SIW_20080321_034250_STRANGEMACHINE.txt
Filesize:	940.86 KB
Downloaded:	704 Time(s)

ST is Seagate Technologies. Now you'll want to download the Seagate Tools and check your HDs. This does the same thing as Memtest+ - burn it to disc, then boot off the disc. Since you are having problems in Windows I opted not to suggest the Windows version, but the DOS version. This way you won't have to worry about Windows rebooting in the middle of your tests and you never getting a complete test done.

For future reference, you can always .ZIP the HTML file (or another attachment you want to post) before uploading.

I downloaded Seagate Tools and ran both the short test and the long test on both HDs - no errors found.

john - you mentioned "having problems in Windows". When I tried memtest I let it run for an hour without errors, then pressed Esc to end... and it froze. Even the Caps Lock light wouldn't work, and I had to reset. So maybe the problem isn't with Windows.

Please keep the suggestions coming, folks...

if you are not sure that malware free then by all means use the tools listed as johnlgalt suggested
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Overview

could you post the minidump
F:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini031908-01.dmp

did you purposely install on F rather than usual C?

Cudni

A quick update: I've been working through the Malware tools and found no problems yet. Since yesterday I've been trying to get my pc to stay on long enough for Windows Defender to fun a full system scan. It finally took over seven hours and found nothing. So I'll be carrying on with the next step...

Cudni, zipped minidump attached as instructed.

Why drive F? Not completely sure. I think it was when I had to replace my Windows drive just before xmas. I kept the second drive in, installing Windows on the new drive (the old one was pretty full at the time) and letting setup assign the drive letters as it wanted to, thinking I could change 'em later. Live and learn...

minidump.zip
Description:	minidump	Download
Filename:	minidump.zip
Filesize:	18.86 KB
Downloaded:	32 Time(s)

So I downloaded/installed/updated AdAware and ran the scan. It ran for a while (maybe an hour) then the blank screen crash. When I got the system back on, I got the "recovered from serious error" message, sent the error report, and got "Windows Error Reporting" page saying "problem caused by antivirus software".

Just thought I'd let you know in case it tells you anything. For now, I'm gonna carry on regardless giving AdAware another try while I get some sleep.

I waited up until AdAware had finished. It found and deleted malware Win32.Trojan.Agent from the following file and folder:

C:\temp\norton install\...
f:\windows\syste...

Unfortunately that's as much as it showed. I'm attaching the log file, though it doesn't tell much.

Don't know whether to trust my norton install now. I'm thinking of uninstalling it and getting a newer version. Any thoughts? Should I continue with the malware procedures? The next step after the antispyware scanners is antiviral scans. The page recommends disabling my "resident antivirus's real-time protection feature" so I think that's what I should do, but I'll wait to hear from you guys.

Having run Windows Defender and AdAware with the results I've told you, would you recommend trying more antispyware scanners before moving on to the antivural section?

And now I'm switching off the pc and going to bed - definitely this time.

AdAware log file.zip
Description:	AdAware log file	Download
Filename:	AdAware log file.zip
Filesize:	284 Bytes
Downloaded:	24 Time(s)

For the last few days I've been trying to run the online anti-virus scans, but whichever one I try the pc always crashes before it can finish. Should I try to uninstall Norton, or would that just make the malware go somewhere else or go something worse?