Repair/reinstall Vista 64

[Simon]

Hi,

My computer freezes from time to time and I think I tried everything to
locate what the problem could be.

The event logs show nothing, I ran a memory test with no problem, (I
have 4Gb), I checked my drive and had no problems.
All my drivers are up to date and I have all the latest updates/service
packs.

So my last hope is to re-install Vista.

Are there any easy steps to re-install Vista? Or do I have to format my
machine and start from scratch? I don't want to re-install office and so on.

Thanks

Simon

 

[Mike Brannigan]

Hi,

My computer freezes from time to time and I think I tried everything to
locate what the problem could be.

The event logs show nothing, I ran a memory test with no problem, (I have
4Gb), I checked my drive and had no problems.
All my drivers are up to date and I have all the latest updates/service
packs.

So my last hope is to re-install Vista.

Are there any easy steps to re-install Vista? Or do I have to format my
machine and start from scratch? I don't want to re-install office and so
on.

Thanks

Simon

A reinstall by definition is just that a full reinstall- so you just boot
from the media and follow the onscreen instructions. It is up to you if you
want to format or just install again (it will move the old Windows
installation and program files to a set of .old folders.
You will have to reinstall all your applications too.
Of course you must ensure you backup all relevant data prior to this
process.

 

[Simon]

A reinstall by definition is just that a full reinstall- so you just
boot from the media and follow the onscreen instructions. It is up to
you if you want to format or just install again (it will move the old
Windows installation and program files to a set of .old folders.
You will have to reinstall all your applications too.
Of course you must ensure you backup all relevant data prior to this
process.

So I guess what I want is a repair...
Does Vista have something like XP where you can repair rather than doing
a fresh install?

Simon

 

[Simon]

Hello Simon,
If your going to re-install Vista, then it's always better to do a
clean install with a full format first. You will get much better
results.
As for the freezing, have you checked your temperatures ?.
Post your results and let us know how you got on, thanks.
Good luck.

How do I check the temperature? Do I need a third party app for that?
In any case windows sometime freezes when I 'wake it' up and the machine
hasn't been running all night.

I have been told Aero could be the real problem ... I might change that
theme and see what happens.

Simon

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi Simon,

Boot into the existing installation and insert the disk, follow the prompts
to do an in-place upgrade. The disk must be at the same or higher service
pack level as the installation for this to work.

As your problem is random freezing and not blue screens, this is most often
caused by faulty hardware so reinstalling will not provide a solution if
this is the case. As you've checked the memory and hard drive (did you do a
full diagnostic from a manufacturer's tool and not just the disk checker?),
you might also suspect the power supply or motherboard. For the PSU, the
only real solution is to swap in a known good supply. A faulty motherboard
would require replacement. You can use a strong flashlight to check for
bulging/blown capacitors on the motherboard, but there could be other faults
that will not be visually detectable.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
Vote for my shoe: http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[MAT]

Have you checked it's not caused by programs running in the background?
Norton AntiVirus ect.
I recently had the same problem, and when I disabled Skype the problem
disappeared!

 

[Simon]

Have you checked it's not caused by programs running in the background?
Norton AntiVirus ect.
I recently had the same problem, and when I disabled Skype the problem
disappeared!

I have Skype installed, I will try and disable it to see if that helps.
My AV is Avast, (free).

Apart from those I don't really have anything too fancy running in the
background.

Simon

 

[Simon]

Download SpeedFan here and it will tell you your temps.
If it does it coming out of sleep mode then i doubt it's temp related.
It could be Aero causing the problem, disable it and try.
Also is your Bios up to date ?.

I will try speedfan to see what it says, but like you say, I don't think
it is the problem.

My Bios is up to date.

Simon

 

[Simon]

As your problem is random freezing and not blue screens, this is most
often caused by faulty hardware so reinstalling will not provide a
solution if this is the case. As you've checked the memory and hard
drive (did you do a full diagnostic from a manufacturer's tool and not
just the disk checker?), you might also suspect the power supply or
motherboard. For the PSU, the only real solution is to swap in a known
good supply. A faulty motherboard would require replacement. You can use
a strong flashlight to check for bulging/blown capacitors on the
motherboard, but there could be other faults that will not be visually
detectable.

I also assumed that the problem was hardware related, but I ran a test
on both the Memory and the hard drive without any errors been reported,
(using manufacturer applications).

I am not 100% sure about a motherboard problem, but I always assumed
that those kind of problem would mean a totally non working computer
rather than a freezing computer from time to time.

Simon

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Simon.

Since the motherboard is, by definition, the nerve center of the computer, a
faulty one can cause just about any kind of problem - at random. :>(

As I'm sure you know, hardware problems can be the trickiest to diagnose.
The variety of suggested causes and solutions in this thread are an
indication of that. Something as simple as a loose cable can cause symptoms
that seem to have no relation to that peripheral. (Back in the olden days
of TRS-80s, we accountants used to cure many problems with the "Pink Pearl"
treatment: Unplug a cable or daughterboard, use our big pink rubber pencil
eraser on the edge connector, and plug it back in. It OFTEN worked!)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64 RC 7100

 

[Simon]

Hi,

My computer freezes from time to time and I think I tried everything to
locate what the problem could be.

The event logs show nothing, I ran a memory test with no problem, (I
have 4Gb), I checked my drive and had no problems.
All my drivers are up to date and I have all the latest updates/service
packs.

So my last hope is to re-install Vista.

Are there any easy steps to re-install Vista? Or do I have to format my
machine and start from scratch? I don't want to re-install office and so
on.

Thanks

Simon

Well, I removed Avast, Skype and Aero ... and it froze again this
morning. I will install AV
I am still sure that it has something to do with the software.

Everything worked flawlessly until the 02/07 when I installed SP1.
Installing that service pack caused office, IE8 and a few others to
download a bunch of updates of their own.
So it is a bit hard to pinpoint what the problem is.

Before I format my PC I am downloading Windows 7 Ultimate in the small
hope that this will fix the problem.

One last thing, I have a trust keyboard/mouse that does not have Vista
drivers, (http://www.trust.com/products/product.aspx?artnr=12738), could
that also be the problem?

Simon

 

[Simon]

Hi, Simon.

Since the motherboard is, by definition, the nerve center of the
computer, a faulty one can cause just about any kind of problem - at
random. :>(

I agree, but no technician that I know off will believe me.
They will just tell me to buy a new motherboard/memory in the off chance
that this will solve the problem.

So, ideally I would get a 'report' of some sort that could pinpoint what
the problem is.
That way I would know what to tell the techie and what to expect.

As I'm sure you know, hardware problems can be the trickiest to
diagnose. The variety of suggested causes and solutions in this thread
are an indication of that. Something as simple as a loose cable can
cause symptoms that seem to have no relation to that peripheral. (Back
in the olden days of TRS-80s, we accountants used to cure many problems
with the "Pink Pearl" treatment: Unplug a cable or daughterboard, use
our big pink rubber pencil eraser on the edge connector, and plug it
back in. It OFTEN worked!)

RC

I'll give that a try tonight, (well, maybe not the rubber part), when I
get home, I will unplug everything and double check all the connections.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/Driver_Model.aspx?ProductID=2937&ost=others

There is a new Audio driver as well by the looks of it.

I will also download the latest BIOS, I _think_ I have the latest one
installed but I'll download it anyway and see if that helps.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=2937

I don't know what version my BIOS currently uses, so there might be some
mileage in updating it.

Regards,

Simon