i know windows vista is having some problems lately. however, i have not had any problems with it until now. it does not happen all the time but sometimes when i use something in the start menu or any one of the icons on the bottom right of the screen my computer freezes. i do not know much about computers so i do not know why it is doing this. any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Only sometimes? Look into the possibility you are asking too much of the system. Perhaps items start normally if there are only one or two programs open but they slow down if you have a dozen or so open at the same time.