PC hangs after startup

[MT3269]

Howdy

For some reason, my desktop PC is acting up.

Yesterday, when browsing a store (found with a Google search, first 4 results or so), I notice that not long after, my desktop PC started acting very weird. What occurred is that it gave me the BSOD initially, and I restarted it, and after a couple of minutes of being responsive, it started showing the loading circle icon, which it is doing continuously, and it never goes away. I'm not able to load anything or access any folders, or even bring up options by clicking the Windows icon.

Before yesterday, it worked fine. None of this nonsense or anything like that. Was making good progress with a project and was looking forward to continuing it. But now, due to this annoyance, I can't touch it.

Could this be due to a trojan/virus or anything like that? I tried reinstalling Windows and the same problem occurs, which could mean it's a hardware issue, but it seems too coincidental to rule out a virus or something.

I'm using Windows 7 Home Premium, with an ATI Radeon 4800 series graphics card, intel Core I3 3220 processor.

Is there any way to fix this without spending $100 or more to get it by a professional?

 

[event3horizon]

Do you have a SSD hard drive or normal hard drive? Sounds like an HD problem, especially if your boot ups are slow and then OS hangs. If you have a normal HD, try to download mini tools partition wizard and do a surface test on your hard drive. It will test all the sectors and blocks and tell you if you have bad blocks.

Also any minidump files with the BSOD info will help.

 

[Baddog22556]

Could this be due to a trojan/virus or anything like that?

Run a couple or 3 malware scans.
Spybot Search and Destroy
MBAM MalbytesAntimalware
Superantispyware
These are all on-demand programs. Google for downloads.