Any help to diagnose Vista freezes (2 instances)?

[Blithe]

OS Name Microsoft® Windows VistaT Ultimate
Version 6.0.6002 Service Pack 2 Build 6002
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Model Maximus Extreme (ASUS)
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme CPU Q6850 @ 3.00GHz, 2997 Mhz, 4
Core(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 0904, 12/18/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6002.18005"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 4.00 GB
Available Physical Memory 2.76 GB
Total Virtual Memory 8.20 GB
Available Virtual Memory 6.93 GB
Page File Space 4.29 GB
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hi - I've been living with random Vista freezes for about 6 months - they
are frequent but no more or less so over the months - and they began after I
clean installed a Vista Ultimate on a new PC (specs above). The freezes can
occur at booting, at the Welcome screen, opening Windows Mail, opening
either MS or Firefox browser, during a running video - just about any time
doing anything. Oh, and sometimes I get a random reboot for no apparent
reason but that happens much less often. Device Manager is no help -
usually reporting that the event was "unexpected." How profound!

Other symptoms, when rebooting after a freeze, indicate - often as not -
that my bios settings have been reset - & a booting screen asks me to choose
(1) to reset the bios to default values automatically or (2) to enter and
manually reset them. Normally, in the bios, I manually choose to disable
the floppy drive & set booting sequence to A. CD B. Hard drive C. third
option requires "disabled' for the latter sequence. So, often as not, after
a freeze, I find that my floppy drive and boot sequence settings were reset
to the defaults - changing my preferred settings.

I use Device Manager to 'disable' two card reader icons and a floppy
controller - so the icons show an downward arrow to reflect the settings.
Why? Because my new PC came with an internal, defective USB floppy/card
reader installed, and, yes, I did try to remove the unit but the desktop
tower is very poorly designed & I am not able to access and remove the
defective floppy's connection to the motherboard.

Yes - I accept the proposition that hardware-wise - my expensive lemon of a
PC is questionable. However - I've seen from user postings these past
months that my negative Vista experience is also far from unique or
uncommon.

The two last instances of my Vista freezes that happened seem similar:

1. I clicked on a Windows Mail email link to a news story & my browser
opened the right window promptly - the Vista loading bar at the bottom was
reading/indicating that data was in the process of transferring the story -
& the "Done" word had not yet been posted there - and when I moved my mouse
to the scroll bar to begin reading the story - the freeze occurred just at
that point.

2. The same type of freeze occurs when a video is in the process of loading
and I activate my mouse cursor before the downloading process is "Done"

I am, of course, cautiously making plans for a new PC/ OS combination -
strongly suspecting that the troubles I've described are caused by a complex
of PC/OS compatibility issues that are not likely to be diagnosed - much
less solved - by throwing more money into present system.

What keeps me posting for help is an abiding curiosity and a search for
truth - & I'd appreciate a fresh set of ideas. Anyone? Thanks.

Blithe

 

[trouble]

I do not think this is a software problem.
The most frequent software cause of your problem is a corrupted video
driver, which is easy to download and reinstall.
If you listed your video card I missed it. If you are using multiple video
cards, ATI or Nvidia, a problematic configuration may be causing your
issues. Take the second one out and see what happens.
I suspect problems with your power supply more than anything else. The specs
of your machine otherwise are very good and unless you are an ultimate 3d
gamer you will not see any usable speed increase with i7 hardware.
You can download software to test the hard drive and your RAM. In my
experience dying hard drives and defective RAM are rapidly detected by
software tests.
As the problem could be your hard drive I would back it up now while you
still can.
If you are unable to troubleshoot hardware issues, which appears to be the
case, use a repair service.

 

[+Bob+]

Yes - I accept the proposition that hardware-wise - my expensive lemon of a
PC is questionable. However - I've seen from user postings these past
months that my negative Vista experience is also far from unique or
uncommon.

Actually, the fact that your BIOS settings change, and the wide
variety of conditions, leads me to suspect your hardware highly. I'm
no Vista fan-boy and I'd be happy to blame it, but those are really
hardware indications. I'd suspect your motherboard. A check of your PS
is also in order.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Random freezing is nearly always attributable to faulty hardware. Have you
checked the ram? Swapped in another power supply? Checked that there are no
bulging capacitors on the motherboard? Reseated all components? Checked for
loose cabling?

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
Vote for my shoe: http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Blithe]

Thanks for your suggestion - video specs follow:
I did check for all device driver updates - found zilch.
I also did not find any relevant ASUS mobo flash updates. Surprisingly I do
get a few comments on a possible power supply issue - mine is 700 watts - on
harddrives - I have two WesternDigital 500 meg drives - I ran memory tests
from the Vista CD repair options - nothing.
I probably need a hands on repair service but at this point I'd rather use
the money to go with another system. I'm attracted to the iMac - I've never
used anything but a PC since 1990/windows 3.0 & from a reliability
standpoint my research indicates much can be said for the Mac.

Blithe

[ NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS ]

Video Adapter Properties:
Device Description NVIDIA GeForce 8600
GTS
Adapter String GeForce 8600 GTS
BIOS String Version
60.84.32.0.10
Chip Type GeForce 8600 GTS
DAC Type Integrated RAMDAC
Installed Drivers nvd3dumx,nvd3dum,
nvwgf2umx,nvwgf2um

 

[Blithe]

Thanks for your comments - yes I agree - hardware is strongly suspect - but
I'm not capable of objectivity since (1) this experience has been so
disappointing - the absolute worst and (2) after years of building and
buying several PCs just as a hobby, setting up P2P wired networks, and
discovering how often overpriced Microsoft OS's were released before being
ready for reliable service - I am frankly biased and more ready to blame
Vista.

The one Microsoft OS that served me well for several years was W2K - I tried
XP very briefly before happily going back to W2K. I cannot see how Vista is
an 'improvement.' This disappointment has changed my PC buying philosophy &
blunted my earlier enthusiasm. I will concentrate on what's reliable -
judging from users, reviews, newsgroups etc & avoid pricey cutting edge
hardware. Without evidence to the contrary - I am more comfortable thinking
I have been dealing with an OS/PC compatibility issue. To get the correct
answer would be great but the effort and cost would greatly diminish the
satisfaction.

Blithe