computer is freezzing on boot and when i play games


computer:
AMD Athlon(tm)XP 1800+
1.50GHz,512MB of RAM
disk drives:
Maxtor 6E040L0
operating system is windows XP
Try adding another 512 Mb of RAM if your mainboard will take it.

Then follow this cleanup routine...

"RUN Disk Cleanup and remove all but the last restore point. See if your System Restore cache and Recycle Bin size is set at a reasonable level (SAY 1024Mb) on each drive, and REDUCE the IE Temporary Internet Files cache and History cache to the minimum. Install CCLeaner and clean out all of the junk files. Unhide all files and folders and remove the hotfix uninstallers ( $NTUninstaller$ ) from the hidden C:\Windows FOLDER and remove their entries from Add-Remove programs. Then remove the contents of:

The C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Installations folder
The C: WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder
The C:\WINDOWS\Temp folder
The C:\Windows\pchealth\helpctr\Datacoll folder, and...
The C:\Windows\Prefetch folder

(You can add these folders to EmpTemp if you have this program installed.) Then run chkdsk and defrag."

EmpTemp & CCLeaner File Cleaner

TweakUI is USEFUL to have on your system for certain repairs... Powertoys/TweakUI

To make your shutdown work cleanly install the... User Profile Hive Cleanup Service
Master G:

Did this happen after you installed a new game? or after you added new hardware (like a new video card)? or after you changed some setting?  

Knowing what has changed may help us quickly find a cause (and a solution) to your problem.

Thanks in advance,
Doc