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wheedwacker · 25-04-2007, 21:42

my computer freezes randomly and has been for about a week or two

it is more likely to freeze while playing a game, but it can freeze at any time

by freeze i mean that it locks up, you can't move the mouse and keyboard keys don't respond. the image stays on the screen, frozen.

Specs:
Windows XP
2gb OCZ ram
dfi lanparty ut nf590
amd x2 5200+
8800gts 320mb

How can i fix this?

i've already reinstalled drivers, reset the bios, reseated expansion cards, removed them, checked power cables, removed peripherals

UPDATE: it froze and i restarted it, but this time it reset the windows xp clock. i dont know if that means anything to anyone though.....

ANOTHER UPDATE: my cpu and case temperature is from 38 to 52 degrees celcius, but could my graphics card be overheating? because it mostly freezes in games...... After it crashes, i turned off the computer and it felt very hot. if it is overheating, how do i fix this? return it?

ANOTHER UPDATE: i tried the dfi beta bios and it still didnt work

IN RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ABOUT THE PSU: I have a thermaltake 750watt power supply. It's supposed to be good enough to deal with a 8800gts. is there a way i can tell if its the problem?

FINAL UPDATE TO THIS POST:
I installed nvidia ntune and for some reason it has stopped freezing. I don't have a clue why, but I'm not complaining

Thanks for the help

pgo · 25-04-2007, 21:43

Format?

gk · 25-04-2007, 22:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgo

Format?

or could be damaged memory or cpu.

wheedwacker · 25-04-2007, 23:29

memtest says that the memory is good

wheedwacker · 25-04-2007, 23:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgo

Format?

I tried a different hard disk and it still restarted on that disk which had vista installed.

pgo · 26-04-2007, 01:19

Hm. Could it be overheating?

Try opening the case for maximum airflow, removing any nearby objects, etc and see if that works.

My first inclination is usually to format things.

Richeh · 26-04-2007, 06:44

Has it just spontaneously started doing this, or have you just added some hardware, or what? Done anything to it around the time it b0rked?

emil · 26-04-2007, 06:50

might be cpu overheating, open the case and see if it does it again.
Mine is close to the balcony door. Instant processing power bump by opening the door, especially during cold nights. High tech you see?

lmclaney · 26-04-2007, 07:19

I would take a guess and say its overheating, you got a beast of a graphic card and thats going to produce a ton of heat. I got the Nvidia 7900 in my laptop which is pretty mighty for a laptop and has been optimised for lower temperatures but I still find it can get into the 70C whilst playing games, so I cant imagine what temperature your card is producing.

Is this a custom built PC?

This is what I would check (especially if custom built):

Go into your bios and check CPU temperatures or download software so you can monitor the temperature on the fly. The CPU temperature should go no higer then around 72C. With AMD CPUs, you will usually encounter crashes if the CPU is overheated.

Check that the temperature in the casing doesnt exceed around 45C.

If your temperatures are too high then maybe invest in extra cooling and check if your fans are working properly. Go into the bios and put the fans onto full speed.

If the temperature is fine then I would check that you have a fully updated bios, hardware, scan for virus', spyware, etc.

Make sure that you have a big enough power supply.

Oh and check that your ram is compatitable.

Hope that helps.

datahound · 26-04-2007, 07:26

Perhaps the temperature is too high?

wheedwacker · 26-04-2007, 18:38

temperature is around 50 degrees celcius, so its not too high

i dont think it is a virus, because it did that when i had two different hard drives running 1 at a time.

i updated the bios already

how do i check if my ram is compatible?

freelancr · 26-04-2007, 18:51

If the clock reset, then your bios battery may be dead. This can cause system time and bios settings to reset to factory defaults whenever you turn the computer off, and incorrect settings may be causing the computer to fuck up later on.

The bios battery is located on the motherboard, its one of those expensive little flat fuckers. I've had one go in a development server once, Linux did its fruit!

When you say freezes, do you mean powers off while you are doing something, or just locks up and crashes? Usually too much heat results in the computer turning itself off to prevent it from cooking itself, not just freezing.

