If strange things start ocurring my first thought is virus and
spyware problems.
Have you recently cleaned your computer of temp files etc.
What antivirus program and spyware utilities are you using if any.
I would suggest doing an online virus scan at Trendmicro (Housecall) then run a couple of spyware programs back to back like SuperAntispyware and Spybot Search and destroy (both are free) after updating each

Here is a link that might be useful: Housecall

It could also be a heat issue. Has the inside of your computer (desktop or laptop) ever been clean for dust and hair etc

Make & Model & operating system is important information to have to help in the troubleshooting..

Spybot and superantispyware have been run....first thing I tried. Also did a disc cleanup.

Heat? Maybe, but would that explains the same freeze point?

By the way...desktop. XP w/SP2. 3/4 Gig RAM.

No the same freeze point would usually be related to a program.

Hold the phone right click my computer choose properties tell us how much ram it says there down at bottom.

760 Mb RAM

OK so you seem to have ruled out spyware so now rule out the heat issue mentioned. Simply remove the left side and see how long you run after the point it usually freezes. I trust the computer is not inside a cabinet?

While the side is off take a peek inside especially around the heat sink and fan on top of the processor for dust build up.

Can you tell us the exact name of the program you are using when it freezes, you mentioned (Graphics Program) but what exactly is it called. Sorry to ask so many questions but the more information the better everyone can help..

Look in the Event Viewer.

Not a problem Zep. I'm using Art Shade Pro. A program used with a CAD application to preview 3-D relief renderings. Also installed is an HIS 3D graphics card. Don't remember how much memory it carries, though.

This is the same machine I use for Second Life. Can be on for hours. Sometimes get a short freze, but the machine clears itself and continues on.

This freeze is a total lockup....no mouse movement, no C-A-Delete, nothing. Nothing short of a unplugging works.

Could be heat....maybe.....but I'll have to address that tomorrow. Hope it is something that simple.

So every time you do a graphics related thing the computer freezes maybe the graphics card it self is over heating,(CAD application to preview 3-D relief renderings) All memory and processor intensive, and you have 760mb of ram and probably other things running and a build up of dust ect, so all you can do is clean out the dust with canned air - you can get that at the computer store - and as owbist said run with cover off for awhile. I would consider bring ram level to 1Gig with all the graphics going on give you some cushion it just seems you are running on the edge, unless of course cleaning the dust fixes it.. Graphics Cards get hot! And check the event viewer.

Graphics require huge amounts of resources. I have 2 gigs of RAM and a 250 meg video card with it's own fan and power supply yet I can still get times when we are sluggish when messing with photo editing.

It might just be as simple as more memory and a clean out of the dust bunnies from inside the tower.

If it is graphics intensive, it could also be that the graphics card is not up to the task. Has this been an ongoing problem ever since you started using Art Shade Pro

I agree more memory & get rid of the dust, because last year the computer ran ok with the dust build up and the low amount of ram for those graphics the pc is at the end of its rope, and there is also the possibility a few more items may be running using ram that were not running last year....

Alright, alright.....I'll give my little dust bunnies a new home and invest in more RAM, which I had wanted to do anyway, and maybe even an extra fan somewhere, but the original question still persists....why such a "hard" freeze, and why at such a specific event?
As I mentioned, I can work a long time and save many times by clicking the "save" icon in the toolbar, but using "save" or "save as" in the fly down window under the "file" command usually ends up in a total lock-up....and the length of time I have been working doesn't seem to matter. My machine has locked me out as early as the first save event.
I work with Corel and have no problem (so far) but working with ArtCam or ArtShade...I freeze..hard and total. This is what makes me think there is a deeper, more specific problem than the general heat/RAM thing.
I rarely have occasion to work with word processing, or data bases on this machine, so I don't know how they behave during a save. I just find it interesting/frustrating that my machine locks at such a specific event.. and just have to wonder......Is how computers handle a "save" or "save as" command specific to individual programs, or is it an operating system issue?

So try re-installing ArtCam over itself, perhaps you have a corrupt file or two in there. No harm can come from that and it may eliminate another possibility

Re-install....done that. Locked up right after a fresh reboot on first "save as". Something is going on and I NEED to find out what it is. Guess the computer guy at the computer fix-it store will be my next stop.

As Mikie suggested check out Event Viewer after a lock up, it should tell you what caused it...

Rita