Hi Spikey,

> He was also getting periods of hard drive activity when things were
> freezing momentarily on the screen.

Hard drive activity could be caused by any number of things.

Prefetch doing some defragging; called ProcessIdleTasks or Optimize hard
disk when idle.

Optimize hard disk when idle allows Windows to rearrange files on the hard
disk when the computer is not in use to improve performance.

The WMI Performance Adapter Service (wmiapsrv.exe), for example, will run
and fill %windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\DataColl with System History info that
can be viewed in System Information (msinfo32.exe).

And other Windows housekeeping chores.

Viruses or other malware being busy sending E-mails to infect all of his
friends machines.

> A dvd film was apparently scratched
> badly during one of these episodes? Could low disk space have caused
> this??

I have no idea, but it sounds unlikely.

UPDATE your antivirus software and run a full system scan.

UPDATE whatever anti-spyware applications that you have and run a full
system scan with each one.

You might want to start in Safe Mode to run your antivirus and anti-spyware
software.

Running a full system antivirus scan or anti-spyware scan in Safe Mode can
be a good idea. Some viruses and other malware like to conceal themselves
in areas Windows protects while using them. Safe mode will prevent those
applications access and therefore unprotect the viruses or other malware
allowing for easier removal.

How to start Windows in Safe Mode Windows XP
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/foru...orial=61#winxo

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:edl0q5DPHHA.4124@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl,
Spikey <hedge_hogg@NOSPAMbtinternet.com> hunted and pecked:
> "Wesley Vogel" <123WVogel955@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:O6itnr5OHHA.3212@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>> Any idea on the "overflow" query?
>>
>> Nope, the "Low Disk Space" message is the only thing that is automatic.
>>
>> When a Windows XP-based computer is running low on disk space, you
>> receive a
>> "Low Disk Space" message that, when clicked, starts the Disk Cleanup
>> Wizard.
>> This article describes the conditions in which you receive the "Low Disk
>> Space" message.
>>
>
> He must have been getting warning messages for some time. Ive taken off
> some older unused game programs and thats freed up quite a bit of space.
>
> He was also getting periods of hard drive activity when things were
> freezing momentarily on the screen. A dvd film was apparently scratched
> badly during one of these episodes? Could low disk space have caused
> this??
>
> Thanks again for the helpful articles. I'm getting a better understanding
> of the subject.
>
>> o)