I just acquired a new video board with more grunt and I am looking forward to putting it in. But, this same old problem is driving me nuts and I think it should be fixed first. Here is what I know ... a.) the computer will not reboot. When asked to reboot, it runs through the shut down process but, at some point, the monitor is shut off but the keyboard isn't. There it sits. I then shut down and restart by hand. b.) I get messages saying "Such-n-such is not responding". It could be Firebird, it could be Pandora, it could be anything. This morning it was Google Mail. Sometimes it get's going on its own, but usually I have to Contol-Alt-Delete. c.) I think that there are problems in the services and whatever all is running in the background. d.) When I check, I find that a lot of what is going on is related to the CPU running at 100%. It somehow creeps up to 100% and gets stuck there. I know that means that there is a problem but I have absolutely no idea what to look for. I would like to shut down a lot of the services, but I have no idea what they are. (Might be a need for a fix in this somewhere. I can't find any help on which services to leave on and which to turn off.)
I have tried all the common cures for slow, jumpy video, siezes, etc and nothing helps. I have run test after test only to see "No problems found." It seems that when I run System Mechanic Pro, it helps but the assist doesn't last long. In two or three days I am back at the problem again.
Any suggestions?
John