With monotonous regularity I get this message appearing. I have gone through the CNTRL/Alt/Delete process, and sometimes I get NOT RESPONDING on the task manager and sometimes not. The only way to continue is to hit END TASK, and start again, sometimes with the same result. The end effect is also that it can take up to 10 minutes from booting up to getting to an internet page. I have taken the computer to a "Computer Expert" but it is no better. Can anyone help please

>Moved from Forum Help<

I don't think he/she was much of a computer expert since stopping/removing programs at boot-up is a common occurrence. Is it always the same program/task which is the problem? If so which is it?

Thanks for your response. Never was or likely to be a computer expert- Just want help. It is not confined to one programme, but happens all the time.

If the so called "Expert" couldn't find the source, I would advise Back up and reinstall XP.
Either that or try some serious maintenance on your system.

Now it sounds like you need to do some maintenance.

Here's my usual C&P for cases like this:


When was the last time you did some serious maintenance on your system ?

System maintenance includes:
Defrag
FULL patching
Virus scanning
Spyware scanning
removal of rubish files

Defrag is an inbuilt function in XP.
Open My Computer > Right click C: > Tools Tab and its there.

To make sure everything is running fine run both anti virus and anti spyware apps in normal AND safe modes. (make sure that they are updated first ! ;)) (AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1) is good and free AV)
(A couple of good removal tools are Spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/) and Adaware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/))

ALso an on line virus and spyware scanner is Trend Housecall (http://housecall.trendmicro.com/)

Just a note: actively running two AV's on one machine can cause problems.
So if you are thinking about it make sure your current one is disabled first.
Same thing applies to online scanners as well.

Removal of junk files is easy with CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) a free app that does exactly what

If all this fails then a repair install may be in order:

Here's (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx) the official Micro$oft way of doing it,
and Here's (http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138) one with screen shots.

Basically this installs windows over the top of your current setup.
So you don't loose any information you already have.

This lot should resolve your issue.

You are leaving out something critical. Every time you get a "Non Responding" error message, you are given the name of the application or applet that is not responding.

When was the last time you ran a virus scan on your PC?