Member Avatar for intencity

Hi everyone, My name is John and like everyone else I'm just posting on this website because I have problems with my Windows.

Ok, here is the story. About a month ago, I came home and turned on the computer and thought I'd change my virus scanner to a different version (NOD32). After a while, Windows would freeze. It would load up my desktop icons and half of my task bar and then it would freeze. I was able to click on the desktop icons but after double clicking it, it was say that it is not responding and my computer would lock up and I can't even shut it down.

So I thought it was the virus scanner and formatted my computer thinking that it would work fine after starting fresh. But the problem kept arising. The computer would work fine for about 2 - 3 weeks and then suddenly just freeze on start up like before.

I've formatted like 3 times this month because of this problem. I've changed my virus scanner too.

Sorry for the long story but I have to get this problem solved.
Im running a AMD Athlon XP 2600+ with 1gb RAM.

Any ideas?

Thanks
John

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The freezes described by (desktop partially loaded, then lockup after multiple clean installs) strongly point away from ordinary application trouble and toward either a low-level driver/antivirus residue or a hardware/firmware problem. was right to push hardware checks, and ’s suggestion to isolate the Distributed Link Tracking service is useful — but start by narrowing the problem down with a few quick, non-destructive tests.

Try these in order:

  1. Boot without the network (unplug Ethernet / disable Wi‑Fi) and see if the freeze still happens. If it stops, stale mapped drives or a network-based service (the link-tracking behavior you saw) is likely involved.
  2. Boot into Safe Mode. If Safe Mode is stable, the cause is almost certainly a driver, antivirus filter, or startup component.
  3. Run an independent OS from a bootable Linux live disk/USB for several hours. Persistent freezes under another OS point at hardware (RAM, PSU, motherboard, GPU, drive).
  4. Test memory with a trusted bootable tester (several full passes) and test the drive using the HDD maker’s bootable diagnostics. Also reseat RAM, video card and data cables, and try single‑DIMM boots to isolate bad sticks.

If BitDefender shows repeated errors in the logs, remove any antivirus completely with the vendor’s removal/cleanup tool (leftover filter drivers often hang XP). If disabling the link‑tracking service fixes the boot, hunt for stale network references (old mapped shares, offline servers, or corrupt link-tracking metadata) before leaving the service disabled.

Back up important data before any destructive tests. Avoid BIOS flashing unless you confirm a firmware fix for a known symptom. If freezes continue even when network is disconnected and after memory/drive checks, suspect PSU or motherboard faults and run component swaps or professional bench testing.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

I would assume that after 3 formats ,it would be a hardware issuse and not a software one .you need to check you harddrive ,cpu your ram ,video card , basically everything .also fans ,heat problem.dirt in computer you name it ,

for ram test i suggest ramtest86 free on the net ,you harddrive manufactor will should have hdd tool on there site ,,

did you check yous event viewer for errors ,type this in RUN , eventvwr.msc

Member Avatar for intencity

well i've cleaned out my computer and I'm still getting the same problem. Ive checked the event viewer and i noticed an error at the time when my computer booted up. It has about 5 error logs in the system file and i noticed most of the errors occured from BitDefender and one also saying
"The Distributed Link Tracking Client service hung on starting"
anyone got any ideas on what that means?

Thanks
John

Member Avatar for DaveB

Hi

The "Distributed Link Tracking Client" controls file access accross networks. It sounds as if you may have problems with your network configuration, but the easiest thing to do, is to try and kill the service, and see if you lose functionality.

Start > Run > Type

services.msc

Browse down to "Distributed Link Tracking Client" and double click.

You can either try setting this service to manual, or disable. To start with I would disable it.

On the General Tab - press "STOP" to stop the service, and then change startup type from Automatic to disabled. Apply and OK - Reboot.

See if this solves the immediate problem, and then continue to use your PC. If you find other problems, that may relate to networking, change the service back to "Automatic" and look for another solution.

The fact that you have formatted so many times, may indicate, that network services are causing errors using the "Distributed Link Tracking Client", that eminate from a hardware problem, such with your Network Card, but I can only speculate. If you need to back track, we'll have to look at other events, and find the true cause of the problem.

Regards, DaveB

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