Running Windows XP Pro.
Alright, here’s the thing. Something odd and bad has been happening to my computer for a while. My computer has two modes: normal mode, where it works, and fucked-up mode, where only seemingly random program functions work. One big example: In fucked-up mode, I cannot open Task Manager. I get the little icon of a graph showing CPU use (it stays empty), but Task Manager never opens. When I eventually give up and restart, I am told that Task Manager cannot be shut down, and will be automatically terminated when the little bar fills up. Mozilla freezes when I try to save a file from a website, .NET freezes when I try to save or open a file (but not when I compile or run), and Wordperfect freezes on startup.
Also, when I get extremely frustrated and kill and try to reload Explorer from the command prompt, it also freezes on startup.
By freeze, I mean will not do anything, no matter how long I leave the program, and gives the little “not responding” message in the title bar. As far as I can tell, leaving my computer on for a while will put it in fucked-up mode, but sometimes it takes five minutes, and sometimes it works for days on end. I’ve checked my RAM and CPU temperature, so I don’t think it’s a hardware issue.
Now, one time I just got really frustrated at my inability to open task manager, so I launched the command prompt, listed current tasks, and killed everything that I could that wasn’t the command prompt or Zonealarm. This included Explorer. When I restarted Explorer from the command prompt, things worked. I’d like to write a batch file that will automatically parse tasklist and kill everything but itself, unkillable system processes, Zonealarm, and itself, then load Explorer again. I’d also like the problem to go away. Can anyone help me with either of these goals?