Computer freezes completly - Hardware or Software problem?

[Dan]

Hello everybody,

I have a problem and Im not sure if its caused by hardware or software.
Ill explain the situation here, and if its hardware, Ill post the
treath in another group.

I have a AMD Athlon 3200+ computer, with 1024 RAM, a SATA Raptor HD,
and its running Microsoft Win XP Pro SP2, uptated.

Sometimes, while using the computer, and after no apparent action or
reason the computer freezes completly. The monitor stays on displaying
whetever was on at freeze time, and the computer does not respond to
any actions. The keybord lights dont turn on or off, the mouse doesnt
move, and it doesnt respond to Ctrl+Alt+Del. The only way to get it
back on is by removing power. I have checked the event viewer and found
nothing unusual that happened before the freeze.

I have no idea what could be causing the freeze, the machine has 3
fans, and all are working! If anybody has any ideas, Ill be gratefull.

I repeat, if this isn´t the right group, Ill appreciate if you point
me to it.
Thanks in advance,

-Dan

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

A lockup without any error is most certainly a driver problem, and (probably) it's your sata driver.


..
Hello everybody,

I have a problem and Im not sure if its caused by hardware or software.
Ill explain the situation here, and if its hardware, Ill post the
treath in another group.

I have a AMD Athlon 3200+ computer, with 1024 RAM, a SATA Raptor HD,
and its running Microsoft Win XP Pro SP2, uptated.

Sometimes, while using the computer, and after no apparent action or
reason the computer freezes completly. The monitor stays on displaying
whetever was on at freeze time, and the computer does not respond to
any actions. The keybord lights dont turn on or off, the mouse doesnt
move, and it doesnt respond to Ctrl+Alt+Del. The only way to get it
back on is by removing power. I have checked the event viewer and found
nothing unusual that happened before the freeze.

I have no idea what could be causing the freeze, the machine has 3
fans, and all are working! If anybody has any ideas, Ill be gratefull.

I repeat, if this isn´t the right group, Ill appreciate if you point
me to it.
Thanks in advance,

-Dan

 

[Dan]

How do I find out which driver Im using, and if I need to update it?

-Dan

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Since Event Viewer cannot capture the event, the only other tool I know, built in, is the bootlog for safe mode, which Might report
something useful

Press f8 on restart for the safe mode menu, and choose the bootlog option.

(from the help) boot log:
Starts while logging all the drivers and services that were loaded (or not loaded) by the system to a file. This file is called
ntbtlog.txt and it is located in the %windir% directory. Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, and Safe Mode with Command Prompt add
to the boot log a list of all the drivers and services that are loaded. The boot log is useful in determining the exact cause of
system startup problems.



..

 

[Dan]

Thanks a lot Mark. I have another question. If it would be a driver
problem, then the error would repeat itself. This problem happened
twice during the weekend and before that it had happened 3 or 4 times,
all after no apparent reason.

Other than that, the computer works without a flaw.


-Dan

 

[Guest]

I have exactly the same problem - intermittently since getting the computer 3
months ago. Has happened three times today - othertimes no problem. Will
try starting in safe mode and see if I can take it from there.

 

[Guest]

Have found ntbtlog.txt
Doesn't make a great deal of sense to a beginner like me! A long list of
what has or hasn't been loaded. Now what do I do?

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Files can be searched for, and righclicked, for properties, and the name of the file's maker.


..

 

[Guest]

But there are hundreds of entries. How am I to know which one is causing
the problem?

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

I would think the failures would all happen beginning at some point, and with some particular driver.


..

 

[Guest]

But how do I find out which driver it is?

I would think the failures would all happen beginning at some point, and with some particular driver.


..

 

[Dan]

I think that the thread got mixed up with another one.
If you have any ideas about the problem Ill appreciate it.

Dan

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

You should probably seek local professional help with identifying possible problems, if you can't use your knowledge of what you
have, and what might have gone wrong. No one could possibly know, without being at the machine to try some things.


..

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

I don't think you can say that intermittent behavior indicates that it is not a driver conflict. Some two devices might need to be
in use at the same time before the error would happen. A freeze is always a hardware issue. XP handles software collisions more
gracefully than that.


..

 

[dan]

Youre right, I will try to finde updates to al the drivers, especially
the SATA ones. One more question, is there a tool to make a diagnostics
of the RAM, to see if maybe its a RAM issue?

Dan

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Your system32 folder has himem.sys, which can be put on a bootable dos floppy, and config.sys can load it with a memory check
switch.
--config.sys--
device=c:\windows\system32\himem.sys /TESTMEM:ON
--cut--

Determines whether HIMEM performs a memory test when your computer
starts. By default, HIMEM tests the reliability of your computer's
extended memory each time your computer starts. This test can identify
memory that is no longer reliable; unreliable memory can cause system
instability or loss of data. HIMEM's memory test is more thorough than
the standard power-up memory test performed by most computers.

