Vista locks up frequently

[Dave Johnson]

Can anyone help solve this problem? Very short summary It locks up
frequently (mouse freezes, desktop is totally locked, then after a minute it
bluescereens.) This happens many times a day, but generally seems tied to
high hard drive utilization, such as installing an app or trying to back up
the hard drive. Not always, though.

More background:

I got a new Dell XPS 720 with Home Premium installed. I immediately upgraded
it to Ultimate via an Ultimate DVD, and as I installed apps, I noticed it
started locking up intermittently. I contacted Dell, who had me try some
hardware-based troubleshooting, and though we didn't find any causes, Dell
quickly decided to send me a new machine.

When the new machine came, I decided to leave Premium installed in case the
upgrade to Ultimate was somehow to blame. I started installing apps and
prepping it for use and, at some point, noticed it was locking up as well.
It continues to lock up on a frequent basis, making it borderline unusable.
For example I use Casper to clone my hard drives for backup. It is incapable
of making it all the way through a backup -- it locks up and reboots after
an hour or so, which leaves me without a backup of my system.

When I let the machine bluescreen and recover (as opposed to shutting it
down when it locks up), Windows Error Reporting tells me something
interesting:

"Problem caused by a hard disk drive error
Windows was temporarily unable to read your hard disk drive. This problem is
general in nature and we are unable to determine the specific cause of the
problem from the problem report. In most cases this problem is temporary and
can be ignored.
Common causes of this problem include:
Large file transfers from secondary media, such as an external hard drive,
to a local hard drive.
The loss of power to a hard disk drive that causes inconsistent data
sectors.
Problems entering Hibernation or Standby Mode.
Hard drive lag caused by filter drivers, such as virus scanners."

Here is the troubleshooting I've done to solve the problem:
I've disabled most of the services I've added to the machine that could be
a cause, including I turned off the Sidebar, so there are no gadgets
running.
Turned off TIVO Desktop
Uninstalled the free AVG Antivirus
I checked all the cable connections to make sure they're secure
I've run Dell's diagnostics that tests memory, hardware, and the hard drive,
including a series of SMART tests.

I can't imagine what else there might be. When the first machine was locking
up, I thought it was bad memory or a defective CPU. Now that both machines
are behaving the same way, I have to assume it's something software-ish. But
I am totally out of ideas. But the only alternative I can think of that I
have not yet tried is to install XP.

Help!!!???

 

[Cameron Snyder]

ABOUT an hour.
USUALLY after I return from lunch.
EVERY proposed action...
Can you narrow some of these variables for us?

What have you already tried. Let's not spin our wheels, OK? When it is
frozen is there any flashing on the disk activity light? Display? Power
settings? Event viewer messages?

 

[the wharf rat]

Any one have a solution?

Disable power management.

 

[Cameron Snyder]

You're going to have to narrow the when and where and what before we get to
why. You said before it was inactivity that crashed it. That would indicate
a power saving anomaly. Now it is "usually" in Outlook. That could be
network related. Can you do more to find out the cause logically. Is it
random or indeed tied to inactivity, or Outlook? Right now it could be
anything from a malfunctioning piece of hardware or its driver to a corrupt
installation. You have to rule out things. Like, if you are frozen and you
still see the disk activity light flashing then that is a lesser
probability. Don't open Outlook and see if it happens.

Have you checked drivers for all your devices, rechecked the plugs to WD
drive or anything else you may have hit in your drive change, re-seated
memory cards, pci cards, etc.? These would be things to check if the problem
is random.

Whoever aided you in your previous diagnosis and drive replacement needs to
be called upon again.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I think I fixed it. I did a complete PC backup, then replaced the
Western Digital harddrive with a Seagate HD, and re-installed my PC,
last night. I left it running over night with Outlook on. When I got
to the office this afternoon, no freeze! Computer working fine.
Hooray. I guess it was the WD HD. Someone should report that to Vista.

Why wouldn't you report it to Western Digital? They made the drive. For
all you know the drive is in warranty and you can get a replacement.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I took your advice and reported the problem to Western Digital. Thanks.

You're welcome.