when i hit control alt delete and i go to the windows task manager

then on the performance tab --then under 'system'--for 'handles' i have 14 to 20 thousand

then on the same performance tab under physical memory right now i have over 1200 cached -- this goes from 400 to over 1400 

this seems excessive and i only look because my computer keeps freezing up

i only have cc open and it says i have 52 processes running and physical memory is 49%--my computer often sounds like the indy 500 where it is winding up for a fast pitch--just grinding the gears

i went into tools and then to internet options tried to delete the cookies and whatever and basically just got lost in there --tried to not change too much--funny thing is i deleted some history but not all--weird

is that malware or a virus or something??? probably got some bad things in there? probably have to go have it roto rootered before too long eventually?

thanks for checking on my post and more thanks if you know something ;)

You need to clear your browsing history and old files every day.  Browsing saves scads of files especially if the thing updates webpages automatically (like every 15  minutes).

In the "internet options" there should be a drop down box to set how far back you delete the browsing history.  First time, set it to "all" and it will take a long long time to delete.  Then set it to "1 day" and clear this every day. 

Get a copy of "PC's for Dummies" if you need ther graphic instructions.  Those "dummies" series are pretty good at showing you how to change the settings.

AThe system cache under task manager is a good thing to have, it's storing stuff in memory (which is fast) to avoid having to fetch it from the hard drive (which is slow). It has nothing to do with browser cache, but Irene is right that you should clear your browser cache regularly.

It could be malware, I recommend running a malwarebytes scan: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/

Which OS are you running, when was it initially installed, how big is the hard drive, and how much drive space do you have free?

I consistently run CCleaner: http://download.cnet.com/CCleaner/3000-18512_4-10315544.html (It's free.)

You can check or uncheck the boxes by what you want cleaned out. I have it delete all temporary files, image downloads, various other things.

Also, there could be processes set to "run at startup" that you don't need to have running all the time.

thank you irene, it does do that automatically--i'll check if it's daily--those dummy books are an excellent source of basic information -- i prefer to stay as dummy as possible on a variety of topics--the workings of a computer is one ;)

jason--hmmm

windows vista 2007 ---but i'm sure we've had it roto rootered a few years ago

it has a 62x2 dual core processor 4000 + 2.1 ghz

2.00--ram (we had that upped but i don't know how much)

and 32 -bit operating system

67-68% used physical memory from the task manager

but in another place it says os (c)164 gb free of 222 gb

then there's a handful of gbs in recovery and dvd

is that what you needed?

i had a popup the other day that said computer is shutting the program because of some bad juju whatever it was

and if i run the link you provided will the security systems already in place duke it out for supremecy?

and no i don't know what they are--i can find out though

AIf I were you I would just reinstall the OS, get an upgrade to Windows 7 while you're at it, not Windows 8. Whenever I reinstall the OS I install it on a new hard drive (you can get a new internal 500GB drive for ~$60, it's twice the size of what you have now) and put the old hard drive in an external enclosure (~$20) to use as a backup. If you use the same hard drive make sure to back up all your files in at least 2 separate locations before you erase the drive.

It's best to do this once every few years to clear out all the stuff that's been installed on your PC.

thank you, jason!!!

i really appreciate that

and i can understand it too  one of my favorite things ;)

thanks again

Have you done Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter? They are both in Programs/Accessories/System Tools.

oh i did the disk cleanup and freed up something (gbs? or mb?)

but apparently i defrag on schedule--i just defraged last night in fact

wow cool and didn't even know it!

but i keep getting the shut downs--will work on getting the upgrade to the new system

Thank you all so very very much!!!!  ♥