Computer freezing up

Try running Scan Disk/Defrag also run an ad/spy-ware remover like adaware ... that might help... do you have anti virus software? if u don't get it... even if u don't use it very often if u got anything thats valuable to you on there its worth it

Thanks for the response rorwizard. I uninstalled adware a while back and things seemed to run fine then but recently it has been freezing up on me quite frequently. I have antivirus software on there already. I have no idea what the problem is, except every time I restart it, it would say "A fatal error "--" has occurred in "--bunch of #s and letters go here--" So what exactly is the problem? It has been doing this for a month now and I cannot put it into safe mode nor do anything with it. It's basically useless now, and I don't want to do anything to it unless I know that all of my files can be recovered or transfered elsewhere.

Anyone who knows or has the slightest idea about this please help. Thanks in advance. =)

If you'll copy down the exact error message, including that "bunch of #s and letters" and post them here, we can start figuring out your problem. That's what they're for; to direct the troubleshooting process. Otherwise, its sorta like saying to the mechanic "My car makes a funny noise".

Take a look Here for a Win98 Startup Problem troubleshooting list.

Oh, and to start most Compaqs in Safemode, incessantly tap the F8 key as soon as you power on the box. You may hear a beeping, and you may get a "keyboard error" message, but keep tapping untill the boot screen appears (it will). Then select option 3, "Safemode", and hit your "Enter" key.