Any/all programs lock up. Takes multiple cont-alt-delete to free it. Making me nuts.

Hi,1. Did you make any changes to the computer recently?Check if the issue exists in Safe Mode, if the computer works as expected in safe mode then we can troubleshoot the issue in clean boot state.a. Refer to the article below for safe mode steps in Windows XPA description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XPhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222b. It is a possibility that there is a third party application that is causing this issue you are required to perform a clean boot to find the program that is causing this and then disable or remove it.How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" statehttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/en-usNote: After you have finished troubleshooting, follow the steps as explained in the article to reset the computer to start as usual.Hope this helps.Thanks and Regards:Shekhar S - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think. If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.