Usually whenever I get stuck with stuff like this I format the disc and start again.

wheedwacker · 26-04-2007, 19:05

it locks up, you can't move the mouse and keyboard keys don't respond. the image stays on the screen, frozen.

freelancr · 26-04-2007, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheedwacker

it locks up, you can't move the mouse and keyboard keys don't respond. the image stays on the screen, frozen.

sounds like a software problem, backup your stuff and reinstall windows using the latest drivers, etc.

albannach · 27-04-2007, 05:00

Hi,

playing games drives the CPU and graphics card the hardest, so doesn't surprise me that that's when it freezes most, if PSU is duff or not up to the job.

freelancr · 27-04-2007, 05:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by albannach

Hi,

playing games drives the CPU and graphics card the hardest, so doesn't surprise me that that's when it freezes most, if PSU is duff or not up to the job.

ffs, at this rate he will have new memory and new PSU, for fucks sake deal with the stuff that can be fixed for free - the software element. if there was a psu/memory problem I would assume it just wouldn't be working at all.

If it is overheating, find out why. Is the case backed into a corner and can't breathe, are the heat sink and fans covered in dust and crap, etc etc.

hawken · 27-04-2007, 05:08

turn off bit torrent. heh

lmclaney · 27-04-2007, 05:16

Yeah just do a clean install of windows, I had a problem where my new laptop would take about 10 minutes to load up and then crash when ever I started anything (new 2ghx core 2 duo and 2gb of RAM). But once I reinstalled windows its worked fine ever since.

If that doesnt solve it then get whoever built ur computer to take a look at it.

albannach · 27-04-2007, 06:01

freelancr,
I have seen it, experienced it and read about it over and over again (PSU not being mentioned until the 20th page on a thread where it turns out to be the solution). People too quick to pile kit onto the motherboard without checking the current draw. You are right, it might be software but if it still happens after all that Wheedwacker might want to check out the rating or performance of his PSU. It is too common a problem just to ignore it.

Designer, coder, hardware expert - jack-of-all-trades and all that!

ps

no, PSU problem often doesn't mean it 'just wouldn't be working at all'.

another edit ffs - the clue is in the harder the kit is driven the more frequent it happens.

sleepingfish · 27-04-2007, 09:38

When is it time to buy a new computer?

25-04-2007, 21:42	#1 (permalink)
wheedwacker competitionmaster 2.0 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,449	freezing computer my computer freezes randomly and has been for about a week or two it is more likely to freeze while playing a game, but it can freeze at any time by freeze i mean that it locks up, you can't move the mouse and keyboard keys don't respond. the image stays on the screen, frozen. Specs: Windows XP 2gb OCZ ram dfi lanparty ut nf590 amd x2 5200+ 8800gts 320mb How can i fix this? i've already reinstalled drivers, reset the bios, reseated expansion cards, removed them, checked power cables, removed peripherals UPDATE: it froze and i restarted it, but this time it reset the windows xp clock. i dont know if that means anything to anyone though..... ANOTHER UPDATE: my cpu and case temperature is from 38 to 52 degrees celcius, but could my graphics card be overheating? because it mostly freezes in games...... After it crashes, i turned off the computer and it felt very hot. if it is overheating, how do i fix this? return it? ANOTHER UPDATE: i tried the dfi beta bios and it still didnt work IN RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ABOUT THE PSU: I have a thermaltake 750watt power supply. It's supposed to be good enough to deal with a 8800gts. is there a way i can tell if its the problem? *FINAL UPDATE TO THIS POST:* I installed nvidia ntune and for some reason it has stopped freezing. I don't have a clue why, but I'm not complaining Thanks for the help Last edited by wheedwacker : 27-04-2007 at 21:45.

26-04-2007, 06:50	#8 (permalink)
emil dt immigrant Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bucharest - Romania Posts: 7,482	might be cpu overheating, open the case and see if it does it again. Mine is close to the balcony door. Instant processing power bump by opening the door, especially during cold nights. High tech you see? __________________ Q X R L

26-04-2007, 07:26	#10 (permalink)
datahound Spare Parts Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bracknell Forest Posts: 5,117	Perhaps the temperature is too high? __________________ poochmedia \| Computer Spare Parts \| Computer & Telephone Disposals

27-04-2007, 05:00	#15 (permalink)
albannach degrees rustier Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Alto Icon Posts: 38	power supply duff Hi, playing games drives the CPU and graphics card the hardest, so doesn't surprise me that that's when it freezes most, if PSU is duff or not up to the job.

