computer help: desktop freezing

[rocketpig]

Mr Khan said:

rocketpig said:

cloud1161 said:

im running a windows vista 64 bit system.

Well, there's your problem. :D

First off, I'd try a cocktail of malware attackers. Spybot, Windows Defender, etc. Then I'd go find a virus scanner and run a thorough check.

At this point, it could be anything. Eliminate virus/malware options before doing anything else. Remember that some malware can't be stopped by Spybot and its ilk so you may have to go find a solution like rkill (though if it's that bad, you usually get so many popups that you know what the problem with the computer is).

Another thing to check is to make sure that you have all programs disabled upon startup. If you're dealing with too many variables, you'll never figure out the problem. Elminate your options one at a time.

Wouldn't it be quicker to just run Task Manager and manually pick through the Processes? I've busted viruses that way before, even a tricky one that tried to stop me from running Task Manager

Sure, but you need to know what you're looking for... Any intelligent virus coder will name the process something that looks official and you'll never be able to tell it apart from a legitimate Windows process unless you have basic process names memorized or unless the virus is hogging most of your resources (something legitimate Windows processes also do when a computer is malfunctioning).

Having processes run on startup is a bad idea anyway unless you use the software EVERY TIME you boot your computer.