I am running Windows XP on a HP pavilion ze4900 notebook. Recently, the system has slowed down dramatically and at times it freezes up. I believe that it may be related to recent updates to MS Office 2003 Pro. Has anyone else observed this problem?
Specifics: When the system slows down, the task manager (ctrl-alt-delete) window shows variable active processes at the top of the list, including taskmgr.exe, wmiprvse.exe, and wuauclt.exe. The performance window shows permanent 100% CPU utilization, and the fan remains on for extended periods. At times, the desktop becomes completely non-responsive, such that task manager does not even come up. The only way to proceed is to kill the system by holding the power button down to shut it off.
I had been running the system for some months with no trouble, and had done regular updates to Windows, McAfee virus scan, spyware and adware cleaners, and Office 2003. I thought that the system might have become unstable, as is Windows’ tendency over time.
I deleted, re-created, and reformatted both the system partition and the data partition (120GB total), then reinstalled XP/SP2 and all available critical and security updates (76 in total) on the system partition. I then installed McAfee and updated. So far so good. I was able to install a variety of other programs (including Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird), with no problems for the system. However, when I installed Office 2003 Pro with SP1 and updated via Microsoft Update, the computer started freezing again. Uninstalling Office 2003 was impossible, since the system would freeze before the process could be started.
I then retried reformatting and installing XP/SP2 offline, then McAfee with updates, then updated XP online. Again, other programs installed with no problems. Installation of Office 2003 and updating led to system freeze.
A third attempt, like the first above, wherein I installed Office 2003 Pro last, followed by SP1, then SP2. I then updated on the web with the same results.
Note that I have a spare 40GB hard drive that I removed from the notebook last year before installing the larger drive. The system works like a charm with the 40GB drive reinstalled, running Windows XP, Office 2003 Pro, and a variety of other programs. Is it possible that the problems are related to the hard drive? It is a Western Digital 120GB drive (WDC WD1200VE-00KWT0), with 20GB system partition and 100GB data partition.