27-04-2007, 05:08	#17 (permalink)
hawken Cornish Pasty Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 2,868	turn off bit torrent. heh __________________ my blog & portfolio sexy combined package

25-04-2007, 21:43	#2 (permalink)
pgo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,340	Format?

25-04-2007, 23:29	#4 (permalink)
wheedwacker competitionmaster 2.0 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,449	memtest says that the memory is good

26-04-2007, 01:19	#6 (permalink)
pgo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,340	Hm. Could it be overheating? Try opening the case for maximum airflow, removing any nearby objects, etc and see if that works. My first inclination is usually to format things.

26-04-2007, 06:44	#7 (permalink)
Richeh Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 30	Has it just spontaneously started doing this, or have you just added some hardware, or what? Done anything to it around the time it b0rked?

26-04-2007, 07:19	#9 (permalink)
lmclaney Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Oxford Posts: 426	I would take a guess and say its overheating, you got a beast of a graphic card and thats going to produce a ton of heat. I got the Nvidia 7900 in my laptop which is pretty mighty for a laptop and has been optimised for lower temperatures but I still find it can get into the 70C whilst playing games, so I cant imagine what temperature your card is producing. Is this a custom built PC? This is what I would check (especially if custom built): Go into your bios and check CPU temperatures or download software so you can monitor the temperature on the fly. The CPU temperature should go no higer then around 72C. With AMD CPUs, you will usually encounter crashes if the CPU is overheated. Check that the temperature in the casing doesnt exceed around 45C. If your temperatures are too high then maybe invest in extra cooling and check if your fans are working properly. Go into the bios and put the fans onto full speed. If the temperature is fine then I would check that you have a fully updated bios, hardware, scan for virus', spyware, etc. Make sure that you have a big enough power supply. Oh and check that your ram is compatitable. Hope that helps.

26-04-2007, 18:38	#11 (permalink)
wheedwacker competitionmaster 2.0 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,449	temperature is around 50 degrees celcius, so its not too high i dont think it is a virus, because it did that when i had two different hard drives running 1 at a time. i updated the bios already how do i check if my ram is compatible?

26-04-2007, 18:51	#12 (permalink)
freelancr Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,298	If the clock reset, then your bios battery may be dead. This can cause system time and bios settings to reset to factory defaults whenever you turn the computer off, and incorrect settings may be causing the computer to fuck up later on. The bios battery is located on the motherboard, its one of those expensive little flat fuckers. I've had one go in a development server once, Linux did its fruit! When you say freezes, do you mean powers off while you are doing something, or just locks up and crashes? Usually too much heat results in the computer turning itself off to prevent it from cooking itself, not just freezing. Usually whenever I get stuck with stuff like this I format the disc and start again.

26-04-2007, 19:05	#13 (permalink)
wheedwacker competitionmaster 2.0 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,449	it locks up, you can't move the mouse and keyboard keys don't respond. the image stays on the screen, frozen.

27-04-2007, 05:16	#18 (permalink)
lmclaney Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Oxford Posts: 426	Yeah just do a clean install of windows, I had a problem where my new laptop would take about 10 minutes to load up and then crash when ever I started anything (new 2ghx core 2 duo and 2gb of RAM). But once I reinstalled windows its worked fine ever since. If that doesnt solve it then get whoever built ur computer to take a look at it.

27-04-2007, 06:01	#19 (permalink)
albannach degrees rustier Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Alto Icon Posts: 38	mark my word, mark my words freelancr, I have seen it, experienced it and read about it over and over again (PSU not being mentioned until the 20th page on a thread where it turns out to be the solution). People too quick to pile kit onto the motherboard without checking the current draw. You are right, it might be software but if it still happens after all that Wheedwacker might want to check out the rating or performance of his PSU. It is too common a problem just to ignore it. Designer, coder, hardware expert - jack-of-all-trades and all that! ps no, PSU problem often doesn't mean it 'just wouldn't be working at all'. another edit ffs - the clue is in the harder the kit is driven the more frequent it happens.

27-04-2007, 09:38	#20 (permalink)
sleepingfish css is for divs Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Norwich Posts: 4,469	When is it time to buy a new computer?

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