I’m relatively handy with a PC, but there are some things that are just so odd that I don’t even know where to begin looking for a solution.
This problem isn’t serious, it’s just annoying, and it’s been going on for some time now.
I’m running WinXP Pro SP2. I keep it fairly regularly tuned – automatic updates are on, I run a virus checker and firewall, scan for spyware 'n stuff once every few weeks, etc. Last time I reinstalled XP was after a system upgrade about 10 months ago, so it’s had less than a year to go wonky.
Now I’m a bit of a power user so I like keeping things handy. One way to do that is to assign hotkey shortcuts to my most frequently accessed apps. I primarily use three:
Alt+Ctrl+P - Pegasus Mail (my E-Mail client of choice)
Alt+Ctrl+N - Notepad (always good to keep a digital scratch pad at hand)
Alt+Ctrl+J - JustPop3 (POP mail checker - must be closed before I check mail or it keeps the ports open a bit too long causing my E-Mail client’s attempted connection to the same POP3 accounts to fail; hence, I made a hotkey to reload it when I’m done)
Here’s the thing. Sometimes – not always, but probably more often than not – whenever I hit one of these keys, my taskbar temporarily seizes. By that I mean that if it’s lowered when a hotkey is activated, it won’t raise (I set it to auto-hide), and if raised, won’t lower; in either event none of the icons, systray or application, will work if I click on them during the seizure. Nothing else is effected – just the taskbar. My CPU time is nominal – normal idle usage, 0-2% or so unless I’ve got something more intensive running at the same time. My memory usage is normal. There are no apps in the task list that appear to be using an inordinate amount of system resources. In other words, there is absolutely no diagnostic evidence that anything odd is happening.
The length of each seizure varies – could be 30 seconds, could be two or three minutes. The app linked to the hotkey pressed won’t load until the seizure ends. I can load the app manually by double-clicking on it if I want – even while the seizure is going on. When the seizure is over it will simply try and execute the app like it was supposed to, resulting in nothing (if the app checks to see if it’s already loaded) or another copy of the app. It never happens any other way except by the using the hotkeys to load the apps. It’s almost like the combination of ALT+CTRL sometimes sends Windows – or the taskbar, anyway – into a state of reverie for a period before it shakes it off and does was it was told.
And as I said, it only happens sometimes, more often than not. It doesn’t matter where I am when I hit the hotkey or what window currently has focus. There doesn’t seem to be any obvious rhyme or reason for it. It is completely unpredictable. It has gotten a little worse – it seems to last longer as time goes on.
It’s not a virus. It’s not a trojan. It’s not a worm or a piece of spyware, adware or Internet flotsam that I know of. The slow progression of its state seems to indicate something system-related – it gets worse as the system ages/gets bogged down with more stuff. Those are the worst ones to diagnose.
Anyone have any clue what the heck this is all about? I realize this is incredibly obscure, but I might as well toss it out there.