loading "retrieving server info"

No matter what detail settings/resolution, my FF loads really fast until "retrieving server info" and it stays there for 5+ minutes. i know people that have MUCH worse comps than me (non dual core processors, 128mb vid cards, less than a gig ram) and they get into servers before me. im ALWAYS the last to get in, and sometimes it just never even loads when its stuck at retrieving server info.

Comp Specs:

AMD 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+
1gb ram
GeForce 8600 gt

is there anything i can do to fix my loading speed? it seriously takes me 5-10 min just to get in a server.

This has happened to me on every source game at least once. After it happens I have to do a manual reboot since the cancel key has always been broken. After I reboot I find there are fragments in the game/mods .dlls or the hl2.exe itself. Not sure if it was fragmented before hand or that forcing a reboot cause a fragment.

This problem has plagued me for a long time. Sometimes I won't have any problems for months then all of the sudden it starts up again. Probably the biggest frustration is not being able to do the simple task of hitting the cancel button. Alt Tab or bringing up the task manager also never works when this happens.

[vartaxe]

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