Help ! Vista frequently Hangs up

[Guest]

I upgraded to Vista from XP and now I'm plagued with frequent "hang-ups."
The computer just hangs up for about 30seconds every 5-10 minutes. I can't
stop it. Doesn't matter if it's online or offline. No errors, everything
seems fine, it just freezes. There must be something running in the
background I can't figure out.

 

[Spirit]

1st thing I would do is update your video drivers. If it still continues
look
at background tasks. Since its an upgrade check any virus or antispy
programs to make sure they are Vista compatible.

 

[Guest]

I get 30sec freeze-ups too but only once per day. One of the ASUS forums
gave me the idea to install the "Intel Matrix Storage Manager". It installed
AHCI drivers for the hard disks causing them to be redetected by Windows
(forcing me to telephone Microsoft for activation ...again). Since then I
get no freeze-ups. I only did this yesterday so it might be too early to
tell.

Your motherboard might use a different hard disk controller. It might be
worthwhile to look if there is similar software available for your
motherboard.

 

[Spirit]

Good point, I used to have that problem all the time on older machines with
95/98 and 2000
and had forgotten about the hard disk drivers some systems use.

 

[Guest]

Ok, your best bet is to never buy upgrades, everone I know who "upgraded has
had this issue, always buy full versions of a software and this shouldn't
happen. I'd say its because with an upgrade maybe some pieces of files are
trying to be used from the original os... xp

 

[Ken Blake]

Ok, your best bet is to never buy upgrades, everone I know who "upgraded
has
had this issue, always buy full versions of a software and this shouldn't
happen. I'd say its because with an upgrade maybe some pieces of files are
trying to be used from the original os... xp

I completely disagree. Back of the days of Windows 95 and 98, advice to
clean install rather than upgrade was genrally good advice. Upgrades often
caused problems in those days. With with more modern versions of Windows,
the upgrade replaces almost everythying and almost always works very well.

As a single example, I've been running Vista Ultimate since November on a
computer upgraded from Windows XP Professional, with *no* problems of any
kind.

 

[Spirit]

Keep in mind that you probably keep your computer in tip top running shape
and so an upgrade will go cleanly. However many (read most), users do not
have the expertise to properly maintain their system and often the reason
for
switching software is to correct and error/problem they are having. In these
circumstances I would strongly urge most users to back up their data (more
than once) and do a clean install. First is ensuring that Vista Drivers and
Vista
versions of their required software are readily available. Second is several
backups including simple copies of their important data to CD or Exterior
Drives.

 

[Ken Blake]

Keep in mind that you probably keep your computer in tip top running
shape and so an upgrade will go cleanly. However many (read most),
users do not have the expertise to properly maintain their system and
often the reason for
switching software is to correct and error/problem they are having.

A very poor reason for switching operating systems, in my view.

In these circumstances I would strongly urge most users to back up
their data (more than once) and do a clean install.

I agree. The one time I do *not* recommend upgrading is when you are having
problems. Upgrades are more likely to exaerbhate problems than to fix them.

 

[Ken Blake]

A very poor reason for switching operating systems, in my view.



I agree. The one time I do *not* recommend upgrading is when you are
having problems. Upgrades are more likely to exaerbhate

Ugh! What a typo! That should be "exacerbate," of course. Sorry.

 

[Spirit]

A very poor reason for switching operating systems, in my view.

Yes it is however it is an extremely common one... and even those
without majors issues might find troubles after an Upgrage. There
are lots of variables working against a non-super-expert user.

I agree. The one time I do *not* recommend upgrading is when you are
having problems. Upgrades are more likely to exaerbhate problems than to
fix them.

Upgrades tend to "Clarify" an issue in that its is NOW a PROBLEM. Its all
about
human nature and the real world. It is easy enough to do some good backups
and proceed with a clean install. Esspecially with Vista since a host of old
programs
either will not work or need special handling.

--

YMMV however you won't get far with just your thumb!