Next Steps

I should have said in my last post that using Windows Task Manager showed the CPU usage to originate in a service host (svchost.exe). As it happens, I've actually substituted Sysinternals Process Explorer, happily a free download, which provides more sophisticated information than WTM. This showed that the host in question was the one that covered, among other processes, Automatic Updates. Sure enough, when I turned AU back on, the freezing started again. So at the moment it's back off again, I've left my antivirus off, and I'm pondering my next move.

The Sysinternals site has loads of other really useful downloads that are worth a look, mainly diagnostic tools. They all come as zip files; these extract to executables that run directly, so no installation is required; this spares the potential for registry foul-ups. I run an iconless desktop, so pin shortcuts for the utilities I run regularly to my Start menu. If you have a pretty black sense of humour, you might also be tempted by their 'Blue Screen' screensaver, which simulates a Windows crash with astonishing accuracy. Best to get it on someone else's computer rather than your own, I think!