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Computer freezes and locks up

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by kra_shaon

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Hi

I?m having a problem right now my computer is 3 years old and for the last 6 months its been freezing on me. This happens all the time as much as 10 times a day. When the computer freeze the sound will go all video output stops but not disappear( stays on screen), the mouse/keyboard will not respond and I have to force a restart of the system.

Last week I did a reinstall of XP on the 160 Gb HDD, so this rules out the software part. I have check RAM with Memtest86 and hard drives for with western digital diagnostics, both are fine. The power supply is from another computer that worked fine. So the only thing that could be causing the problem is the motherboard or the CPU.

Last week I did a reinstall of XP on the 160 GB HDD

Computers hardware

Motherboard: MSI K8MM-ILSR
CPU: AMD Athlon 64, 2000 MHz (11 x 200) 3200+
GPU: albatron GeFroce 6800 GT (AGP)
RAM: 2 stick 512 Mb 200MHz DDR SDRAM made by Nanya
HDD: WD 160 GB with windows home sp2
WD 150 GB for storage
Power supply: 430 w thermaltake

I have installed the newest drives for every thing apart form the BIOS which I?m going to do it soon if I can?t find a different solution.

Guys please help me out

10 replies

by thumbsup2

When troubleshooting these types of things, never assume something is ok. Test, test, test and then test some more.

(1) You said you "reinstalled" XP. Did you wipe and install clean, or do an inplace reinstall over the top of the old one? If it's the latter, it doesn't actually replace things that may have become corrupt, including DLL's and drivers. It just fixes the registry to look new. Even bad places on the hard drive won't be detected. And, all the forced restarts could be making it worse.

(2) What's the temperature running? If it's getting hot, it will appear to freeze and do exactly what you're seeing it do. When's the last time you blew the dust bunnies out of it?

(3) How long has it been since you ran disk cleanup, scandisk and defrag? I would suggest you do it in safe mode and let each run until it's done.

There are a lot more things to check, but start with these.

by kra_shaon

when i reinstalled windows i formated the 160gb in to NTFS drive, i have done a defrag a week ago and no luck there. the temp of the CPU is 50 MOPBO 38 HDD 41 GPU 56. the computer as 4 fans and is in a cool room. i do cleanup and I'm going to try a scandisk now thanks

by trilok_bhatt80

U have 2 memory stick right.Remove the one and work with only one stick if still problem is there then do vice versa.

I think this is the solution

by kra_shaon

yes i do have two sticks of RAM, i have ran a memtest on them overnight and it said it was fine. but I'll try any way just in case the program didn't work. thanks for the advice

by kra_shaon

i took both RAM sticks out and try them one by one and no luck. the computer still freeze just like before. but thanks for the advice.

by oh smeg

Some form of Live Linux is the best way to test =the computers Hardware not reinstalling Windows which is most likely just making an existing problem worse.

Or you could try the Ultimate Boot CD which runs off the CD and performs various tests some of which can be open ended. If the system works properly when running an Open End Test then you have a Software issue that you need to find.

If it continues to freeze you have a hardware issue that you need to track down and fix. Just because a Power Supply worked OK in 1 computer doesn't mean that it's working properly or that it is powerful enough for another computer it just means that it works and appears to work properly in 1 computer.

The Ultimate Boot CD is available for download here

http://tinyurl.com/3jnpy

This site has quite a few different Live Linux's which you can chose from

http://tinyurl.com/23nmq

If you are stuck with a Dial Up connection you would be better off buying a copy of one of these but if you have even a slow ADSL connection you can download the files, though you need to look at your Internet Plan to see if you'll get hit for any excess usage.

Col

by kra_shaon

I'm downloading Ubuntu right now I'll install it on the 250 gb hard drive so it rules out the other drive thanks for the advice.

by oh smeg

A live Linux runs from the CD or DVD and doesn't affect the existing OS as it doesn't need to be installed.

Col

by kra_shaon

ok sorry that i misunderstood you i'll try that thanks. :p

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