I just did a clean install of Vista Home Premium (which had this problem before, though not nearly as severely).
I have no clue what I'm running, since this was a gift. I know I'm SP2 64 bit, fully updated.

So, I'm going about my business, installing Zune software, when Vista freezes. This freeze means my computer stops doing things, but I can still move the mouse, and it even changes things as I hover over them with the mouse. But, should I click anything, it will freeze that too. ctrl+alt+delete does nothing, nor does any other command. I held the power button and forced a shutdown. (This has happened many, many, many times before, usually while doing an install, though not always)

I turn on the computer, and it asks what I want to boot in. I choose boot normally, and it asks if I want to do a disk check. I say no, since the time I did do a disk check did nothing. I get to the login, click on my username... And it freezes. The same way. Angrily, I restart. FOUR times. Each time I get caught at roughly the same area. (Once I managed to log in, but never get past the welcome screen.) I restart it again and let it run the disk check... Except, as soon as it says "Windows will now check your disk" it stops. And freezes. In a fit of rage I restart, and try again. Same thing. I boot up in safe mode. It works, but I'm really not sure what to do, so I restart. I get my install DISKS out, and try to go for a system restore. It says it can't restore the system until I do a disk check. So I let it schedule one, hoping that a normal restart might help things. It gets stuck again. I restart, and decide to give it one more try. It does the diskcheck. I cry happily for a few seconds, and then get back down to business. It recovers some orphaned files and fixes a few things, and begins booting. It comes to the login screen. It loaded with my username already clicked, so I cautiously type in my password, and hit enter. It freezes. I restart. Try again. It starts to log me in (welcome screen) and freezes.

I would really appreciate a few ideas to help here, and I'll try to find out what the laptop is running.

EDIT:
HP pavilion dv5-1000
dual core intel
nvidia graphics card
4 gb ram (if I remember right)Hard Drive is failing.How is that possible if this computer came with the problem? Was it just a faulty harddrive?Quote from: GalinKinlin on February 22, 2010, 08:13:08 PM

How is that possible if this computer came with the problem? Was it just a faulty harddrive?

I choose boot normally, and it asks if I want to do a disk check. I say no, since the time I did do a disk check did nothing.

Okay, okay. So does this mean the problem is not my HD? If so, could you tell me any other potential problems?

I held the power button and forced a shutdown. (This has happened many, many, many times before, usually while doing an install, though not always)

I would follow Allan's advice. Your hd may not be failing but rather have some corrupt system files. The easiest way to check it is by opening MY COMPUTER > RIGHT CLICK THE C:\ DRIVE > SELECT PROPERTIES > CLICK ON THE TOOLS TAB > CLICK CHECK NOW UNDER ERROR CHECKING > CLICK CONTINUE > CHECK BOTH BOXES THAT COME UP. Restart your pc and let it do the check disk.