Pc Keeps Freezing ... But Not In A Way I've Seen Before

[CW1]

Hi,

Just out of the blue yesterday, the bar at the bottom, including the clock, is freezing. Once I've clicked Start once, I can't use it again and can only negotiate my windows using Alt + Tab. Every so often (once yesterday, twice today), it'll suddenly unfreeze but as soon as I click Start, or do ANYthing other than double left click a file to open (so can't use File, or right click at all), it just freezes again.

Several tools have have been unpinned from Start too, eg. calculator, Windows Explorer. Never seen this before ! Can I do anything or is my old PC (still running XP) now on it's last legs :((

[Buenchico]

Run System Restore to take your computer's registry back to the most recent available date before the problem arose. (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore).

[CW1]

Everything seems all over the place (even the Shift + 2 and Shift + ' have "swapped" on the keyboard !), the only option I have in System Tools is "Internet Explorer (No Add-ons)"

[Buenchico]

If System Restore isn't available, it suggests that you're not logged on using an Administrator account. Try booting into Safe Mode (by restarting your computer and pressing F8 during the boot process) and then getting in as Administrator:
http://www.wikihow.com/Login-to-Windows-XP-as-the-Administrator
You should then be able to access System Restore. (Don't worry if your screen looks very odd while in Safe Mode. It will simply be because the graphics driver hasn't loaded and it's not a cause for concern).

[CW1]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

[CW1]

Logged in the Administrator account but that hasn't made an difference, still only have the one option under System Tools.

Noticed there was a restore option on screen when I logged in Safe Mode so maybe I could use that ? How far back would a restore go though, how much would I lose ? I don't tend to do backups ... *gulp*

[pinkyboyid]

Just a thought, based on previous experience of similar problems, it is possible that your system disk file structure is corrupt and it may be worth attempting to perform a check to correct any potential errors before attempting a restore.

To check, restart your computer and as previously instructed, continually press F8 during the boot process to access the 'Safe Mode' screen as before, but this time select the option 'Safe Mode with command prompt' and login in as Administrator.

- After you log on as Administrator, hopefully a blank window will open labeled as 'Command Prompt'.

- Within the 'Command prompt' window using the keyboard type the following character text "Chkdsk /F" and then press the keyboard enter key.

- In response to the windows message "Y/N" question that appears on screen, enter "Y" and press the the enter key.

- Now restart the computer and when Windows reboots it will commence a check disk operation and automatically attempt to fix any disk errors it may find. Let it run which could take some time depending on what it finds.

- When the process is completed Windows will restart automatically where you can then test to see if the problem is fixed.

[CW1]

Thanks for the advice both, particularly pinkyboyid - left the PC doing the check and the results disappeared just as I got back to it so I didn't see them, but IT WORKED ! Thank you ! :D