Vista - Locking up

My Dell XPS with Windows Vista constantly locks up. I thought maybe it was McAfee causing the problem so I uninstalled it and installed Norton. The problem is still occuring. I even upgraded the ram from 2 gb to 4.

I turned off the Gadgets on the sidebar, run defrag, and reboot. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing, whether I'm in Windows Mail, using IE7 or in a program.

I've read many posts regarding this but haven't found a resolution to my problem. If anyone has some new advice, I would love to hear it.

Thank you in advance.
Judy

For starters, Mcafee or Norton..neither is a good choice. Norton is probably contributing to the problem at hand. It is probably the worse system hog in the bunch and draging your system way down. Not to mention the crappy detection you probably got a virus or a trojan. Scan with a good AV(not McAfee it sucks to). Avira, Avast or better then those would be NOD32.

Persistent locking up like this would drive me to a fresh install. Then add your programs one by one and see if a freeze happens after each one.

Trial and error Jubu, thats where your at. A driver or app is probably your problem.

Also try to find signs of any components heating up. Namely your video card or CPU. If you can find someone who has a PSU tester and see that your getting sufficent voltage.

Good luck.

@Jubu Keep both(norton & mcafee) Uninstalled and see if it still locks up.

Hey there Judy,
If it was freezing with McAfee and you uninstalled it and loaded in Norton and the problem is still there. I would say neither one is causing your lockups. Sparadic lockups are the toughest ones to fight. Usually caused by software that don't get along, but can also be caused by a piece of failing hardware. These fellers are right in saying norton and mcafee suck. But saying that one is causing it over the other is not right. Here is a hint though.... Avast is pretty good and free. Search for it on google.

Start with the basics. Take a step back and a deep breath. Think of the last thing y'all did on the puter afore it started lockin' up. And see if you can undo it. A system restore back to the point when you didn't have the lockups. From the start menu search bar, type System Configuration and shut off any of the startup programs you don't need. Also, Shutdown any automatic updates of any software like printer software and such.

Go to Dell and make sure there is no critical bios or system upgrades you need for your system. If all else fails then try a reinstall. Sometimes these fellers recommend wipin' stuff out way too quickly. If y'all are like me, I hate sittin' around waitin' for winders to setup. I got surfin' to do.

Good luck Judy

Thank you all for your help. I uninstalled Norton and loaded a trial of NOD32.

This has been going on from day 1 with the computer. Been on the phone with Dell several times regarding it. I will now take more advice and go to Dell to see if there's any updates.

Thank you again, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Judy

If this has been happening from day 1 get Dell to change the machine.