Hourglass blinking next to hour for no apparent reason

Suddenly the hourglass is appearing intermittently. About every 5 seconds it appears and disappears. Possibly related information: the fan seems like it might be working over time and, when I log off, I get a box stating application failed to initialize because windows is shutting down. Said message occurs despite the fact that an application has not been initialized on my part during the session. Is the a ghost application attempting initialization? How do I exorcise it and purge my machine?

 

Could be spyware related - run an adaware,spybot S&D. Also, if it starts from the time you boot up... try running msconfig and seeing what programs are starting when you boot, uncheck all but things like your antivirus and system tray etc...

Good way to see whats taking all your memory is ctrl+alt+del then processes and sorting by memory... If you see something there that shouldn't be there it may be your "ghost ".

These are all basic suggestions... someone might have a better idea. But the worst that could happen if you follow these is you'll be spyware free and boot up faster.

 

Cessation at last!

AHHHHH! The thrumming has ceased the blinking has desisted! Answer #2, msconfig, seems to have done the trick! I could not believe the programs i found in there! Many of these programs I've never seen! Two of them are in Japanese and, the last time i checked my resume, I don't speak Japanese. This will lead me to my next question: How do you get rid of unwanted programs that DO NOT appear in your Add/Remove Programs? I'll check the forums to see what i can find before I post! Thank you for helping me expel my ghost!

 

Run spybot and antivirus, then browse your program files and delete them manually if it will let you... or try and find the uninstall file within the folder (some programs don't show up in add/remove but have their own uninstall file within their own folders)