Manual reboot after freeze harm computer?

[M. Krantz]

Periodically, my Vista SP1 PC freezes up. The mouse vanishes unless you move
to to the bottom of the screen where the taskbar is -- and you'll see a
spinning blue circle - but no keys or clicks work.

Here's the question. When this happens, does manually restarting by holding
down the power button damage the computer or performance or reliability of
Vista?

 

[Malke]

Periodically, my Vista SP1 PC freezes up. The mouse vanishes unless you
move to to the bottom of the screen where the taskbar is -- and you'll see
a spinning blue circle - but no keys or clicks work.

Here's the question. When this happens, does manually restarting by
holding down the power button damage the computer or performance or
reliability of Vista?

Possibly. It is never good to do a hard shutdown/restart. You should find
out what is causing the freezing. It could be bad hardware, bad software
(legitimate or otherwise), driver issues. There is no way to give you
focused troubleshooting from the information provided. Start trying to
narrow down your troubleshooting by looking at Event Viewer and thinking
about what you are doing when the freezes occur.

Start Orb>Search box>type: eventvwr.msc

Malke

 

[M. Krantz]

Hi. Both freezes occured after I visited my Windows Live Spaces page using
Internet Explorer 7. Took the whole system down both times.

I am running Vista SP1. I use all the Microsoft furnished drivers whenever
possible, for my graphics card, on-board audio, etc., since I've found that
the drivers provided by the manufacturers (nVidia and Dell) to sometimes
create problems. I go to device manager and ask Vista to update the drivers
-- and then use the drivers it suggests and installs.

 

[Malke]

Hi. Both freezes occured after I visited my Windows Live Spaces page using
Internet Explorer 7. Took the whole system down both times.

I am running Vista SP1. I use all the Microsoft furnished drivers whenever
possible, for my graphics card, on-board audio, etc., since I've found
that the drivers provided by the manufacturers (nVidia and Dell) to
sometimes create problems. I go to device manager and ask Vista to update
the drivers -- and then use the drivers it suggests and installs.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have where to get drivers exactly
backwards. There are no "Microsoft furnished drivers" anyway; all the
drivers that come with Vista were written and supplied by the hardware
mftrs., not Microsoft.

Since you have a Dell, you should only be getting drivers from Dell for your
specific model computer.

Your problem could be caused by a bad network adapter driver but also could
be caused by a dodgy/faulty add-on in Internet Explorer. Troubleshoot by
using IE in no-addon mode and also by using Firefox. If you have no issues
with IE in no-addon mode and/or when using Firefox, you need to find out
which add-on is the culprit.

Run IE7 without add-ons - Start > Run>iexplore.exe -extoff [enter] OR
Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Internet Explorer (No Add-ons)
MS webpage explaining add-ons: http://tinyurl.com/2tro8f

Malke

 

[M. Krantz]

Thanks. I do not use any IE plug-ins because they have caused issues in the
past.

Drivers have been a challenge. The Dell-furnished nVidia driver, for
instance, caused my system to have display issues, mainly in inserting static
into MS-DVR files I converted to WMV files using Windows Movie Maker. When I
replaced the driver by the one Vista Device Manager suggested, that problem
vanished.

Then, with the Dell furnished Audio driver (Sigmatel), the MSFT Knowledge
base said there is a problem with the driver that prevented me from
installing SP1 using Windows Update. People on the Dell Forum suggested
removing the Dell furnished Sigmatel audio driver and replacing it with the
High-Def Audio driver installed by Vista. And voila, SP1 installed. Dell
still has not updated the Sigmatel driver flagged by Microsoft as being
problematic.

It seems as if the hardware manufacturers don't want to be bothered with
writing drivers - and see that to be the responsiblity of the OS provider.
Meanwhile, the OS provider, understandably, can't be expected to write
drivers for the millions of devices out there. It just leaves the user in a
pickle - causes system freezes - and frustration.

With that said, perhaps I need to see if I can find a better driver for my
network card and try that.

Hi. Both freezes occured after I visited my Windows Live Spaces page using
Internet Explorer 7. Took the whole system down both times.

I am running Vista SP1. I use all the Microsoft furnished drivers whenever
possible, for my graphics card, on-board audio, etc., since I've found
that the drivers provided by the manufacturers (nVidia and Dell) to
sometimes create problems. I go to device manager and ask Vista to update
the drivers -- and then use the drivers it suggests and installs.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have where to get drivers exactly
backwards. There are no "Microsoft furnished drivers" anyway; all the
drivers that come with Vista were written and supplied by the hardware
mftrs., not Microsoft.

Since you have a Dell, you should only be getting drivers from Dell for your
specific model computer.

Your problem could be caused by a bad network adapter driver but also could
be caused by a dodgy/faulty add-on in Internet Explorer. Troubleshoot by
using IE in no-addon mode and also by using Firefox. If you have no issues
with IE in no-addon mode and/or when using Firefox, you need to find out
which add-on is the culprit.

Run IE7 without add-ons - Start > Run>iexplore.exe -extoff [enter] OR
Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Internet Explorer (No Add-ons)
MS webpage explaining add-ons: http://tinyurl.com/2tro8f

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

 

[M. Krantz]

According to this article by John Swenson, writer on the Windows team at
Microsoft, Vista users should first use the Windows Update drivers. Only if
the hardware isn't working or the drivers aren't available from Windows
Update should one look for drivers from manufacturers themselves. The article
really encourages users to stick with the drivers that Windows suggests.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/e4cf223e-279d-4ada-a6e6-e575cb29ee4d1033.mspx