computer freezing

[Guest]

We've had numerous problems with our 1 month old computer with hanging and
rebooting. I really thought the problem was solved when the technician
replaced our RAM at my request. Now it boots up quickly but still hangs at
certain times, unpredictably - never during the same activity or for any
apparent reason, but at least once in 24 hrs. Alt Ctrl Del does not work
when this happens, the only solution is to press the restart button.

I thought the Event Log would record the "freezing" event and also the
subsequent need to force the computer to restart but I can't see anything
other than information lines at the time of the problem. As the computer
shop can't seem to duplicate the problem, I'd really like to be able to
present them with some evidence of what's causing the freezing/hanging or if
it's something simple, solve the problem myself. If it was a power problem,
wouldn't the computer simply close down, instead of just hang? The
technicians always like to say it must be the software but we're not using
anything we didn't use on our old computer.

I have a 2.67 gig Intel Core 2 Duo, 1024 MB memory, 320 GB HD, NVIDIA
GeForce 7300 GT graphics (latest manufacturer's driver), Windows XP SP2 fully
updated, and Kaspersky Internet Security as well as the usual MS Office and
other wellknown software.

Any advice or suggestions would be great.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

We've had numerous problems with our 1 month old computer with hanging and
rebooting. I really thought the problem was solved when the technician
replaced our RAM at my request. Now it boots up quickly but still hangs
at
certain times, unpredictably - never during the same activity or for any
apparent reason, but at least once in 24 hrs. Alt Ctrl Del does not work
when this happens, the only solution is to press the restart button.

I thought the Event Log would record the "freezing" event and also the
subsequent need to force the computer to restart but I can't see anything
other than information lines at the time of the problem. As the computer
shop can't seem to duplicate the problem, I'd really like to be able to
present them with some evidence of what's causing the freezing/hanging or
if
it's something simple, solve the problem myself. If it was a power
problem,
wouldn't the computer simply close down, instead of just hang? The
technicians always like to say it must be the software but we're not using
anything we didn't use on our old computer.

I have a 2.67 gig Intel Core 2 Duo, 1024 MB memory, 320 GB HD, NVIDIA
GeForce 7300 GT graphics (latest manufacturer's driver), Windows XP SP2
fully
updated, and Kaspersky Internet Security as well as the usual MS Office
and
other wellknown software.

Any advice or suggestions would be great.

If the problem is with power, yes, the system will usually shut down
suddenly. If the problem is with failing or incompatible RAM or supporting
circuitry, you will also tend to get sudden shutdowns that are not
accompanied by restarts. The same with heat related issues (which can
cause serious damage).

It's somewhat inaccurate to say that you are using the same software as
before, because your sytem almost certainly has new hardware, and that means
new drivers - which are software.

Would suggest that you start with trying Process Explorer, keeping it in a
position where you can see it, and when the system freezes, note what
processes appear to be taking the most cycles.

Frequently, system hangs like this are related to video hardware and
drivers. Sometimes the newest isn't the best, and rolling back to an older
version can aid stability.

HTH
-pk

 

[Rich Barry]

Tess, I would first update all your drivers. Chipset, Sound, Video etc.
If it's hanging during a certain activity like playing
PC games or doing Video Editing it may be due to excessive heat or a
flaky power supply.

 

[Unknown]

On a one month old computer????

Tess, I would first update all your drivers. Chipset, Sound, Video etc.
If it's hanging during a certain activity like playing
PC games or doing Video Editing it may be due to excessive heat or a
flaky power supply.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for advice, Patrick. I did find that our newish flatscreen monitor,
which worked fine with the old computer, seems to prevent an external hard
drive from functioning with the new computer. The external HD worked fine as
soon as I swopped the monitor for an old one. I think I must try using an
old monitor on the new computer and seeing if the problem occurs then. I
have been running Process Explorer since the last hang 3 hours ago. (A
watched kettle never boils!)

 

[Guest]

If the problem is with power, yes, the system will usually shut down
suddenly. If the problem is with failing or incompatible RAM or supporting
circuitry, you will also tend to get sudden shutdowns that are not
accompanied by restarts. The same with heat related issues (which can
cause serious damage).

It's somewhat inaccurate to say that you are using the same software as
before, because your sytem almost certainly has new hardware, and that means
new drivers - which are software.

Would suggest that you start with trying Process Explorer, keeping it in a
position where you can see it, and when the system freezes, note what
processes appear to be taking the most cycles.

Frequently, system hangs like this are related to video hardware and
drivers. Sometimes the newest isn't the best, and rolling back to an older
version can aid stability.

