XP Pro boots fine up to when the desktop is loaded - it then just shows an hour glass forever. I can not do a ctl/alt to see what is running the only way I can get beyond it is to hold down the power button and start again - second boot seems to work fine. Any helpful suggestions? TIA.

If you would like to have a look at the running processes, CTRL+SHIFT+ESC will start the Taskmanager. Please send a reply, if you solved the problem !!!

Try this. Disable Background Intelligent Transfer. Go to Start > Run, copy & Paste > services.msc & hit Enter.To turn off a service, double-click on it and select Disabled under Startup type. Also, make sure you have done all your MS updates.

I have XP Pro also and mine would freeze usually after the desktop opened. The culpit was a lever that holds the fan down and it was not pushed down all the way after a tech friend of mine installed a new fan.Try and advise.

Well I installed all the updates from MS and it seemed to help some - but it is still stalling on occasion. I do not have any spare fans around but will grab a couple and try replacing them. Thanks for the suggestions!

"Try this. Disable Background Intelligent Transfer" Did you? "I do not have any spare fans around but will grab a couple and try replacing them" Dust is your biggest enemy. Take a cover off & clean out the dust, put an external fan on & see if it behaves with the extra cooling. Make sure all the fans ( including the power supply ) are spinning fast, with the power off, give them a spin with a matchstick to make sure they not stuck. Curing Laptop/Notebook Overheating http://moourl.com/fb7u8 http://moourl.com/dvgjb http://moourl.com/syvjr http://moourl.com/fzp1f http://moourl.com/uprms Cleaning a Laptop/Notebook Computer http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/us... http://lifehacker.com/software/life... Information about cleaning computer components http://www.computerhope.com/cleanin... http://www.wiscocomputing.com/artic... http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/... http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tut... Getting The Grunge Out Of Your PC, Fred Langa cleans the dirtiest PC he can find, and along the way shows you how you can easily tackle yours. http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... Quiet noisy computer fans with a drop of oil http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-62...