hey iroc9555, its late but wanted to tell you I was able to follow it all. System was freezing still. Might be a few things, Windows Defender? can I get rid of that with the removal tool? I think I can and will do tomorrow and will pass by you a couple of other ques. 'till then - thanks! 'night!
Bad luck. Since you are running Win XP, you can uninstall Windows Defender through "Add and Remove program ". No removal tool is required. I was also wondering what else you got there ? As mention before eventhough your CPU (Pent IV 3 Ghz) is enough to handle XP and whatever you throw at it, you do not have enough memory RAM. It is just like
Aventador and
Simion told you. As a matter of fact it is border line. Avast! needs at least 512 MB RAM. Now we can mitigate this a bit while you get some extra RAM by removing or stopping from starting automatically some of the programs.
Ok First. You can order some memory modules and have them at home in a couple of days for +/- $ 30 or less through
http://www.crucial.com/ as
Aventador told you.
Second. Look through your programs; Messenger, Skype, games, P2P, printer, any program that you can start manually when you need it and go to settings and deactivate "Start with Windows" If not, you have to go to Windows services and set them to manual start. This is not an easy task for someone with limited computer knowleged so if you got someone that can do it for you better still.
Third. Do some maintanence to your Computer; Uninstall Toolbars and programs you do not use or need, clean your temps, check your hard disk and system for errors, and defrag. You can find how to do all these in Google.
Fourth. Like
Aventador told you, it would be a good idea to start saving for a new comp. Being your old faithful companion for all these years, it could failed anytime now; CPU, power supply, ghrafics card, hard disk. These components are very expensive if not impossible to find for an old computer.