Hello, my name is Ryan and I am new to the forums.
I built a computer in late August and have not had any problems with it until a little more than a months ago. My computer started freezing up (mostly streaming video, using a web browser [IE, Firefox, Chrome], funny enough not in video games. So I looked up my motherboard and realized the memory I bought for it didn't match up, so I bought new memory that was supported. System still froze. I flashed an updated bios, halved the freezes. Now my computer likes to freeze anytime (login screen, in games, browsing web), but never on desktop. I have run registry cleaners, anti spy ware, anti virus. Ran windows memory test and passed fine. Temperatures seem fine as well. hard Disk is defragged routinely. I keep windows updates up to date. Uninstalled a bunch of Windows 32 bit programs. This is outta my computer skill range. My hard disk always says it is at a high usage, not sure if that has anything to do with the freezing.
Windows Vista Ultimate 64 Bit
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66Ghz
Ram - Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS34G1333LLKN
Motherboard - ASUS Striker II Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Graphics - MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
DVD - ASUS 20X DVD
Hi GunWarrior26:
Start a process of elimination. You say you built it in late August but the problem started a month ago. What have you installed last? When the trouble started what changed as far as new programs, etc. I'll go out on a limb here and say that Webroot Spy Sweeper has been known to cause some problems in certain cases. If you can uninstall some of the apps you have installed around the time the problem started and see if that cures you problem. Uninstall them one at a time and see if anything changes.
It looks like you have built a very nice machine.
Not sure this will fix you problem but it's a start. Let us know.
I didn't install webroot till last week and I just uninstalled Norton anti virus as well. Nothing so far. My problem is that I didn't check on what I had installed that caused problems right off and it has been so long i have forgotten what was added a month ago. I will keep turning things on and off like I've been doing these past few weeks and hope I find what it is.
It sounds like your power supply.
If your power supply starts to go flakey "random" freezes can occur.
When you run games, or stress your computer at all, it requires more power. If the power supply is going out, then it will struggle to deliver the power necessary to your computer. Without enough power, the computer will either freeze up completely, or shut itself off (depends on what didn't get enough power).
Although...you could also check both ends of your power supply too. Make sure the power going in is steady. a UPS could help there to regulate power flow. Double check your connections internally as well. Make sure all your connections are secure, especially the hard drives and mother board connections.
If you just bought it in August, it should still be under warranty.
If you have another power supply you can put that in there as well. just make sure to leave unplugged everything except your main hard drive and one stick of RAM (so you don't overtax the replacement powersupply).
These kind of problems suck, and it takes time to find them, but they do have a cause, I promise.
Okay, I will look into the power supply thank you, please keep the suggestions coming though.
Go the the main site and get My uninstaller from this page - [url:2yyrqjwj]http://www.davescomputertips.com/free_pc_maintenance_software_uninstaller.php[/url:2yyrqjwj]. This great little utility will show you the installation dates of your programs.
Even though Webroot makes the best anti-spyware program (in my opinion), several of the shields in the program have been known to cause freezes depending on the computer configuration.
I will also throw this out there (again my opinion) - If a computer has had a Norton product installed it is near impossible to completely remove without spending a lot of time deleting registry entries. Their uninstallers are crap. It might be a good idea to do a clean install using the [url=http://www.davescomputertips.com/articles/vista/clean_vista_install_without_activation.php:2yyrqjwj]Clean Vista Install without activation guide[/url:2yyrqjwj]. This would clean everything up and ensure you have the best installation available. It would also make determining whether this is hardware or software related much easier. I know it sounds like a pain, but it really doesn't take that long and you will have a much more stable system in the long run.
Because of finals I haven't had a chance to do anything yet, but as an update: When it freezes and I reset the computer I have a high chance of it freezing immediately again. I looked through installed programs and I didn't find much, but I will look a bit closer again. I will probably reformat the whole thing come Christmas break and take a closer look at things.
Thanks again yall
OK, let us know whether you are going to start from scratch or troubleshoot the problem as it currently stands. Either way, we'll get you straightened out!
BTW, glad you're back. We thought we lost you
So, I think i found out what is going on. I'm stupid XD. Lol...
My computer is overheating, just that simple. When I put my computer together I had put most fans in backwards, so when i put my hand up to the fans i felt cold air blowing out, which ended up being cold air sucking in. So I Flipped all 3 of my fans and now I feel it pumping out hot air.
CPU is running at 56C
GPU is at 72C - cranked fan speed from 37% to 75% and got it down to 54C
Mobo is at 55C
I'm gonna go hit up best buy for a new cpu fan/heat sink and reapply the paste. My 3 case fans have been turned from low to high (creating a nice irritating humming).
Well, I had my suspicions, but now we know it was hardware! Glad you figured it out. Remember all of your case fans (including the one in the power supply) need to point the same way. You want air to move in one direction and that direction is usually based on the power supply fan. Power supply fans usually blow air out the back, so all fans in the back of the case need to exhaust air out the back. Holding the fan and visually imagining it mounted in the front lets you see that it would move air into the case, so front fans bring cool air into the case.
Front (generally) - Pull air into case.
Back (generally) - pull air out of the case.
Temps are doing fine today, just need to upgrade on my fans. I recommended your site to a few friends, so they may post here shortly!
Thank you very much for your help!
You're very welcome Ryan. Don't feel like you have to stay away. Feel free to post as often as you wish, even to just chat it up in the General Discussion area!
Oh, thanks for helping get the word out about us. We need all the help we can get!
Well, I've been keeping temps in low 50's-40's for cpu, gpu, and mobo. Computer still freezes...
I was looking at the the myunist program and I now all this started happening around time I was playing Mercenaries 2 and installed EA download manager, but I'm sure it started a little before those programs. These programs don't look like they could do anything, they arn;t running all the time. I will probably do the Vista Clean Install this Christmas if I can;t figure out what is wrong.
Shall I attach the first part of my install log? up to EA dl manager and Merc 2?
Ryan,
Let's not give up too soon. Open Spy Sweeper and disable one shield. Use the computer normally. If it freezes again open Spy Sweeper and disable another shield. Lather, rinse, repeat. If you make it through disabling all of the shields then we know it isn't SS.
Something that does concern me is the two EA games entries. EA's SecurROM, which is installed with most games puts things deep in the system. Some security software classifies it as a RootKit. I've also read a few people reporting problems with their download manager.
But let's check SS first!
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