Comp Freezes Randomly-- ****TRIED EVERYTING**** 1

[jean061402]

I have been working on this computer for a couple of months. It started out just freezing up here and there & now it freezes so often I can hardly use the computer. It freezes when on internet, when using any software or when doing noting or just clicking on my programs will cause it to freeze. It freezes anywhere between a few minutes of use to an hour of use. It does not show any messages it just stops and will not even react to CTRL & Alt & DEL. I can not directly relate the freezing to any particular cause (software, etc..) Because of this I believe it may be a hardware problem. Here is the information about the computer.

-Intel Pentinum 4 CPU 1.79 GHZ / 1800 mghz
-512 Ram ( 2 - 256 each) same kind
-2 Hard Drives ( 160 & 232 divided 3 partitions)
-ACPI uniprocessor
-AOPEN ATX 300gt power supply
-sony cd rw drv 710 a
-rage fury video card
-Cable Modem with latest version of Internet Explorer
-Windows XP Pro ver 2002 with serviec pack 2

I also have 2 external drives that I disconnected since problems began
I also have a usb hub that I have disconnected since problems began
Printer / Scanner & Firewire card have also been removed since problems began

I currently have:
Ad Aware updated and try to use regularly
Spy Bot updated and try to use regularly
K Anti Virus and try to use regularly

I have also run hijak this searching for possible problems with programs that run at startup but all items are legitmate
Since beginning my troubleshooting a couple of months ago I have:
formatted both Hard drives two times & reinstalled win xp
I hardly have any programs installed now
cleaned out inside of computer and had a new fan put in
Cleaned & Defragmented C

I have checked in device manager and looked for conflicting devices and checked all drivers --they all seem to be current and all devices are working properly

I had a cd reader and a floppy drive that were not working & had them unhooked also

I do not know what I should do next --or what I should try to trouble shoot next

The computer is only around 3yrs old & I think it is a good size and fast system to give up on
PLEASE any suggestions or assistance would be appreciated
Thanks in advanced
jean061402@hotmail.com

 

[franklin97355]

Take out ALL the parts not required to run and test memory and run a stress test on the HD.

 

[JDfarmBOY2006]

when you formated your comp twice did you happen to deleate the partition and create a new one because if you dont do that it tends to cause some problem but i am really stumped on this one if you did that but yeah i all i can say is do test on your hdd and good luck

 

[garebo]

The question about wether or not you deleted and created new partitions is important, I believe.

It does sound like a hardware problem.

Have you checked the logs in event viewer?
Sometimes you can get a clue in these logs.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[murm333]

Remove the CPU and heat sink and douse them with new heat sink compound. I have been there and it worked for me.

Murm333
A+, DCP

 

[kmcferrin]

Sounds like either an intermittent temp or power issue. Strip the system down to just the bare bits and see how long it runs. If you have the capability to monitor temps on your motherboard I would check and see what those are.

If it is a CPU temp problem, reseating the heatsink with some fresh heatsink compound would likely help. Also, check and make sure that the cooling fans in the system (including the one on the CPU) are still spinning. In most cases the seemingly random lockups are due to heat.

Once you have ruled out heat, try removing all unnecessary components. You may have to much plugged into your PSU which is causing it to provide insufficient power to vital components. If your PSU is failing then it might be providing less power than it originally was, possibly leading to the same condition.

 

[wmonte]

Is the fan still working?

 

[cbs604]

1. Re-seat your ram chips

If still problems:

2. Strip down to just a floppy disk and one stick of ram. Insert a memtest32 floppy and turn pc on. If pass, replace ram stick with next one and repeat.

3. if all ram proves OK, then look for overheating as others have suggested. Ensure cpu heatsink is properly seated, and there is just a smear of heat sink paste (more is not better here). Swap out the power supply.

Cheers,
Brodie

 

[mainegeek]

jean061402,
I agree with kmcferrin.Though I would lean more towards Power supply and/or faulty hard drive.

