Freezing,

[Guest]

I'm not quite sure if there has been this post before, but i'd rather not
risk my computer freezing in an attempt to search for it.


About every time my computer freezes up, weather playing a game, surfing
Mozilla, chatting online, sometimes playing a built in game like free cell,
as well as listening/watching things on Winamp. Keyboard, and mouse will not
respond, nor will anything except power and reset button. Forcing me to
shutdown, or reboot and wait for it to happen again which it most likely will.

Im running

OS: XP home edition (v.2002) Service pack 2
Graphics: geforce 5500 fx
Ram: 512
HD: 80gb
CPU: AMD Athlon xp 1600+ (1.4ghz)


USB mouse/keyboard

spare mouse and keyboard, non usb

no need for SYS Restore, because this has been happening since i had
Windows.2000 Pro

I'm thinking it might be my hard-drive?

god knows how long this has been happening i cant remember when it started.

any suggestions/help?

GREATLY appreciated.


any other info needed, will provide.

please and thanks,

Will

 

[R. McCarty]

Freezing might be a symptom of an incorrectly structured IRQ Map.
If you've had this issue with 2000 & XP then it sounds like some
type of configuration issue. I'd use MSInfo32.Exe and expand the
Hardware Resources category then expand the IRQ sub-category.
Note the highest number IRQ (15 or 23). This will tell you if the PC
is configured for a Standard or ACPI compliant HAL. The PCs that
existed around the time of Windows 2000 had some issues in their
BIOS that informed XP at install time they were ACPI compliant
but in reality were not. Sometimes a BIOS flash upgrade will help.
Contributing factor may be BIOS settings where on some boards
you had to enable APIC functions. APIC extends the IRQ mapping
range from 15 up to 23.

 

[Guest]

I am computer literate and all, but where can i find these resources for
flashing my bios and anything else i need to do?

 

[R. McCarty]

Did you determine if your PC is a "Standard" or "ACPI" ? You can
determine this by expanding the Computer category of Dev Manager.

BIOS Flash updates are available from the motherboard vendor's
website or the OEM ( Original Equipment Mfgr - Dell, HP ) sites.
Flash BIOS updates are only recommended when updated versions
address an issue you are experiencing. Most BIOS flash updates have
a Readme or History file that lists the changes/fixes incorporated.
It's always good to determine what your current BIOS revision is and
compare that to the latest available. This way you can determine how
many downstream revs your PC is at.

Also NOTE: Some BIOS Flash updates will automatically perform a
Default values operation. After BIOS flashing ALWAYS
enter BIOS setup and verify settings.

 

[Guest]

For IRQ# 9 i see Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System

Not sure what Dev manager is but thats what im seeing.

If i do happen to "flash my bios" is there any affect on my computer,
besides a possible factor in no more freezes?

 

[Alias]

For IRQ# 9 i see Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System

Not sure what Dev manager is but thats what im seeing.

Device Manager. Right click My Computer, Properties/Hardware/Device Manager.

If i do happen to "flash my bios" is there any affect on my computer,
besides a possible factor in no more freezes?

If not done right, you may need a new motherboard. I would back up
before attempting one.

Alias

 

[R. McCarty]

BIOS Flashing is a marginally dangerous operation. Older PCs must
be booted to a Floppy which has the flashing utility and the ROM code.
Newer PCs have the ability to Flash while Windows is running or at a
pre-GUI boot phase. I can't say that a Flash upgrade is warranted.
There are just too many contributing factors that may cause your issue.
However having a similar issue on both XP/2000 would seem to point
to a hardware/configuration issue of some kind.

 

[Guest]

Well i'd rather not risk that bios flashing right now till i have the friend
of mine who built this computer with me, so he has all the drivers, data, and
information on this thing just incase something bad were to happen.

Anything else i can do.

I did infact open the msinfo32.exe application and expanded the Hardware
resources category, but there was nothing to expand as far as IRQ mapping.
Mys system from as far as i know is APIC or ACPI whichever it is. and the
higest value is 22. Anything else would be greatly appreciated.

P.s thanks for your time and help.