computer freezes

[ayds]

My computer has been freezing up wnen I try to use disk cleanup. I have XP on a Dell Dimension desktop. I have lots of disk space. 40 gig hard drive. 256 MB. I called Dell & they had me uncheck a bunch of programs. No better. I tried Go Back & go back said it couldn't revert the drive, that it crashed.
When it freezes I have to shut off the power because nothing responds. When it comes back up I have no problem with the internet. Just disk cleanup & Go Back. I am lost with this. please help! It seems now like it freezes when ever I try to use a windows program.

[kjanx]

did the computer ever work right??

do a restore from the accessories/system tools folder.
restore to a date that the computer rworked properly

[ayds]

Yes the computer was working fine last week. I had system restore disabled because I have go back so I can't do a restore now.

[ProfessorU]

The first thing I would do is make it Dell's problem. Their customer service is better than most and if you are running XP it's probably still covered.

Have you run scandisk? Maybe disk cleanup tanks when it's trying to delete a file that is corrupted. Also, get the latest drivers for your motherboard and video card.

If that doesn't help, I would consider a fresh start. This would involve backing up the entire drive and reimaging it as it came from Dell. Then you would download the latest drivers and use the backup to restore your personal files. This is a big project, though.

It's possible that it's a hardware problem, too. A failing hard drive or too much heat in the case could cause random lock-ups. Good luck and keep posting back.

[ayds]

A new message that keeps coming up when I restart is...
[.ShellClassINFO]
LocalizedResourceName=@SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21787
I have called dell & they think I should reformat & reinstall window xp but if i could fix it first i would rather.

[ProfessorU]

I would definitely suggest backing up immediately. That way things can't get any worse and your files are protected if something fails.

Try reinstalling windowsXP over itself. If your PC supports booting from the CD drive, you can put the Windows CD in the drive and power up the computer. It should ask you to boot from CD and you can follow the prompts... probably called something like 'repair an existing Windows XP installation' or something like that, but I've never done it in XP (yet). This process will replace all of your windows files but not your personal files.

Does anyone know of a website that walks someone through this process?