 

[garebo]

ok, the very same thing just happened to me. I found it to be some sort of virus or malware. Norton did NOT catch them but an online scan at computerassociates did:

http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx

They found 6 items.
I also had to disable system restore and also ran adaware, spybot,stinger, microsoft antispyware, hijack this.
After doing all that a few times i am now ok.
Im not saying this is your problem, but it could be, and the way to check if it is is do a ctrl-alt-del to get to task manager and keep it running, then go onto the net and do your thing. If iexplorer or explorer starts running at 90% and task mgr says cpu at 100% and it stays at 100% then you know the reason, and yes it will freeze up this way.
If it doesnt stay at 100%, if task mgr fluctuates a lot, up and down, then probably its something else.
All the while my updated Norton 2005 said all was well!




Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[cam3048]

I had the same problem, my heat sink had fallen off, try checking that

 

[haemphyst]

Reboot the computer in safe mode with networking support. This should allow you some internet (if ugly) access. Run it like that for a while, and see if it does the same thing.

Was the SP2 slipstreamed, or did you apply it after the install? If applied after, did you allow yourself an out (save files for un-install option)? If you have the out, try removing SP2 - the piece of garbage that it is. If not, (and if possible) try re-installing from an SP1 install disc, and do not apply SP2, BUT do apply any security or recommended patches available on the MS website.

Use a hardware firewall, and disable the one in XP, and do not use any other software firewall, either.

Do NOT use free anti-virus software, Pay for it, and keep it updated. How good can it be if it's free? As a suggestion, I use Panda Patinum 7.0 on my computers at home and on my business network, where I am the administrator.

The heat-sink suggestion is a good idea.

Possibly dump a couple of new RAM sticks in.

Make certain your BIOS is the most current one. I have seen some BIOSes that do not LIKE, even though they SUPPORT huge capacity drives.

Hope these suggestions get you somewhere.

e-mail me at ddraper at igalaxy dot net

 

[jurgen36]

A student of mine had a similar problem. Nortons AV and Panda gave a clean bill of health. He tried the free AVG antivirus and it picked up three virii which the others did not find. He removed them and all is ok now. He also removed Nortons and Panda, his machine did speed up considerable after the removal. Good luck

Jurgen

 

[kmcferrin]

Jurgen,

As a general rule, it is a very bad idea to run more than one anti-virus product on the same system. They usually tend to conflict and cause all sorts of problems. I wouldn't be suprised if that caused issues too.

 

[garebo]

Funny about the AV thing, i have never had more than one installed, but i have heard quite the opposite, that some people say they have norton and avg, on and on. But i tend to agree with kmcferrin, i can see the distinct possibility of conflicts, even one av saying the other is a virus and attacking it.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[jean061402]

kay here I am again.
First I want to say Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I had no idea people were so helpful & willing to offer advice!

Since I posted last I have:
1-Replaced keyboard and mouse
2-Cleaned my heat sink but did not remove it
3-Checked the Event Viewer which has no Evidence of a major problem
4-Took off almost all programs well….. The ones that were left
5-I also tried memtest but had some problems getting it to work.

ALSO
--I had a friend look at it … (He is a tech) he brought it to his place and kept it for 2 days but he said: He does not see any problems with the hard drive or any other hardware. He also said it worked and did not lock up at ALL…………BUT…………He also did not use any programs & I really didn’t have anything on it …but STILL that kind of has me stumped
--Only one virus program running
-- All fans are running but they do stop just after machine locks up
--I am probably going to change the power supply next & just for kicks I am going to run a stinger ……for the hell of it ……..ya know……
..
Questions
--I am wondering if anyone knows anything about …updating your BIOS …someone mentioned it to me? Is this something else I should be looking into?

--I have also been seeing some blue screens……and I have heard this is motherboard related…….I figured if it was a motherboard issue my tech friend would of caught it
??NOT SURE…

(OPEN TO ANY DIAGNOSIS)

Mental State
STILL STUCK AT SQUARE 1 & I AM READY TO BEAT IT TO A FINE DUST!!!!............. Just for fun!...of course

Thanks again
Jean061402
Jean061402@hotmail.com

 

[garebo]

Is there any way you can get another power supply to test it on your computer. Its very possible your power supply could be the problem, even though it does seem to be working it can cause all of the problems you have.
Either get hold of another power supply or get a multimeter to check out the power supply that you do have. YOu can get a multimeter for $5 to $10 at a hardware store or bog-box store and you can test the power lines coming from your power supply to see if they are within specs.



Good advice + great people = tek-tips