My computer stops functioning and locks up.  The mouse will not move
the cursor. I am using Windows XP.
Why does this happen?

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Request for Question Clarification by livioflores-ga on 01 Jun 2003 19:27 PDT

In secure mode (press F8 repeteadly when start the PC) go to Start -->
Run and type msconfig and then press enter, go to the Start up tab and
uncheck all the programs and try, also it would be very useful to us
to know the list of programs in this windows, in order to tell you
which program is dangerous for the system.

Maybe your computer froze.  Restart your computer and see what happens.

secret901-ga

verne...

The most common cause I've seen for this is when you have
used your browser to access a webpage which utilises java.
Even after that page is closed, if the browser remains open,
the java program will remain loaded, as evidenced by the
java icon in the system tray (near the clock). I have 
seen this cause Windows XP and Windows 2000 to freeze
after a time. You can get around this slow leak of 
resources by closing all instances of your browser 
until the java icon disappears.

Of course, it could be something else entirely.

Things it could be in my opinion:

If it is happening when you computer has been running for quite some
time but for no particular reason, it might be your video card.
Another sign that it is your video card would be if it is happening
more frequently than it has previously. It could be your video card
driver as well, a faulty app (but I think this is less likely because
WinXP is good at catching those).

The first step I would take is to see if a memory dump or an error is
registered in the event viewer. I am not confident that there will be
an event, but it couldn't hurt to try. Follow these instructions
carefully:

Please follow these instructions carefully and get back to me: 
 
1. Click Start and then click Control Panel. 
2. On the left side of the control panel, you should see "Switch to
Classic View" I want you to click on this.
3. You should now see an icon that says "Administrative Tools". Please
double click this icon.
4. Now double click on "Event Viewer"  
5. You will now see the Event Viewer open with icons for Application,
Security and System.
 
I want you to take a look at all of them, and try to find a match for
the exact date and time that this error happens. You might also want
to wait for it to happen again, and use the clock on your start menu
(double click the time to get it to the second if you prefer). An
error log should appear in either Application or System matching the
time of your error. There might also be multiple errors. This is what
I want you to do when you find the culprit:
 
1. Right click the culprit (error) in either System or Applications
(or both depending on where a log is generated) and click on
Properties.
2. You will see an icon with two pieces of paper (copy icon). Click
this icon.
3. Reply to my Clarification Request and right click on the box where
you type in text. Click on Paste. It should paste something that looks
like this:
 
Event Type: Information 
Event Source: crypt32 
Event Category: None 
Event ID: 7 
Date:  4/30/2003 
Time:  12:15:31 PM 
User:  N/A 
Computer: NEWDELL 
Description: 
Successful auto update retrieval of third-party root list sequence
number from: <http://www.download.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/v3/static/trustedr/en/authrootseq.txt>
 
Repeat step 1 and 2 for EACH error generated in ONE incident of this
happening. This will really help me narrow down the problem and find a
solution for you.

I look forward to your response,

tisme-ga

I have that happening frequently when I am in music site..

I'd like to mention here that whenever this has happened to me,
invariably, in the end, after all other options have been ruled out,
it's always been a hot processor...