Ghost in the machine?

[Brownlow]

Over the last few days, when I switch my computer on, in the morning, it loads up all the programmes, etc, then after a few seconds the monitor goes off and the 'action' light, on the computer, freezes.
I unplug, then reconnect the machine, and it boots up, normally. Then, it's OK for the rest of the day, even after it's been switched off for a while...help!!

[badlad.biz]

There are many things that can cause your problem.
If you switch your PC off at the mains each night, It could be your Power Supply on the way out. Try leaving it plugged in and on at the mains socket.
Windows 95,98 & ME have a habit of doing just as you describe, usually after deleting certain programs. If you want to experiment try running msconfig at the run command and disable some of the startup programs, but be careful to only disable the startup program files or you could have even more problems.

[Brownlow]

Thanks, badlad. I've never thought of disconnecting my computer for any reason other than the fact that it won't respond until I do...I I explained. So, I'll give the msconfig a try and se what I can uncover. I installed Opera, which didn't suit me, and it's possible that I deleted a shared file, or left a file that shouldn't be there, when I got rid of it. We'll see...hopefully!

[Brownlow]

I've had a look at msconfig and there's nothing there that hasn't been on my start-up list, for some time. However, there is a problem to deleting the items, because I can only do it, before I switch off, at night, and see if it has any effect in the morning. So, it could take days to assesss this idea. Wish me luck!

[Brownlow]

Oh, I forgot to ask...what is the 'clean up' button, at the bottom of the start up page, for?

[badlad.biz]

In the MS config files, the idea is to uncheck the files and reboot in order to see if the problem goes away. If you establish that a certain programme is causing the fault then once you are sure, pressing cleanup will delete any unchecked files. Be sure of what you leave unchecked, as there is no return.
If you have ME its possible that using an earlier restore point in system restore might just work.

[Brownlow]

Thanks, badlad,
I do understand what you say, but as this doesn't happen every time, when I first boot up, and not on other occasions (after perhaps a couple of hours, or so), it may be difficult to assess if the removed start-up programe was to blame.
I might just try restoring to an earlier date, which was my first intention.