Periodic freezing of PC :-(

don9999

This is driving me crazy. Periodically (anything between 5 minutes and 3 hours) bu PC just freezes - I can't move the mouse, I can't CTR-ALT to another application, and I can't CTRL-ALT-DEL to perform a soft reboot.

I can be running any application, and it doesn't seem to matter what is running - I've tried various combinations, including minimal number of running applications, but the same happens. I've also tried closing down as many processes as possible. I've also stayed disconnected from the internet. The PC still freezes.

Perhaps it's hardware. Faulty memory, or faulty graphics card (I've updared the driver, or something else. I've tried SiSoft and it doesn't come up with anything.

My question.....'how' do I identify it?

Is there any software that I could run that would tell me what was the latest application that was running when it last froze? I've tried Dr Watson, but that doesn't seem to catch the erroneous application before freezing.

Any advice?

Cheers,
Don

robnye

i had a similar problem a little while ago,

one thing to check is your memory, you can find memory checking programs on the internet......
otherwise (as in my case), it could be power spikes....... the only i solved it was to have a spike surge protector connect to the power cable.

dougk_2

It can be a vareity of things.
Quite often it is something simple.
Overheating is a main cause of regular lock-ups. Does the PC seem quieter than it used to? Perhaps the Power supply fan, CPU fan or Graphics card fan has failed.
If you are confident to do so take a look and make sure these are working and spinning at a relatively high speed.
It scould be a software problem as well (windows). Unfortunately its a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack!

don9999

Thanks for the advice so far.

I will indeed check for the fans. If the fans appear to be OK, I'll assume it is NOT an over-heating problem, since the PC had been running for months without a problem, and no additional hardware added.

Memory was always one possibility, but I wasn't sure how to check. I will try a memory testing app as you suggest. Am assuming it will highlight if there is any fault in either of my 512Mb modules.

I'm guessing it's a software fault, but have no idea which application is causing it. Hence, I was hoping for a monitoring application which would constantly monitor which application was currently running. That way, when the PC froze, I could re-boot and find out what was the last running application. If it were always the same, I would have identified the faulty application!

Haven't hfound such an application yet though.....

Cheers,
Don

aliasojo

Surprisingly, it could also be your mouse.

I had a similar issue with my last pc, it went on for weeks and I ended up reformatting the thing but the problem was still there.

In the end, it turned out to be a mouse problem. I still don't fully understand the whys and wherefores, but there was a hardware fault which was causing the pc to freeze exactly like you say. Replacement mouse solved all problems.

I hope you track the problem down.

Good luck.

bbb_uk

If you booted into safe mode and tried that. I know safe mode is pain as some programmes won't work but it may narrow down if the fault is related to drivers, etc.

If the PC just freezes even if you're not actually doing anything yourself then boot into DOS and leave it for a few hours. If it freezes whilst in DOS then it is definitely hardware related and NOT software/driver issues.

Chippy_Minton

bbb_uk wrote:

If you booted into safe mode and tried that. I know safe mode is pain as some programmes won't work but it may narrow down if the fault is related to drivers, etc.

Booting in Safe Mode is a good tip.

Also run msconfig and try the Diagnostic startup (similar to Safe Mode). Or to narrow down the culprit even further, use Selective startup which allows you to choose which of the other 5 tabs (SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, BOOT.INI, Services, Startup) and the items on those tab will be processed at startup. (Ticking the /SAFEBOOT box on BOOT.INI is the same as Safe Mode, if you can't get into Safe Mode when the computer boots up.)

don9999

I think (hope) we've cracked it!

The mouse! (Thanks aliasojo).

I re-installed Windows a few months ago but.....forgot to install drivers for the weireless mouse/keyboard!

That's almost certainly the root of the problem.

Have now installed the drivers, and am confident that will fix the problem.

I also tested the memory with Microsoft's own memory tester - at http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

Unfortunately, it said 'Failed' for each of the 6 tests and on each of the 6 passes! Doesn't sound good. I'm 'hoping' it's just some BIOS configuration issue that is causing all these 'failure messages'. I daren't re-test it in case it proves it's faulty.....lol....

Cheers,
Don

T4i

Do you have one or two sticks of memory?

The thing with RAM is you can relax the timings to prevent errors. Obviously this is not ideal because the RAM should run at specific timings. If you cant afford more RAM then relaxing the timings in the BIOS may be an option.

If you have more than one stick of RAM you can take one out and test each one seperate. This will give you an idea if its just one module faulty.

My Kingston HyperX dual channel kit will not run at its manufactured specifications which are 2-2-2-5-1. If I run at these timings I get errors galore!!!!!!

I have to run at 2-3-2-5-1 which is solid! God knows why......thats computers.