XP - freezes momentarily, and then unfreezes

I maintain an old XP machine to run a piece of software that doesn't run on newer versions of windows. What happens (whether running that software or not) is that the mouse will freeze on the screen for about 10 seconds or so, and then it unfreezes and I can continue using the machine. It doesn't happen all the time, but it's rather frustrating when it does happen. Is there anything obvious that I should check that could be causing this type of freezing and unfreezing issue? Thank you

Hi, Welcome to BC.

Problem is out of date drivers running on a unknown motherboard or branded system.

Suggest from a a command Prompt Admin run SFC /SCANNOW and see if fixes anything.

You can also delete the mouse in Device Manager and upon reboot it will reinstall.

If this is a propitiatory Mouse go to the makers page and download new driver package as others maybe corrupted.

Failing that, A clean install or moving to Linux.

It sounds like something may be scheduled to run. Check if your software has the option for scheduled backups; I had that happen once and it drove me crazy until I disabled auto-backups every so many minutes.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will try the SFC command. Not sure if it's just the mouse locking, or the whole system at this point.

No auto backups in that software (wish it did!) and not aware of any scheduled tasks. Looks like a lot of nice resources on this site for troubleshooting, I will look into those more too.

Hi, Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition : https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=299  Most like Windows. : https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_vera_cinnamon_whatsnew.php

FAQ's plus Minimum Requirements : https://linuxmint.com/faq.php

Less Command Line stuff than others. Check out the videos : https://www.google.com/search?q=linux+mint+cinnamon&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzu4eQ-8L8AhViAzQIHSZ2D8oQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1536&bih=671&dpr=1.25

It Comes with Software as well there is tons of Software available : Open Source : https://alternativeto.net/platform/linux/?license=opensource check free and ....

This is your best option and should consider it do to age and that this system if online is a danger to everyone including your friends and family.

Edited by we3fan, 05 February 2024 - 08:53 AM.

Hi, Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition : https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=299  Most like Windows. : https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_vera_cinnamon_whatsnew.php

FAQ's plus Minimum Requirements : https://linuxmint.com/faq.php

Less Command Line stuff than others. Check out the videos : https://www.google.com/search?q=linux+mint+cinnamon&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzu4eQ-8L8AhViAzQIHSZ2D8oQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1536&bih=671&dpr=1.25

It Comes with Software as well there is tons of Software available : Open Source : https://alternativeto.net/platform/linux/?license=opensource check free and ....

This is your best option and should consider it do to age and that this system if online is a danger to everyone including your friends and family.

Sorry but what does your information have to do with my issue??

I ran driver booster and updated a lot of out of date drivers, and used the tweaking utility in the downloads, and defragmented the hard drive, so we'll see what happens!

I guess that was too good to be true. It's still freezing and unfreezing like I described in the first post, although perhaps not as much it seems. Here's a hardware snapshot if it might be helpful for anyone to see what could be the cause:

