I would suspect your computer is infected.

What anti virus do you use, it is up to date and when did you last scan?

What anti spyware programs do you have installed, are they up to date and when did you last scan?

What firewall are you using?

When did you last compact you Outlook Express?
Open Outlook Express click File at the top, click Folders/Compact all folders.

When did you last do a disk cleanup?
Click Start/All programs/ Accessories/System tools/Disk cleanup. Note, do the disk cleanup before the defrag so it works on a clean drive.

When did you last defrag the hard drive?
Click Start/All programs/ Accessories/System tools/Disk defragmenter.

When did you last do a free online scan?
Try BitDefender or Housecall or any other free service you prefer

Hmm, forgot to ask how old the computer is and if you have ever had the side off to clean out the dust bunnies, especially around the fans, that accumulate causing heat to build up. This could also be a major issue.

Shut down and remove the power cable before doing this though.

Owbist, thanks so much for taking the time to give me those good suggestions. The computer is a Dell Dimension 3000. I'm guessing I bought it three years ago. We opened it up in January to install something, and I assume it was treated to some canned air at that time.

I'm using Avast as my anti-virus. It seems to scan fairly often on its own. My spyware program is AdAware, and I run it about once a week or so. It always finds something. My son and son-in-law blame Weather Bug for this. They urge me to get it off my system.

I don't know about a firewall.

I compacted the contents of Outlook Express after reading your post, but there wasn't much to compact since I had lost everything a week or so earlier.

I hadn't done a Disk Cleanup or Defrag in I don't know how long. I did both after reading your post.

I tried both BitDefender and Housecall, but neither was able to run the scan. I followed their troubleshooting suggestions and lowered the security settings, but no luck.

I haven't experienced a freeze since doing these things, so I suppose I should feel hopeful. However, I just tried to install Photoshop Elements and wasn't able to. No freeze, no crash, but the installation window just quietly disappeared. I then tried to open up the How to Install file on the disk, but was told it couldn't open Word for Windows 6.0 files. I'm pretty sure that's the version of Word that I have.

Meanwhile (are you still reading?), I did all of the above with my upstairs computer, which has been running painfully slow and frequently has trouble booting up. I had to let the Disk Cleanup run overnight. I was hoping for a miracle, I guess, but I didn't get it.

That computer is a five-year-old Dimention 4550. Using it goes like this. Click Start. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Window appears. Click All Programs. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Window appears. Roll mouse over Accessories. Nothing happens. Click Accessories. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Menu appears. You get the idea. It is wildly frustrating! The machine is low on memory (256), and I bought more. I'm waiting for my son to install it. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. :-)

Thanks again,

Susan

Hi Susan, do not worry about anyone reading the whole post. Yours is an excellent response giving clear concise steps you have taken. Wish more would offer such info when looking for help as it does make finding cures so much easier.

So you or the person installing Âsomething in January would have noticed if there was a large accumulation of dust and crud? Good enough, if in doubt whip the left side off and have a quick squint.

Avast is great, your latest definitions update is July 24th, version 000759-1 so check that this is installed.

Weatherbug does not come across as a knight in shining armour sadly. They have been accused of piggybacking ÂMy Search Toolbar and ÂGatorÂ, 2 nasties we do not like at all. Although they seem to have improved their image Read this article for guidance. Sadly like so many would be helpful sites they failed to date the message so we have no idea how old it might be. PC Hell has a fix for removal but that is from December 2004.

To find which firewall you have click Start/Control panel/Security Centre then click the 2 small down arrows beside the green button to the right of the Firewall sign and the drop down menu will tell you which you are using. If as I suspect it is Windows firewall you might consider swapping to a different, free firewall. Windows only has a one way (inbound) protection but does nothing to stop already installed phone home spies from sending out details of your surfing habits or worse.

BitDefender and Housecall will not run from Firefox, you must use Internet Explorer. Or was it halted by something else?

Hmm, I wonder how much free space you have on the hard drive. Click Start and My computer, now you should see your hard drive. It will tell you how much Âstuff you have on it and how much free space. For optimum operation there should be a minimum of 25% free space to allow the volatile swap file to operate at itÂs best.

As you had not done a disk clean up for a while I would suggest you install and run Crap Cleaner at itÂs default setting. This will more thoroughly clean your drive than the original clean up you did.

Any improvement?

Instead of using Weather Bug, you might want to use Weather Watcher. Weather Watcher does not have adds on it and you can configure it to your city. It displays the temp down on the tool bar and can be found at this website: http://www.singerscreations.com/ The current version is the 5.6.23 issue. I have used Weather Watcher for over 4 years now. I am not connected to it in any way other than a satisfied user of it.