Argh! Frustrating PC problem, any experts out there?
 

Hey All, I am hoping there are Windows XP experts out there that may be able to help suggest a next step or diagnostic tool.

For the past few days, I have been experiencing intermittent errors, primarily
"EAccessViolation" type errors, with random applications. Through Google'ing, I have not been able to come up with a concrete reason why they occur, so I have gone through the typical laundry list of what screws up Windows.

I've done several complete anti-virus scans (up to date Norton), adware scans (up to date Ad-Aware, Spybot & Ewido), thorough chkdsk's (four times, at least, including Norton Disk Doctor, which uses chkdsk for NTFS volumes anyway), disk diagnostics via Paragon's Partition Manager, and even booted up via the Windows Recovery console and ran all of the PC-Doctor diagnostics (memory, storage, 12 hours!) and nothing came up.

I've also run RegSeeker (registry cleaner) a dozen times and made sure I had the latest BIOS updates and system patches from IBM (it's a ThinkPad T41). It does have a new hard drive (Seagate 100gb, 7200rpm), which I put in about three weeks ago (and was functioning perfectly up until a couple days ago, so I don't think it is an actual failure of the drive)

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do next? This problem has tied me up for several days now. Short of reinstalling Windows, where I can look next or what software can I try to detect a problem?

First I'd go to Microsofts knowledge base and search using the actual error message.

It would also help to know what files are listed in the message.

Is it a full blue screen of death or just a pop up with the error message?

Sounds software related but can't be sure without details.

Details man Details!!!

Does the error appear in BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) form? The full error would help. You could have some bad RAM, all else fails get it tested. Also ensure all your cooling fans are working properly. Clean out any dust and get the inside all sparkly clean. It could just be heat issue.

Damn you! Beat me to it...

Not a BSOD, just popup errors that (more often than not) reference "EAccessViolation" in specific modules. I ran the (very comprehensive) RAM tests as part of my overall testing (4 hours for 2GB) and all the tests passed.

Hard drive has been defragged. No issues.

More test information: CMOS tests passed on the motherboard. (according to PC-Doctor)

I will work on finding a specific error message....

With nothing specific D's advice is a good start....heat could be an issue

The modules specifically are pertinent since they can at least tell you what the problem program is.

Most importantly, what changed on the system? Any new apps installed, plug-ins, etc... that usually your best bet for starting point. If the answer is nothing changed and this 'just started' I stand by the heat issue.

Well, I guess before I just the temp gun when does the error pop up? After say... 5-10 minutes after power up and then randomly after that? Less than 5 minutes after a cold boot? Do you run the PC 24/7?

I installed an uninstalled a bunch of apps, including Flight Simulator and some related (legitimate) software. The problems seemed to start when I plugged in the USB drive that contained my old 40gb drive that was replaced by the new 100gb drive and started to deleting files. The process slowed the PC to a crawl and I killed a couple of processes along the way that were pegging the processor at 99%. I am not 100% certain that these actions and issues coincided, but they were close...

Any recommended software to check PC temperature?

Ok, according to "SpeedFan 4.29" my HD temperature is 41C, my other temperature (?) is 43C.

'Bout 110F, nice and cool. No issues there.

Next obvious step - unplug that pesky USB drive and work for a day without it. See if the errors are still there.

It's obvious something is causing it, the process is to undo one change at a time (in reverse) until the error goes away. Sometimes uninstalling apps can screw things up if they take files with them, or replace a shared file with an older version prior to the install... very ugly. I'm hoping its just a hardware issue.

Just in case, I just hit the fan's vent with the Dyson. Looks cleaner, if nothing else. :)

During the first couple days of my initial diagnosis, I had it disconnected from the docking station, so for almost 48 hours it had no USB devices connected to it...and I still had the issues. (I really need to come up with an actual error message, sorry!)

I don't know if it is related, but I will also throw out that Windows Update has been failing to download what it claims are the latest security updates...

A clean PC never hurts anything. :)

Well phooey, if you had it running by itself and still had the issues that's not good. Before we jump the gun, ensure your autoupdate settings are set to what you think they are. Also, did it start failing since your un-installfest? There have been several updates in the past few weeks, the last one released just yesterday I believe.

Not much more I can suggest w/o the error.... other than make a list of the apps you ditched, something may stand out.

Maybe check to see if there are any services running that were installed with the drive that may still be running.

As stated though...without details of modules it will be tough to track down.