My PC ( Celeron 2.4 mhz , WinXP Pro SP2, 512 RAM ) freezes at its own will a few times a day . I could not establish what precipitated the freezes. The only clue I had so far was that sometimes when I re-started the PC, the moving blue dots in the Windows start-up screen ( i.e. during Windows loading up its files ) were leterally breaking up into multi-color fragments then the system froze . I had to shut-down the system and waited about 5-10 minutes before starting up again. Everything seemed O.K. until the next freeze occured . I really did not know how to start the trouble-shooting process ! My guts feeling told me the issue might be from an over-heated video card ?? How can I tell if the issue is software or hardware related ? Please give some guidance to fix this problem. Thanks.
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Pc freezes at random !!
- Thread starter ylan
- Start date
Have you checked for spyware? Use Ad-Aware and Spybot (after updating the reference file for each) and delete whatever they find.
Do you have an up-to-date antivirus program running? Make sure it is updated, and do a full system scan for viruses.
When it freezes, does the computer screen just stay the way it is (but no cursor movement), or does the computer shut down completely? If the processor is overheating, usually the whole thing will shut down (in my experience anyway - maybe some others have different ideas).
Do you have an up-to-date antivirus program running? Make sure it is updated, and do a full system scan for viruses.
When it freezes, does the computer screen just stay the way it is (but no cursor movement), or does the computer shut down completely? If the processor is overheating, usually the whole thing will shut down (in my experience anyway - maybe some others have different ideas).
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks, MainPC for your kind tips!
_I doubted it caused by spywares as I am pretty cautious on this aspect ( I regularly use Ad-aware, Spybot and always have updated ZoneAlarm Pro and F-Prot on all the time. )
_when the PC freezes, everything on screen stays the same with no mouse function at all .
The real difficulty is that it is an intermittant problem : I could not tell when the freeze strikes :-(
Is there any way to tell the issue is a software or hardware problem ?
_I doubted it caused by spywares as I am pretty cautious on this aspect ( I regularly use Ad-aware, Spybot and always have updated ZoneAlarm Pro and F-Prot on all the time. )
_when the PC freezes, everything on screen stays the same with no mouse function at all .
The real difficulty is that it is an intermittant problem : I could not tell when the freeze strikes :-(
Is there any way to tell the issue is a software or hardware problem ?
In general, it is likely to be software until proven otherwise. I would look in the startup list (run msconfig) and get rid of everything that is non-essential. If the computer runs fine, then start adding things back in the startup group one at a time until the freeze happens again. That's where I would start anyway.
The Computer Tutor:
The Computer Tutor:
- Thread starter
- #6
Thanks, MainePC and micker377 for your tips.
* micker377:
_ I'll find another video card and try to see if it's a video problem.
_ The Power supply is likely underused ( 400watt, Antec ATX12V ). On the otherhand, I usually observe the PC shut-down suddenly if it is a supply problem. In my case, it is the screen freeze most of the time.
I will report further development. Again, thank you.
* micker377:
_ I'll find another video card and try to see if it's a video problem.
_ The Power supply is likely underused ( 400watt, Antec ATX12V ). On the otherhand, I usually observe the PC shut-down suddenly if it is a supply problem. In my case, it is the screen freeze most of the time.
I will report further development. Again, thank you.
I recently had a computer that rebooted randomly. Not really a "PC" but rather an industrial computer with 10 PCI and PCI-X cards installed. After removing all cards except the video card it still rebooted. I ran "Memtest86" and found a bad stick of RAM.
- Thread starter
- #8
MainePC made a good suggestion regarding running msconfig, I would suggest you try that.
I get the feeling its your vid card based on what you said about the blue squares that move across the screen breaking up, but thats only a guess really, could be ram too. But you have tested the ram.
As much as i have said it might be the vid card, i do believe the prob is software related, which is why i suggested you follow mainpc's suggestion.
Also, you could, to further test the ram, just move down to only one stick and see if anything changes, besides the fact that windows will be slower.
Do you have any battery operated devices like a wireless mouse or keyboard? That could cause the freezing.
Also, check all your wiring and connections and connectors and make sure they are all in tight, as well as any agp and pci cards. they sometimes work loose thru no-ones fault.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
I get the feeling its your vid card based on what you said about the blue squares that move across the screen breaking up, but thats only a guess really, could be ram too. But you have tested the ram.
As much as i have said it might be the vid card, i do believe the prob is software related, which is why i suggested you follow mainpc's suggestion.
Also, you could, to further test the ram, just move down to only one stick and see if anything changes, besides the fact that windows will be slower.
Do you have any battery operated devices like a wireless mouse or keyboard? That could cause the freezing.
Also, check all your wiring and connections and connectors and make sure they are all in tight, as well as any agp and pci cards. they sometimes work loose thru no-ones fault.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
- Thread starter
- #10
RAID5plus1
Technical User
All previous tips are very good. Bells in my head are starting to point towards processor. Crack the case and wait until the point of a lock then CAREFULLY reach into the case. Ground one hand on the case and feel the CPU fan to make sure it is not getting hot. I think you might be in the mist of a processor starting to fail. Another question are you recieving any kind of errors before the lock up takes place? Maine's vid card suggestion is the first place you should start.
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