(to create a bootable dos floppy, rightclick the floppy drive in Explorer.)


..

 

[Dan]

Thanks!

 

[Slippery_one]

Start with updating your video card drivers. They are a potential
source of problems. Also check the direct x version and get it up to
date. Don't worry about the SATA drivers unless you have an AMD CPU
using VIA chipset. In that case first make sure you have the latest 4
in 1 drivers.
Check the mother board manufacturer for bios fixes that are related
to your problem. Don't flash the Bios unless the fixes specifically
say something about random freezing.

 

[Dan]

Hey. I appreciate all your help, I will try to do all the updating the
weekend, just have to make sure that I have the latest backup. I

I think I should have mentioned this before, but I guess I forgot. My
computer, relatively new(1.5 years), got into some strange behavior 4
times since I bought it. The behavior is as follows:
During work, or the machine just being on, every two seconds, the
machine would like stop to think, and cut all activity, for example if
music was playing then every two seconds it would stop for really short
period and then resume. Nothing showed diferentylon the taksbar and the
way to solve it is to restart it. I was never able to reproduce the
error. Could it be part of my actual problem?

I got an advice to test my RAM using memtest86, or memtest86+. Could
that point me in the right direction? Anybody used thos programs
before?

Thanks in advance,
-Dan.

 

[Slippery_one]

Hey. I appreciate all your help, I will try to do all the updating
the
weekend, just have to make sure that I have the latest backup. I

I think I should have mentioned this before, but I guess I forgot.
My
computer, relatively new(1.5 years),

Things can fail right out of the box. It's called "infant mortality".
Imagine an assembly line of people putting things together and at the
end of the line is the last guy whose job it to hit the power button
and do a couple output tests. If he hits the button and it does'nt
work, it goes to another department where another fellow has 5 or 10
minutes to fix the problem/unit. If he can't fix it, it might go to
another fellow or into a pile where a junk/scrap dealor might buy the
bad ones at a /unit or /pound price. He takes them and makes one good
one out of 2 or 3 bad ones and sells them to you and me. LOL

got into some strange behavior 4
times since I bought it. The behavior is as follows:
During work, or the machine just being on, every two seconds, the
machine would like stop to think, and cut all activity, for example
if
music was playing then every two seconds it would stop for really
short
period and then resume. Nothing showed diferentylon the taksbar and
the
way to solve it is to restart it. I was never able to reproduce the
error. Could it be part of my actual problem?

That could be sound card related and or IRQ related. It could be a
process running that is interupting and robbing the CPU's attention,
etc... It wouldn't hurt to monitor and understand all the processes
running. You can do that by hitting CTRL+ALT+DEL and going to the
processes tab. Here is a fairly good link to see what is running and
what it does:
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm. It could also lead you
to your troubles. Look at your event viewer also! You have to be part
Sherlock, part daredevil when solving these kinds of troubles.
Freezing like you have going on can be Hardware or Software related.

I use sites like this for fine tuning a machine. REMEMBER TO BACK UP
THE REGISTRY AND ANYTHING YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO LOOSE ONTO DISCS!!!!!
Reinstalling might be imminent

I got an advice to test my RAM using memtest86, or memtest86+. Could
that point me in the right direction? Anybody used thos programs
before?

It will tell you if you have a bad chip on a mem module and that
indicates a bad stick of ram. But probably won't not help with
intermittent Ram or the like. You are likely to have more frequent
(and less predictable) troubles if the ram were bad because you aren't
always using the bad location.

Thanks in advance,
-Dan.

I always start by looking the MB over for the obvious: Temperatures,
bad caps, dust, add in cards (Sometimes they pop out of a slot), clean
out the dust, etc...
Then I move on to drivers starting at the MB then the Vid card, sound
card etc...
If that does not help, and I think it still might be hardware related
still, I might re-seat the mem modules and vid card and cables etc...

Doesn't hurt to check the screws on the MB. I had one burn out at a
screw hole because one loosened and had a bad connection. Believe it
or not that old HP is still running (I used Nylon screws and standoffs
on the MB) LOL. Might try opening the case and blowing the dust out
and running without putting the cover back if you suspect a heat
issue.

It's hard not being able to look over your shoulder. But you get a
sense of the kind of hoops you have to jump thru to figure something
out without using the "replace one thing at a time until you find the
problem". Most shops know you aren't going to pay for a full
investigation, so they replace, reformat and re-install to fix most
troubles. Do you think they might replace something and then tell you
if it didn't make a difference? NOPE! Most of them aren't like that
but some are.