Windows Freeze-ups and Video Drivers

[JD]

Every once in a while Windows freezes solid. No mouse, no keyboard--even the
power off switch doesn't work. I can do nothing but pull the plug.
It reboots fine, with no error messages and nothing in any of the event
logs.
Might a "usual suspect" be video display drivers?
I disabled a "driver helper service" (on the advice of Black Viper) some
time ago. I'm just wondering if that MIGHT be the cause of these freezes.
Otherwise the system runs fine. Boots and shuts down fast.
Any ideas?

 

[dev]

JD said:

Every once in a while Windows freezes solid. No mouse, no keyboard--even the
power off switch doesn't work. I can do nothing but pull the plug.
It reboots fine, with no error messages and nothing in any of the event
logs.
Might a "usual suspect" be video display drivers?
I disabled a "driver helper service" (on the advice of Black Viper) some
time ago. I'm just wondering if that MIGHT be the cause of these freezes.
Otherwise the system runs fine. Boots and shuts down fast.

You can always enable it, to see if that has an effect.

Freezes can result from driver problems, and it might be worth a test
another driver - from the chip or card manufacturer's WEBsite. If results
are poor, ROLL BACK to the original. If you are unfamiliar with the
process, it's best left to someone who is.

 

[JD]

Freezes "can result from driver problems." Would you say specifically video
drivers?
I changed the status of the "driver helper" from Automatic to Manual, and it
never runs. I inferred that that indicated that it was not needed. However,
I will put it back to Automatic and see if this stops the (infrequent)
freeze-ups.
BTW, I've noticed that these freeze-ups invariably occur upon closing
Internet Explorer. What might that suggest?