When I try and send something to the recycle bin or move something on to the desktop a message comes up saying Windows Explorer has encounted a problem and needs to close. every thig the dissapers and there is just my desktop backrgound this last for about a second and then every thing comes back

I get that too occasionally, it also happens with Outlook. Really annoying if you're three quarters through a long e-mail....:loopy:

I think it's something to do with virtual memory levels, but some pc boff will probably come and tell me I'm wrong :)

you rebooted?
sounds like a resource thing

mine does stuff like that when it starts running out of ram

Windows XP does a decent job with handling virtual memory so i would be surprised if it is that.
In my experience things like this mean something is wrong with the registry and more often than not a repair install is needed :(

Before that though i would try running the system file checker. This will check the operating system and try to repair/replace any damaged/corrupt files.
To launch the system file checker go to start>run and type sfc /scannow (note the space after sfc)

Try this.....(If your running XP same as me)

Your computer has its own repair folder!!!

Start menu/ My computer/ Local disc C/ Windows/ Repair...
Now select & copy the contents, Then paste into:- Start menu/ My computer/ Local disc C/ Windows/ system 32

Now re-start your PC!

It's working now. It was Because I had a a file unlocking program installed

I used to get this 99 times out of a 100 that I had my old PC on. So much so that I had to have the whole thing reconfigured. Apparently it was because I had downloaded IE6 from the web at the time, and it had downloaded a load of sh*t and infected the PC.

Bizarrely I sometimes get it at work when I;m browsing *cough* during my lunchbreak :suspect: