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This website says the RS482, with the heat sink, is the Northbridge chip and the SB400 is the Southbridge. http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c00496280 It will run with the side panel off. I'll try that with a small fan & see what happens. If it stops the problem, I'll put an extra fan in the case permanently. Seems like if it was a PSU problem, the whole computer would shut down. ?? Will check the PSU fan, also just sort of bug check all the hardware as well as I can. I could check the thermal paste under both heat sinks, but I sure don't want to. Also, if CPUID is to be believed, the monitored temps stay quite normal. Maybe that SB400 chip doesn't have a sensor? Right now the computer has been running all day, standby most of the time, up and active for about an hour, it's doing fine and temps are normal. May have fixed it. I got right down next to its little audio input jack and whispered a magic incantation: JUNKYARD . . .JUNKYARD . . . JUNKYARD . . . The fans immediately slowed and the monitor got brighter. Still pursuing it as time permits. Will post anything that develops, and if you guys think of anything else say so.

Isn't too hard to uninstall the unwanted things, if they got past you at first. Google knows how so check there first, but I think it is no more than Add/Remove programs, then click on "change" or "modify" for the Avast program. Still I agree, some of that stuff is annoying.

Thanks so far. Still working on it. Temps shown by CPUID HWInfo have stayed below 51 deg C (124 deg F) for the hottest CPU core and 43 deg C (109 deg F) for any other reading (chips or HDD). I know 51 / 124 is hot, but it isn't oowwiiee blister hot, and should not be beyond the limit of the CPU. And anyway, that temp was for one of the CPU cores, not one of the chips. So, still digging. One more clue. When it locked up this morning, I had been running it for 2 or 3 hours, doing all sorts of stuff, but when Avast updated it jumped to the top of the CPU usage list, and the screen froze. I could not detect a spike in temperature. The guis for both CPUID and Process explorer continued to respond, but procexp froze when I tried to use it to shut the computer down. Also, to answer mta's earlier question, Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn't work at all, there is no response from the keyboard. Also, on restart, the internet was connected. It should not have been. Since I had disconnected it before starting Powershadow it should have been disconnected after leaving shadow mode.

The chip that is heating up the most is the one marked ATI IXP 400. So apparently it's not the graphics card. If I am reading all this right, that ATI IXP 400 chip is the Southbridge chip. It gets hot enough that you want to pull your finger away, but not blister hot. The heat sink on the RS-482 chip gets warm also, not as much. If it is the ATI IXP 400 getting too hot, does that mean that old HAL The Haunted Computer is doomed? Edit: If so it's not the "end of life as we know it, Jim", but I'll fix it if possible.

The chip that heats up is a bit over an inch square. Printed on it is "ATI IXP 400". It is just a chip, soldered to the MB, no fans, no heat sinks. Is that chip the southbridge chipset or is it the ATI IXP SB400 Realtek chip, . . . or what? I don't know enough about this stuff to interpret what I am reading. Some links: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1722405/ati-ixp400-sb400-chip.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xpress_200#SB400_.28IXP_400.29.2C_M1573_.28RS480.29 and http://www.driverguide.com/driver/detail.php?driverid=1234626 a manual with a diagram (pdf) http://www.ctechinfo.net/documentation/manuals/amberine_manual.pdf Mta, the MB has some open PCI slots but i don't know what type. That linked manual seems to say they are x1. Will check further later, all the specs are stored on an external drive that I can't get to right now. If I can figure out how, I will for sure install an after market replacement. Possibly a fool's errand, but maybe a NEW CHALLENGE!! What did you get to fix yours, Andavari? Right now I have Puppy Linux running, will leave it running for the rest of the day, to see if the computer still locks up after it wakes up.

This time when it locked up i took the side off and ran mta's highly sophisticated test. Touched the Graphics card. The graphics card Is the hottest thing on the motherboard, feels hot to touch but not blister hot.. Everything else is about room temperature. Dust buildup is minimal. Right now, while all is working, Speccy and other system tools show temps normal, nothing shows more than 105 deg f, 40 deg C. RAM shows at 4 gb, which is right. Any suggestions about a graphics card for win xp? I would spend a bit to save old HAL here. Will try a graphics card first. I'll go looking on the net but maybe some of you guys have experience? Thanks a million for all the replies. You guys are the best.

Andavari, I just totally missed your post...Duuhhh.. It answers the RAM question. Thanks. I'll get that software and test the RAM. When the computer locks up, it does not respond to the keyboard or mouse unless the cursor is in the Process Explorer window. The cursor will move around on the screen, but clicking will not make anything happen except within the Process Explorer window. Don't remember if the shutdown option in Process Explorer will actually shut down the computer. Don't think so, will check next time. One more clue maybe. Sometimes during a restart, the screen briefly displays multicolored confetti, just a quick flash. It might do that every time and I just don't see it because the monitor is not up yet, but I don't think so. Maybe a failing graphics module on the motherboard ... seems like it would affect all windows.?.? The idea that it's not really locked is a bit worrisome.

