XP Startup Sound Cuts out... Computer constant freeze

[bolsey84]

I am running Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 on an older machine (gateway)... over 5 years old. I had AVG 7.1 installed, but was having issues and wanted to upgrade to the free version of 7.5 So I un-installed 7.1 and installed 7.5 I then ran a virus scan, and the computer froze up in the middle of the scan (mouse did not move, cntr-alt-del did not work).

I then did a system restore to way before the problem started.. this did not work

Safe mode works without freezing, but will freeze every 20 mins or so. Regular XP will freeze every time the desktop is loaded, also the usual Windows XP startup sound is cut short. The sound will start, then less then a second later it will just cut out.

Do you think this is software (windows XP, or maybe some type of hardware issue?)

Thanks.......

[softhere]

Hey, I assumed that there is wrong about software. Uninstall AVG and install another one for replacement to see if the same problem occurs.

[pam123]

Go into Event Viewer and see if there's one specific error or a pattern of errors associated with the freezes.
Run chkdsk which may tell you if you're hard drive is developing bad sectors.
Please post back with what you find.
Without knowing what the "issues" were I can't know if the older version of AVG had anything to do with them but if you do have malware on the computer it can block scans and play havoc with installs of anti-virus software and just generally degrade performance.
Your best bet now is to back up all the data you need to save.
Should you have to re-format or replace the hard drive you will need that back up.