                                               System Information Report
  
                Operating System        Microsoft Windows XP Professional
                Processor        Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU    Q6600  @ 2.40GHz
                Graphics Card        NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT  (512.0 MB)
                Memory        3.0 GB Free (3.5 GB Total)
                Monitor        Plug and Play Monitor (1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz)
                Disk Storage        65.5 GB Free (74.5 GB Total)
                Audio        USB Audio Device
                Motherboard        Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. (EP45-UD3R)
                Mouse        HID-compliant mouse
                Keyboard        Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Computer System        
                Computer Name        ENCORE
                User Name        MUSIC
                Organization        N/A
Operating System        
                OS Name        Microsoft Windows XP Professional
                OS Version        5.1.2600
                Service Pack        3.0
                Product ID        55274-640-8365391-23692
                System Up Time        2/5/2024 9:47:57 AM
                Internet Explorer Version        6.0.2900.5512
                Microsoft DirectX Version        9.0c(4.09.00.0904)
                OpenGL Version        5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-0845)
Registry        
                Maximum Size        120 MB
                Current Size        4 MB
                Status        OK
Central Processor        
                CPU Name        Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU    Q6600  @ 2.40GHz
                Number of logical processors        4
                Code Name        Model 15, Stepping 11
                Manufacturer        GenuineIntel
                Current Clock Speed        2400 Mhz
                Max Clock Speed        2400 Mhz
                Voltage        1V
                External Clock        266 Mhz
                Serial Number        BFEBFBFF000006FB
                CPU ID        x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11
                Socket Designation        Socket 775
                Internal Cache        64 KB
                External Cache        4096 KB
Motherboard        
                Model        EP45-UD3R
                Manufacturer        Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
                Serial Number         
                BIOS Name        Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
                BIOS Vendor        Award Software International, Inc.
                SMBIOS Version        F11
                BIOS Date        8/31/2009
BIOS Features        
                PCI is supported        Yes
                Plug and Play is supported        Yes
                BIOS is Upgradable (Flash)        Yes
                BIOS shadowing is allowed        Yes
                Boot from CD is supported        Yes
                Selectable Boot is supported        Yes
                EDD (Enhanced Disk Drive) Specification is supported        Yes
                Int 13h - 5.25 / 360 KB Floppy Services are supported        Yes
                Int 13h - 5.25 /1.2MB Floppy Services are supported        Yes
                Int 13h - 3.5 / 720 KB Floppy Services are supported        Yes
                Int 13h - 3.5 / 2.88 MB Floppy Services are supported        Yes
                Int 5h, Print Screen Service is supported        Yes
                Int 9h, 8042 Keyboard services are supported        Yes
                Int 14h, Serial Services are supported        Yes
                Int 17h, printer services are supported        Yes
                Int 10h, CGA/Mono Video Services are supported        Yes
                ACPI supported        Yes
                USB Legacy is supported        Yes
                LS-120 boot is supported        Yes
                ATAPI ZIP Drive boot is supported        Yes
Memory Resource        
                Total Memory        3.5 GB
                Used Memory        545.3 MB
                Free Memory        3.0 GB
                Memory Usage        15%
Physical Memory        
                Memory Bank        Bank0/1
                Description        Physical Memory 0
                Device Locator        A0
                Capacity        2.0 GB
                Speed        800 Mhz
                Manufacturer        NULL
                Data Width        64 bit
                Memory Type        Unknown
                Form Factor        DIMM
Physical Memory        
                Memory Bank        Bank4/5
                Description        Physical Memory 2
                Device Locator        A2
                Capacity        2.0 GB
                Speed        800 Mhz
                Manufacturer        NULL
                Data Width        64 bit
                Memory Type        Unknown
                Form Factor        DIMM
Disk Drives        
                Name        WDC WD800JD-00MSA1
                Media Type        Fixed	hard disk media
                Capability        74.5 GB
                Interface Type        IDE
                Partitions        1
                Total Cylinders        9729
                Total Heads        255
                Total Sectors        156296385
                Total Tracks        2480895
                Tracks Per Cylinder        255
                Bytes Per Sector        512
                Sectors Per Track        63
                S.M.A.R.T Support        Yes
IDE Controller        
                Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 - 3A20
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Status        OK
IDE Controller        
                Name        Primary IDE Channel
                Manufacturer        (Standard IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers)
                Status        OK
IDE Controller        
                Name        Secondary IDE Channel
                Manufacturer        (Standard IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers)
                Status        OK
IDE Controller        
                Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 3A26
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Status        OK
IDE Controller        
                Name        Primary IDE Channel
                Manufacturer        (Standard IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers)
                Status        OK
IDE Controller        
                Name        Secondary IDE Channel
                Manufacturer        (Standard IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers)
                Status        OK
Video Adapter        
                Name        NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT 
                Video Processor        GeForce 9400 GT
                Manufacturer        NVIDIA
                Video Architecture        VGA
                DAC Type        Integrated RAMDAC
                Memory Size        512.0 MB
                Memory Type        Unknown
                Video Mode        1920 x 1080 x 4294967296 colors
                Current Refresh Rate        60 Hz
                Driver Version        6.14.13.4052
                Driver Date        7/2/2014 8:43:12 PM
Monitor        
                Name        Plug and Play Monitor
                Screen Height        1080
                Screen Width        1920
                Status        OK
Wireless Network Connection        
                Product Name        Ralink Turbo Wireless LAN Card
                Service Name        RT61
                Manufacturer        Ralink Technology Corp.
                MAC Address        78:44:76:B6:D4:07
Local Area Connection        
                Product Name        Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
                Service Name        RTLE8023xp
                Manufacturer        Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
                MAC Address        00:1F:D0:D1:0B:76
Sound Device        
                Name        USB Audio Device
                Manufacturer        (Generic USB Audio)
                Status        OK
Sound Device        
                Name        Realtek High Definition Audio
                Manufacturer        Realtek
                Status        OK
Sound Device        
                Name        Creative Audigy Audio Processor (WDM)
                Manufacturer        Creative Technology, Ltd.
                Status        OK
Mouse        
                Name        HID-compliant mouse
                Manufacturer        Microsoft
                Buttons        5
                Status        OK
Keyboard        
                Name        Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
                Description        Enhanced (101- or 102-key)
                Function Keys        12
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A37
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A38
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A39
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3C
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A34
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A35
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A36
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK
USB Controller        
                Product Name        Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3A
                Manufacturer        Intel
                Protocol Supported        Universal Serial Bus
                Status        OK

Thanks in advance for any other suggestions on this one.

Edited by we3fan, 08 February 2024 - 09:07 AM.

What you have is a Western Digital 80 gig hard drive in the system that has to be going on 20 years old.

It is starting to develop bad sectors after spinning that long at 5,400 RPM, much like the way the old LP albums developed pops and scratches over time the more you played them.

IDE hard drives will be hard to find and cloning the drive to make an exact copy is another matter entirely.

I would look on EBay or other places for a replacement drive. You wont find one new.

If it is 'a piece of software that doesn't run on newer versions of windows' I would do so before it fails

Edited by Eyesee, 22 February 2024 - 08:21 PM.

Ah, I had not even considered the hard drive for some reason.  You make a good point.

I checked the motherboard specs and that board supports SATA, so could I put a small SSD in there and run WinXP again? Did a brief search on the topic and saw some stuff about "TRIM" and aligning partitions, but it doesn't seem like an insurmountable task from what I can see.. Or do you think it'd be better just to put an old new stock 7200rpm IDE in there?

I went ahead and just ordered a Patriot SSD for $16 on eBay; will give it a go and see if that's what was causing the problem

Trim only applies to SSD drives which I would not use in this case.

I run a local computer shop. What I would do if I were you is to purchase a new SATA hard drive. My preferred brand is Western Digital. They have a free cloning tool on their website

This is where the headache on your part could come in. This would be easy for me to do but I have been doing this for decades.

Easiest thing for you to do is to contact your local computer shop to see if they can clone an IDE drive to a SATA and put the new drive in the system for you. That way you dont have to purchase the devices needed and you know it works

Ok I cancelled the SSD order and will just get a regular SATA hard drive instead