System freeze

[EriX]

After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows Update, the
system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use" everything seem
to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer period of time
(anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the computer may cease to
respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only remaining option. No warnings
or other explenations are given before or after reboot. Although the problem
appears randomly, it does so more often than not.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Eric

------------------------------------------
System:
WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
Plenty of RAM and HDD space
Power Save functions are OFF
EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus

 

[Malke]

After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows Update,
the system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use"
everything seem to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer
period of time (anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the
computer may cease to respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only
remaining option. No warnings or other explenations are given before
or after reboot. Although the problem appears randomly, it does so
more often than not.

System:
WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
Plenty of RAM and HDD space
Power Save functions are OFF
EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus

1. Did you install any drivers from Windows Update? If you did (and that
is always a Bad Idea), go to Device Manager and roll back the drivers
for that device.

2. Look in Event Viewer for any clues.
Start>Run>eventvwr.msc [enter]

Random lockups are most often caused by hardware problems. Here are some
general hardware troubleshooting steps:

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power
supply can be faulty.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA).

Malke

 

[cadmium]

After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows
Update, the
system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use"
everything seem
to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer period
of time
(anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the computer
may cease to
respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only remaining
option. No warnings
or other explenations are given before or after reboot.
Although the problem
appears randomly, it does so more often than not.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Eric

------------------------------------------
System:
WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
Plenty of RAM and HDD space
Power Save functions are OFF
EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus

Also check your HD for fragmented files, its important to defrag
regularly as we keep downloading so many MS updates, patches and
hotfixes, the drive gets fragmented sooner than we realise. Its worth
trying.Gud luck.

 

[EriX]

Thanks, Malke!



Indeed, hardware failure can occur at any time, but since everything worked
fine until I installed the latest WU fixes I tend to believe it's a software
problem. Also, since the computer never complains during 'hard work' but
locks up when it is NOT used for a while, I find overheating less likely to
be an issue.



I'll give the hardware a check and come back to tell you more.



Eric

After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows Update,
the system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use"
everything seem to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer
period of time (anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the
computer may cease to respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only
remaining option. No warnings or other explenations are given before
or after reboot. Although the problem appears randomly, it does so
more often than not.

System:
WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
Plenty of RAM and HDD space
Power Save functions are OFF
EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus

1. Did you install any drivers from Windows Update? If you did (and that
is always a Bad Idea), go to Device Manager and roll back the drivers
for that device.

2. Look in Event Viewer for any clues.
Start>Run>eventvwr.msc [enter]

Random lockups are most often caused by hardware problems. Here are some
general hardware troubleshooting steps:

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power
supply can be faulty.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA).

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

 

[EriX]

Defrag is donne on regular basis, as well as cleansing of temporary files,
running AdAware, SpyBot, HijackThis, and some other stuff.

But thanks for the advise.

Eric