Computer slow down/ hang

[jgravance]

After about 45 minutes to an hour my computer will start hanging up and will eventually freeze on me. It happens every time, even if im just browsing the internet. I have no idea what could be the issue. Ive tried reformatting, but still have this problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Specs:
Athlon 1700
Geforce4 ti 4600
Asus A7V8x-x
512 mb DDR
SB Audigy
Maxtor 80 Gig
Windows 98 SE
Thermaltake Xaser 480w PSU
Linksys Wireless G USB Adapter

 

[mechBgon]

Open your case and observe the CPU fan to see if it's slowing down or stopping, which would result in overheat. Also, check whether your heatsink is clogged with dust and lint.

 

[KB]

This is a gradual slow-down?

Things that cause gradual slowdown in my experience:
Spyware. Run Adaware and Spybot or clean your system.
Poor drivers can also cause gradual slow-down. Update your drivers if you can.

Although it is unlikely the problem in this case, I just recently saw this on a Win98 SE machine that had its ULTRA ATA 66 cable plugged into the CD-ROM. You may not have this problem, but check all your cables to make sure they are plugged in properly.

 

[jgravance]

Thank you KB, I have run both Adaware and Spybot, but sadly neither worked. Also thank you mechBgon, but I have a clear acrylic case, so I have checked (regularly) to see if it may be a fan or component problem, and everything seems ok. I still have no idea what could be the problem.

 

[jgravance]

Bump

 

[jgravance]

ttt

 

[JerkyBoyz0]

Memory or Motherboard. Sounds like a Motherboard issue. Check the caps on the motherboard to see if they are blown. A slow down and a freeze dosent sound like a memory problem, possible but unlikely.

 

[imported_ecosoft]

Dude
I've read the other Replies ... all perfectly logical and correct; however, I recently had a similar situation develop on my Win2K system. I also run Ad-Aware, SpyBot, Symantec AV and Client Firewall, all behind a firewall router. I still caught a prog attempting to "call home", which got more and more insistent that it actually "talk to home", which in this case was HP!! Yah!! HP includes software for it's 1012 series laser printers that includes a "toolbox" along with the print driver. When I installed the driver (Aug '04) the toolbox was integrated in the package (no choice). Since I never used the toolbox after once checking what it did (connected to HP for tips, updates, etc.) I deleted the systray icon and forgot about it. Then, a few weeks later my system seemed a bit boggy ... slow doing stuff, but Sandra showed the same benchmarks. Then, the system got slower yet just sitting at the desktop. I popped up TaskManager and started checking ... Aarrggggh! 99% CPU utilization while doing nothing. I croaked the offending prog after noting it's name and discovered it was a HP print driver package prog. I uninstalled the driver package and got the latest driver from HP ... since initial release HP has separated the basic print driver from the toolbox package. You may have a similar problem, so check your TaskManager Processes tab.

Separately, I've found that some of the MS updates for Win2k since SR4 bog down the boot-startup process, but once all updates are installed thru SP5 Q818043 that "problem" cleared up.

Good luck

 

[jgravance]

Ive tried switching th ram sticks around. Ive tried each of them by itself. Ive checked my mobo. I dont know what to do. As for ecosofts reply, thank you, but i dont know how to check if thats the problem. Windows 98 doesnt have a task manager that you can see cpu utilization to check that. Are there any programs I can download that will show me that?