'Frozen' Screen

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I have Tiscali broadband and, while surfing, like to keep individual windows open so that I can easily return to them. Until recently that was fine, but now when I have between 10 and 15 pages opened and minimised, the screen will freeze. It was suggested that this might be a memory problem, but having increased my RAM from 512 to 1024 it has made no difference whatsoever. Has anybody else experienced this and does anybody know how it might be resolved? Thanks.

 

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Check the task manager, see if may give you a hint as to what is the problem.

 

I would have thought its something to do with memory or cpu, but do as Jon says and have a look at task manager it should tell you if there is an issue with the RAM or the CPU.

 

I seriously doubt its a geniune memory or CPU issue, 10-15 pages is nothing for a modern machine especially with 1GB of RAM. You must have a process taking too much CPU or doing too much IO, it might be malware if its happening during/after browsing. I'd check your AV is up to date and run a full system scan, maybe even try malware and rootkit scanners, check you firewall settings and look at the open ports on the machine.

Alternatively it might be a non malicious process like an over zealus windows search indexer or realtime virus scanner.

Is your machine fully patched ? If not try patching it, if it is maybe theres a bug in a recent browser update etc ?

What happens if you use a different browser ? Have you tried clearing the browser cache and cookies, maybe even disabling add ons ?

 

I would also try increasing your Virtual Memory / Page files.

To do this: Press Windows key+Pause break -> select the advanced tab -> performance "settings"

From here select the Advanced tab and then select "Change" on the Virtual Memory. I'd set it to recommended.

 

Hi,

I was chatting to a mate the other day and aparently there is a known issues with flash and too many browsers displaying flash content at the same time in vista. Not sure if this applies to you but might be worth looking at as I think the symptoms are similar.

 

Thanks dales, but I am still using Windows XP.

 

Had anything changed on the machine (new software download/install, changes to IE config) relatively close to the probs starting? And, does the problem only happen when you're surfing?

Have you looked in Event Viewer to see if there are any glaring red 'x's appearing? There is a tab for IE in XP (there is for me anyway...). Can you see anything in there?

Finally, wasn't there a problem with IE a while back where, if you opened so many pages, it hit a limit? Or am I 'zzzzz' dreaming?

 

1) Use Firefox or Opera
2) Use tabbed browsing

Problem solved

 

thats a good point I use firefox and have and tabbed browsing I have had about 12 tabs on screen at once and no freeze or anything.

Good point Bluerinse.

 

agreed with Blue - there are memory issues with Firefox, but nothing major (unsure about Opera)...

Try that and see if it resolves your issue...

 

Personally i use Opera. Currently i have 15 tabs open and thats not many for me. I am using Vista too, with no issues.

IE should only be used for sites that need it.. Windows update etc.

Active x controlls will actively take control of your computer. Use IE with caution.

 

I only use IE when I am on MSN messenger and I have an email to read, although I could go the long way and use FF and for Windows updates, IE has so many holes you could put tea leaves in it and call it a tea bag

 

Hi Mark,

You're getting a lot of helpful suggestions. Pay close attention to what you may be doing or working with each time you have a problem. What programs may be open or which peripherals you may be using at the time. Your system freezing could be any number of issues.

My old '98 used to come up with very similar symptoms at one point. I would have several windows open at the same time (not just browser windows either), suddenly the system would freeze. I thought it was memory. Each time I rebooted, it was fine for awhile. Tested, retested, checked and double-checked everything I could think of. After about a month or two of fighting with it, I realized that I was moving the mouse at the precise moment the freezes occurred. My problem was as simple as that. Yours may be different but don't overlook anything no matter how simple it seems.

 

Thanks guys for all your advice, it's been very educational! I'll be going through your suggestions and trying them out in the course of the next few days.

 

I thought you would like to know that the problem of the frozen screen has been solved. Looking through the post from GiddyG reminded me that I had upgraded my internet security software just before this problem started. I uninstalled that software and downloaded the AVG free edition for protection. My PC booted up more quickly and the problem disappeared. And the offending software? Norton Internet Security 2007. I am now looking for another internet security software, although the AVG seems to be doing a great job. Thanks once again for all your advice.

 

AVG free is great. I've used it now for 8 years and it has yet to fail me. For an anti spyware I've been using counterspy. Had to pay 10 dollars for a year. It too works great and they keep it updated! If you need a software firewall they have a free zonealarm that I have used and it work good for me to.

 

Norton strikes again is see.

AVG is, as Mitzs says, a perfectly good AV solution. I have been using it for at least 9 years with no problems.

 

Yup... got to agree that AVG does the business as far as I am concerned.