Computer Lock ups

buckers13

buckers13

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Hey guys,

I'm having problem with my new computer build. It seems at any random time my system will just completely lock up, (mouse/keyboard stuck) and i'm having a hard time figuring out why.
I'm thinking it is either a driver issue or a harddrive issue. (This is being written in safe mode and it hasn't locked up in safe mode)

This is my hardware...

AMD Phenom II x2 550
MSI 790FX-GD70
Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3
PC Power and cooling 750Watt PSU
Nvidia 7600 (Will be replaced soon anyway)
Western Digital 500GB hdd (I believe to be the culprit even though tis brand new.)

I'm still kinda new with computers but not so super noob, so any advice/help would be great.

Thanks, Chris.
 
Are the temperatures you are getting normal? (CPU, GPU, etc.) It may be a disconnected power cable to one of the fans...

I actually doubt it is the hard drive, because then it would freeze up once, and then stop working for ever. But next tim eit freezes up, listen to the sound the drive is making. If it clicks with regular intervals it could wel be ruined, but if not, I don't think that's the problem...
 
I'm having the same problem.
But my computer isn't new.
So I'm thinking memory or graphic card issues? Altough... I allready did a memtest and that seemed fine.
 
My temperatures are normal. CPU is 28C. Hard drive doesn't click when it fails.
I've tried with 1 stick of RAM at a time , but still same thing. I've got my new graphics card on the way, so time will tell. I'm guessing it's driver issues, as safe mode works completely fine and hasn't locked up yet.
 
buckers13 said:
My temperatures are normal. CPU is 28C. Hard drive doesn't click when it fails.
I've tried with 1 stick of RAM at a time , but still same thing. I've got my new graphics card on the way, so time will tell. I'm guessing it's driver issues, as safe mode works completely fine and hasn't locked up yet.
Click to expand...

If safe mode works fine then it's probably a driver issue. Make sure you have the latest drivers and firmware installed as sometimes there can be issues if there is a mismatch between driver and firmware versions. If you are still getting lockups, try going back to the previous version of the drivers - sometimes recently released drivers will have issues.
 
I agree it most likely is a driver issue. Though safe mod won't use all your hardware. Could be a mobo problem. Did you do a fresh install of Windows? If so which version and is it a legit copy (i.e. no special surprises in it).
 
It was a fresh install of windows vista business, and legit too. I have since done driver updates, and it seems to work completely fine while doing normal things on the computer. But it still has the occasional lock up when i watch videos. This can be either youtube, or media player. I'm not sure what that means now... but it is starting to annoy me lol.
 
It could be overheating.
 
Agreed. Probably overheating. Try to find a temp-monitoring program that works for your mobo and GPU. Also, see if it crashes reliably when running CPU or GPU benchmarks.
 
I don't think it is, but i'll be able to eliminate that theory in a few days. It can run games fine, like LFS and hawx, all maxed out without a stutter or crash, yet it will play a few minutes of vids, and then just randomly lock up. It's a 7600gs, and as far as i know it doesn't have a temp monitor. But new graphics card will be here soon, so i'll eliminate the theory then!

Thanks team FG.
 
Here's a test: get a linux livecd that doesn't need your hard drive, use that for a day and see if it locks. If it does, probably not your hard drive or drivers (since your hd is untouched and the drivers used by linux are clearly not the same as windows).

Maybe ram is at fault?
 
Hey, I have the same problem with my PC. It freezes at random times, no BSOD, just frozen screen. Sometimes during games, sometimes while just browsing the internet. Haven't really tried anything, except get the latest Nvidia Drivers. It seemed like the first couple times this happened I downloaded new drivers and the problem went away but then came back after a few weeks, so I downloaded newer drivers and the problem still exists. I thought possibly with having vista and it constantly getting updates it may have corrupted the video drivers. Some other forums say it may be the overclocked video card. I just don't know. The hard drive is the oldest piece of hardware at almost 4 years. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Windows Vista Business
AMD Phenom II X3 720
MSI 790FX-GD70
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
Samsung SpinPoint P series 160GB HD
ZOTAC ZT-98XES2P-FCP GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB
HIPER HPU-4K580-MS 580W PSU
 
See if you can isolate what causes it. For example, does running a graphics benchmark program always crash the machine? If so, it might well be the graphics card. Does memtest86 fail? Then it's your ram. Does a temp monitoring program (I used MBM years ago) show anything unusual? Random lockups are most often caused by something running out of spec, either an overheating card/chip or bad ram. If the GPU is overclocked, run it at stock speeds and see if the problem resolves itself.
 
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Not sure it's overheating. Overheating causes erratic behavior and random BSODs more than anything. A consistent lock up / freeze at random times wouldn't normally come from overheating. GPU overheating will cause BSODs, graphics corruptions and general mayhem rendering video at any given time depending on its mood. Same can be said for CPUs.

This sounds more like a RAM / memory addressing issue TBH. Check your motherboard settings for anything that might be a RAM overclocker or "turbo" setting, disable any of those or clock them back to "normal". If there isn't something along those lines, check the timings on your RAM and make sure your BIOS isn't trying to use timings that are too "hot" for your RAM.
 
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Are you guys running 64 bit Windows? Are you using Wireless to connect to to the internet?

Theres a big rpoblem with 64 bit windows and some wireless drivers, for me every time my upload rate went above a certain number it would freeze exactly as youve noted.
 
Well, i got my problem sorted. Turns out it was the graphics card and/or the graphics drivers. Have upgraded to an XFX 4890, and not a problem since. No locks at all.
 
Hey, I went over some memory settings and also got Everest to monitor my temps. When it lock up, it was around 70 C while playing a game. However it turns out my 120mm fan in the front was being blocked by a cable and not moving. I did check some memory timings and everything seemed ok there. It has not locked up since, but I just have a hard time thinking that the video card cannot handle > 70C, the thing idles at 60C.
 
**UPDATE**

Froze up today while playing a game, no BSOD, just frozen. When I restarted the GPU temp was at 69C. Right now it is idling at 46C. Im thinking there is something wrong with the fan controller, I haven't seen anywhere how to control the GPU fan in the settings or bios.
 
Another thing i had to do was chance my power settings from balanced to power user. Apparently if you leave it on balanced sometimes it just cuts power to pci-e slots and then computer just freezes. Not sure if that'll help you though...
 
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