PC Keeps Freezing

[Sean100]

Hi,

I purchased a PC about 2 months ago and have been having problems with it freezing frequently. any problems and then it can happen twice in 10 minutes. It seems completely random!

I've done a quick remake of what happens when it freezes (the pic below), it's like a deck of cards rolling down the screen in whatever colour the screen was at the time of the crash.

I was using word at the time of one of the crashes and used the save shorcut to see if i could save it, but it didnt work so the pc obviously freezes not just graphically.

Sorry for lack of technical terms :rolleyes:

I bought it on Ebay :o Link to PC details

Anyone have any suggestions of what the problem may be?

[_Jethro]

Welcome to the forum Sean100. Start in “safe mode” and
try a system restore from safe mode to when it worked.

[Sean100]

Hi and thankyou,

I dont think it was ever problem free though as the first time it crashed was about 4 days after i first got it. I should have sent it back but just never got around to it

[_Jethro]

Have you ever reinstalled the Operating System?

[Sean100]

No, i was planning on trying that this weekend once i’ve saved everything to disks. Thought i should get some much needed advice first incase anyone knew of what the problem may be.

Ill try that either tonight or over the weekend, anything else apart from the operating system that it could be?

[_Jethro]

If you can get it to do a full boot in safe mode i would try and save all your data. It could be almost anything causing the problems. Do you have more than 1 hard drive? If so put all your stuff on it and do a reinstall of the OS.
p.s. the link to eaby for your rig says that it is no longer available. So post what you know about your system

[Sean100]

It only has one hard drive, here’s the details…

[B]Item Specifics - Desktop PCs[/B]

Chip Type:
Athlon 64 X2

Processor Speed:
8,000 MHz

Memory (RAM):
2,000 MB

Hard Drive Capacity:
250 GB

Brand:
Brand New AMD 64 Bit System
Primary Drive:
DVD+/-RW

Features:
Graphics Card, Keyboard, Mouse, Network Card, Operating System, Speakers, USB

Condition:
New

[_Jethro]

Will it boot so you can burn your data to disc?

[Sean100]

Yes, it works perfectly fine apart from these random crashes.

[_Jethro]

Then back up all your data, check the disk(s) to make sure it is there and reinstall your OS.

[Sean100]

Thanks, will do!

Will let you know how i get on.

[_Jethro]

Yes, post back, if after the reinstall (do a full format, not quick format) if the problem is still there then we will look at a hardware problem (sounds more like a software one).

[Sean100]

I did a full format last night and then installed Windows XP Home Edition. I then left it on overnight and it haden’t crashed by morning. Will just have to play a waiting game now and see if the problem returns.

[_Jethro]

[QUOTE=Sean100;2076647]I did a full format last night and then installed Windows XP Home Edition. I then left it on overnight and it haden’t crashed by morning. Will just have to play a waiting game now and see if the problem returns.[/QUOTE]

Well I guess that is good news, from the symptoms it sounded like a borked OS. Keep us posted as to how it is going or anything else that comes up.

[Sean100]

Another problem now

Think its something to do with my gfx driver.

Basically last night after i installed the OS i thought the pc was just in safe mode, but today i realised it wasnt in safe mod. I fixed the screen resolution through right clicking desktop > properties > settings

Theres still a problem though, for example when i scroll down a page the page moves in blocks/has to reload graphically.

Any ideas whether you think it is the gfx driver needing updating and if so how i can identify the drivers?

[Sean100]

Good News!

I’ve installed the driver and all is well now. Just have to wait and see if the initial problem re-appears. Thanks for your help ~Jethro~! Much appreciated!

Ill let you know how things go in the next few days

[eric93se]

It would be a good idea to test the ram, download memtest86+ and make the bootable floppy or disc, and reboot and let it run for about an hour to see if there are any errors.

[UTR]

[QUOTE=eric93se;2076980]It would be a good idea to test the ram, download memtest86+ and make the bootable floppy or disc, and reboot and let it run for about an hour to see if there are any errors.[/QUOTE]

I was going to suggest that he run some burn-in software to see if it might be a hardware problem.

[co21]

the problem is been solved before me getting to it, in any event the less apps you have the less freezing problem you’ll have, at one time i had install and running: avg, commodore, avira, zone labs, it had to be format, now days runs like a “swiss clock”