HTH
-pk

Go through these cleaning steps to see or get a clear opinion on how
clean your machine is:
= Click Start >> Control Panel>>Network and Internet Connections >> Double
click Internet Options.
On the IE properties windows you will see these Tabs:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs |
Advanced.
Under General Tab clear your History, Internet Files and Cookies.
Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
[ ] Disable script Debugging (internet Explorer) <= check this box
[ ] Disable Script Debugging (Other) <= check this box

Then click on Programs Tab and click Manage Add-Ons and Disable all none
Verified Add-Ons (You should Renable them later one-by-one and see the
culprit and update it or remove it.
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256

2.... And also for malware from here:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://www.sophos.com
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?productid=symhome&langid=ie&venid=sym
Download Avast Cleaner from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html
Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine:
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5

=How to perform a clean boot procedure to prevent background programs from
interfering with a game or a program that you currently use
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796

Run Disk Cleanup and Defrag in Safe Mode.
Open a run command and type in:
sfc /scannow click [OK] you may need your XP CD installation media to
accomplish this operation.

Open a Notepad, customize or minimize to the taskbar as you will need it
later for this step to copy the error message on it.
Open a run command and type in:
eventvwr.msc click [OK] you will get the Event viewer control Panel.
click on each of these:
Application
System
Security
Look in the right Pane/window for error message with red (X) or Yellow
exclamation mark /!\ , double click each one to get more info about the
causer.
On the Event error properties message you will see:
Up Arrow
Down arrow
Two pages
Click on the two pages to copy the error message then bring up the Notepad
you opened earlier and right click on the first line and select Paste from
the list, this will paste the error message on a Notepad.
Please don't duplicate the error message one of each kind will be sufficient.
HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us
HTH.
nass

 

[Guest]

All the drivers are up to date, believe me I've tried everything! These
hanging sessions don't coincide with game playing or anything more strenuous
than browsing on the internet. We haven't exactly had the chance to settle
into enjoying the new machine. It seems very cool at the back, can't imagine
it's overheating. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Gerry]

Tess

What programmes are you typically running?

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?

How large is your hard disk and how much free space.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Guest]

Hi Gerry,
Forgive the delay, I'm actually at work now (in South Africa) so will reply
with Commit Charge info when I'm back in front of my own computer this
evening. As far as programmes are concerned, at present there's only MS
Office and we occasionally use Canon camera software. (IE7 too). No games
yet, nothing downloaded or odd. The freezing/hanging happens at any time,
totally unpredictable! We have had such a bad time with this machine that
I'm reluctant to load much at all until it's sorted out, We are saving it
still on the old computer. I'm grateful for all the help I can get. Thank you!

 

[Guest]

Forgive my ignorance, not quite sure what that is! I only know of the search
as in Start - Search!

 

[Nicholas Baker]

Possibly Windows Desktop Search causes problems?

 

[Guest]

Gerry, you asked for commit charge on my computer: -
total = 295776 (changing slightly as I write this)
Limit = 2520748
Peak = 637136

Only have IE7 and Task Manager open.

Hope that helps!

 

[Guest]

Sorry, forgot to give you my hd info. 298 GB total, free space = 256GB

 

[Gerry]

Tess

What happens to the Task Manager figures if you run the Canon camera
software? Edit a photo as that will demonstrate what affect Undo can
have. Figures afer using the software whilst running it and then say 5
minutes after closing the software would be helpful.

What Tasks, if any, are listed in Task Scheduler?

What are your anti-virus and anti-spyware arrangements?


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gerry]

Tess

It's an Add On:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/default.mspx

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Guest]

Task Manager Commit Charge figures changed from Total 272680 before opening
Zoom Browser (canon software) to highest 376184 after repeatedly editing and
undoing a trim, resizing and undoing and then whizzing through entire recent
collection of photos at breakneck speed and after five minutes it was back to
331364. Only after closing canon software down did it hang again a few
minutes later. I can't imagine it relates to the camera software, it has
rarely been used on this new computer.

When I came home from work with nothing but IE7 open, it also froze. And
later on again. Applications in Task Manager just showed Windows XP
Newsgroups (Is this Task Scheduler or must I look elsewhere?) I just wish
there was somewhere where it would record exactly what caused it - why
doesn't Event Manager do that?

We have Kaspersky Internet Security. I believe this also covers spyware but
am aware I may need to get additional protection. We started off with Norton
Anti virus 2007 (because we've used it for years with no problems) but it was
suggested on a Windows forum that this should be scrapped so it got wiped
when the shop formatted the drive and reloaded the OS after a repair install
didn't solve any problems. It's all been a nightmare. Perhaps a hammer
might help!

 

[Gerry]

Scheduled Tasks =Start, Control Panel, Scheduled Tasks.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Guest]

Ok, thank you for pointing me in the right direction - Scheduled Tasks is
empty. I do know Kaspersky runs a start up scan but all other scans are set
to manual at present. It has run without problems all night with no human
activity - even automatically downloading Windows Updates. I made the small
adjustments in Internet Explorer suggested earlier and deleted cookies, temp
files, etc and unchecked "third party browsers". I wish I could sit here all
day and tweak but I have to go to work. (+1hr GMT) Thank you for your
continued help!