Computer does a massive read / write(?) operation, then most programs no longer work

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave
  • Start date Start date
D

Dave

In the past three weeks I've had to reinstall Win XP five times. Prior
to this time, my last reinstall of Win XP was over a year ago.

The problem seems to be random but usually begins either when I
install new software or boot up a program. The computer suddenly
begins a massive read / write (?) operation on my C: drive lasting for
about 3 minutes, maybe more. When the event ends, the task bar and
desktop icons suddenly disappear and then reappear, although the
wallpaper remains. After that, when I boot a program, the main screen
of the program will appear on the screen, then disappear.

On several occasions I've tried to restore but find my restore points
have disappeared. Twice I have had restore points and used them --
The first time didn't solve the problem (it acted the same as before),
and the second time when the computer rebooted, the screen went gray
and the computer locked up.

On several occasions I've received an error message saying something
about "Windows File Protection" and that the version numbers of some
of the files had changed and to insert my CD disk (I assume this means
the Win XP disk). This did not cure the program nor do I believe any
files were read from the CD.

I tried a repair installation but afterwards the computer continued to
act like it did before the repair operation.

The second time this happened I managed to do a virus scan (eTrust EZ
Antivirus) of my entire hard drive but there were no viruses. I have
since checked my hard drive (it's partitioned into a C: drive and D:
drive where I store data and configuration settings) with Spinrite
V6.0 and the memory with Memtest86+. Both showed no problems.

The only common denominator in all these events with the exception of
the first time, is that I had the Microsoft Firewall on. Usually I
turn this off and run Zone Alarm, but since then, I haven't been able
to get to the point where I can install Zone Alarm before my computer
goes down again.


System:
Win XP Home Upgrade + SP-2
Dell Dimension 8100
40 Gig HD
1 Gig memory

Any help or advice would certainly be appreciated.

Thanks, Dave
 
This is just a shot in the dark, but possibly worth a look. The only
experience I had that sounds even remotely like what you describe
occurred after I had reconfigured my page files, reducing the size and
changing location, and then ran an application that wanted lots of page
space. It looked like Windows was going around looking for a suitable
partition where it would allocate a page file, possibly because there
was insufficient space left in the partition that I had desgnated to be
used for page files.
 
bxf said:
This is just a shot in the dark, but possibly worth a look. The only
experience I had that sounds even remotely like what you describe
occurred after I had reconfigured my page files, reducing the size and
changing location, and then ran an application that wanted lots of page
space. It looked like Windows was going around looking for a suitable
partition where it would allocate a page file, possibly because there
was insufficient space left in the partition that I had desgnated to be
used for page files.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. I have plenty of HD space so I've reset my
paging file so that the computer determines the amount of space. I'll
try this for awhile and see if that helps.

Dave
 
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