Everytime i click on say my computer or find, or some programs they dont load and explorer.exe uses all my system recourses and after that i have shut it down and restart so im pretty stuck and i could use some help or to be pointed in the direction of some

1st step , run a virus check from 1 or all of these . Online Virus check ( free ) http://housecall.antivirus.com/ http://www.coledata.com/virusalert.htm http://www.cybertechhelp.com/html/misc/av.php http://www.pandasoftware.es/activescan/activescan-com.asp http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/ http://www.bitdefender.com/ http://www.stop-sign.com/ ==================================== Disable Indexing Services http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/display.asp?id=1335 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/OptimizeXP.html Indexing services is a small program that hogs HUGE amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexing and updates lists of the files on your system, so you can search for them quickly, but it's completley unnessesary. To disable it, go to the Control Panel and click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Add/Remove Window Components. Simply unclick the Indexing services and click next! ====================================== If you are experiencing "random" slowdowns and "high" CPU usage for no reason . http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP14.htm http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-i=1&sp-q=cpu+100%25&sp-a=sp10025107&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=any&sp-x=any&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-d=custom&sp-c=10&sp-f=UTF-8 http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-i=1&sp-q=cpu+100%25&sp-a=sp10025107&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=any&sp-x=any&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-d=custom&sp-n=11&sp-c=10&sp-f=UTF-8 http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-i=1&sp-q=cpu+100%25&sp-a=sp10025107&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=any&sp-x=any&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-d=custom&sp-n=21&sp-c=10&sp-f=UTF-8 http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-i=1&sp-q=cpu+100%25&sp-a=sp10025107&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=any&sp-x=any&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-d=custom&sp-n=31&sp-c=10&sp-f=UTF-8 http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-i=1&sp-q=cpu+100%25&sp-a=sp10025107&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=any&sp-x=any&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-d=custom&sp-n=41&sp-c=10&sp-f=UTF-8 http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-i=1&sp-q=cpu+100%25&sp-a=sp10025107&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=any&sp-x=any&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-d=custom&sp-n=51&sp-c=10&sp-f=UTF-8 http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=cpu+100%25&sp-a=sp10025107&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=any&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-d=custom&sp-date-range=-1&sp-start-month=0&sp-start-day=0&sp-start-year=&sp-end-month=0&sp-end-day=0&sp-end-year=&sp-x=any&sp-c=10&sp-m=1&sp-s=0&sp-f=UTF-8

thanks ill try some of these ideas, also though i cant get to control pannel cause it will cause explorer to hang and it wont openit, i also cant open any desktop, i wonder if there is a problem with folders or something else

Try using safe mode . How to start Windows XP in Safe mode http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2001060608000039 ======================================== Also , Try performing an advanced clean-boot of XP to isolate the problem: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=316434 http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=310353 ==================================== If after a virus check , maybe going back to a good restore point will fix . http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306084 http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/itpro/managing/restore.asp http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q306084 http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6268-1040596.html http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6268-1040596-2.html http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6268-1040596-3.html Start the computer and then press the F8 key when Windows begins to start. The Windows Advanced Options menu appears. Use the ARROW keys to select Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked), and then press ENTER. If a boot menu appears, use the ARROW keys to select Microsoft Windows XP, and then press ENTER. Windows XP restores the computer to the most recent restore point.

WireFire, I really hope you find a solution to this problem. I HAVE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM AND SYMPTOMS ! What a pain. Here is something I have discovered that may make it easier to try different solutions. In Task Manager, End Process for explorer.exe. THe desktop will go away. Not to worry. Then under 'file', 'New Run', enter 'explorer.exe' and it will re-start explorer.exe and all is well until you cause the slow down. But at least you don't have to reboot after each time explorer.exe goes nuts. hope this helps. Phil

i know there hasn't been a post here for over a week but I'm also having the same problem, I've tried everything here and the problem is still ocurring. Does anyone have any more suggestions?

Yes, I have the same problem still since last friday (it seems most of the people got it then). I tried everything I could and talked to people that are familiar with this sort of problem and they did not know what to do. I am hoping somebody has an idea so I do not have to resort to formatting the HD. We are having a more updated discussion on this topic on this link of the same site: http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/94952.html