OK, well, it isn't gonna be easy. I had hoped someone would jump in with "Hey, I have seen that and it is caused by (name of glitch here), and the fix is soooo easy (name of fix here). As to the virtualization questions, (a very good place to start the investigation inho), it works like this. Each time I start the computer, I delete most history files, connect to the net, update Avast and SpywareBlaster, disconnect from the 'net, and start Powershadow. From there on, C: drive is "virtualized", meaning it runs in unused space on the HDD (I think that's how it works). Then I can get on the net, test most softwares, do pretty much anything I like, and when the computer is restarted all changes to C: drive are gone. DennisD uses Returnil for the same purpose. This setup has worked flawlessly for years, one reason why I tend to suspect hardware. Dennis, The other virtualization software was Shadow Defender, used for win 7 since Powershadow doesn't work for anything later that win xp. In the next day or two, I'll do this: - recheck the heat issue using Speccy and a proprietary HP checkup software. - Check the RAM ... is there a software for that? - run a boot scan with Avast. - run an ESET scan, and reinstall MBAM and scan with that. A curiosity: why does the GUI for Process Explorer continue to work after the main desktop and systray have frozen?

At least I think it is a hardware problem. I can not see any pattern of circumstances that might be causing it. Maybe someone on here will recognize whats going on. This is a ~ten year old win xp desktop which has performed without any issues for at least 6 or 7 years. That last issue was a malware infection, fixed by an OS reinstall. It has OEM drivers and hardware, except a newer hard drive, about 4 years old now. What happens is that from time to time this computer just sort of locks up. Sometimes (rarely) once or twice a day, usually not for weeks at a time. Has been going on for several months. When it does, the windows and the system tray stop responding to the mouse or keyboard. The mouse and keyboard are OEM, PS2 type. There is an odd circumstance, probably significant but I don't know what it means. If I have Process Explorer by Sysinternals running at the time of the lock up, it's window will still respond normally to the mouse and keyboard while the other windows will not. Sometimes but not usually, after a restart check disk will run automatically, always on D: drive, the recovery partition. Check disk always reports that there are no bad sectors. It doesn't matter how much load is created by Firefox or any other combination of softwares. Overload can be created that will slow it down, but not lock it up. Also, sometimes it locks up while using very little resources. Doesn't seem to matter which or how many website logins are active in tabs. Doesn't seem to be a heat issue. One more factor that may be important. I always have the C: drive running virtualized after updating Avast & Spyware Blaster. So any malware EXEs that may have landed there would be gone. Same for any other changes that may have been made. Avast scans come back OK. Haven't done any other scans for a while, but there has been no indication of malware. I'm pretty sure this isn't malware, so you can cut loose with any advice you please. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

That's a nightie?

Thanks again, Hazelnut. I have done quite a bit of checking since last post. The computers here show stealthed or closed or invisible but the router isn't. Not sure yet how to handle it. I will at least change the password and whatever else I can from here. Haven't tried to close the port yet. That approach doesn't look promising, does it? Maybe will get in touch with the ISP and point out that their service port is now a target for a new malware.

Thanks for checking back. It's almost certainly the ATT router. Haven't figured out yet how to close the port. ... Am just out of time for now. Will post back how it goes.

Haven't yet, Hazelnut. Still checking. Slow but steady. Andavari, fwiw, firefox 49.01 completely froze on my xp system without any outside assistance. It was the portable, running sandboxed. Last version to work really well was 48.02. Have not tried 49.02.

Thanks, mta. Working on it now. 7547 seems to be a port left open for admin by the nice folks at ATT. Still checking.

For both win xp with Outpost firewall and win 7 with windows firewall the scanner says: "Your network is reachable through port 7547" and "you should check which device is using this port ..." I know it isn't the toaster. How can I find out what device is using it?

Oh Dear!

I'm running win xp and office 97. And loving it. :lol:

Nope, haven't tried it yet, but I will. Thanks. Right now there is a huge backlog of "browsers to try".

You bet'cha, Hazelnut. Great to be able to discuss such matters. Fwiw, this xp box has 4 gb RAM, 3.31 gb usable. Firefox 48.0.1 portable taxes it heavily. Runs in Sandboxie. So it will be great to try other, lighter browsers.

Thank you, Hazelnut. Have been an avid ADWcleaner user for years.

Yep. Agree w/ post 10. One slight addition, though, I am presently working towards "freezing" win 7 in place, just as we have done with win xp. Simply because microsoft's "partners" will eventually render win xp unusable. When that happens finally to win 7, I'll become a total Linuxite, I tried Palemoon, Opera 12.17, and Sea Monkey in the past, something was a little glitchy, don't remember what, but will try again now soon eventually.

Thanks, Hazelnut. Will try it again.

What are you using, dennis? I use an old version of Firefox, thought I would just keep doing that. ??

Thank you and all the contributors to this topic enough for these links. Very informative and helpful. This is the biggest mess since windows vista. Either give up and let microsoft handle it, with their dubious track record for reliability, or ... check almost daily to keep your computer safe and under control. Fwiw, I'll join group B for now.