New PC Keeps Freezing/Locks Up

[squirrel350]

Hey guys I am having problems with my new PC after Mike worked out it could have been a memory problem I took to a repair shop where they did a ram test and after three successful tests no problems was discovered but once I finally got it home (seems the way it always goes) it started freezing yet again even with a fresh XP install so after going through nearly a full pack of smokes and starting to pull out my hair I decided I would ask some of our fine PC savy members for there possible solutions to help me remedy the pain in the rear problem Mike and I have hit a brick wall and all I want to do is get on-line and fly again.

All sugestions would be greatly appreciated.

Specs are here http://z11.invisionfree.com/nzff/index. ... topic=3794

SQ350

[ZK-MAT]

Hi mate

With those specs I'm afraid that the low amount of memory (256 megs) would create a bottleneck. What is happening when it freezes, are you running any particular program?

Hit CTRL SHIFT ESC and click on the performance tab to see what sort of CPU and Page File usage is happening. Then click the processes tab and order the column by Mem Usage. It may shed some light on what's going on.

Try increasing your Page File by Right Clicking My Computer on the desktop, selecting Properties, Then Advanced, then Settings under the Performance area and clicking the Advanced tab increasing your page file (Virtual Memory) to perhaps min 1534 and max 1534, rather than the HDD changing it as it needs to, which takes up processor memory at that time.

In all seriousness though get more RAM.

[squirrel350]

Hi mate

What is happening when it freezes, are you running any particular program?

Hey Matt cheers for the response and tips on what it could be I will try them after this reply.

It is usually running nothing when it freezes but I have just realised everytime it has been running Avast 4 Home Edition Free could that be a contributing factor????

Also I was starting it up earlier after setting up Avast and it complete froze before it even got to the WinXP Screen it just stopped dead in its tracks.

SQ350

[gokanru]

Getting more memory is always good advice,but I would uninstall the avast and see how things go from there.

[squirrel350]

Getting more memory is always good advice,but I would uninstall the avast and see how things go from there.

LOL thought the same thing mate but whether it will allow me to stay on long enough to get rid of it before it freezes again will try and see how it goes otherwise I will be making a trip to NZAA with the box to get it overhauled by my uncle and grandad have sent them an e-mail to see if theres anything else they can suggest.

SQ350

[squirrel350]

Well guys I just attempted to remove Avast from the PC but got as far as the Start Menu before it froze it did this 3 times before I gave up in disgust lol looks like I will be heading to NZAA for a few days if I cant get any further than Start Menu I couldn't even attempt to try Matts suggestions.

This has got me completely stumped and I wont be able to keep going if I run out of smokes hahaha for those stressful moments.

SQ350

[ZK-MAT]

Start it in Safe Mode. Continually press F8 as it's booting up, then select Safe Mode.

It then loads up a minimal set of drivers and should enable you to uninstall Avast. It sounds to me as if Avast is the culprit.

Good luck!

[creator2003]

it was also doing this with a format new install of windows ,would get so far then lock up ,so i put a new hard drive in it ,and same thing happen installing windows after a format ,then i changed the ram channels on the board same result ,went in to the shop and the guy benchmark the ram and harddrives i guess
said nothing is wrong and sent it back home with scott ,from my cheaks and the shops i say it is one of three things cpu/psu or mother board as thats really all thats left to test
im putting myself out there in saying it has nothing to do with op system or software ,im pretty sure this is a hardware problem .
sure we will find out soon ,if im wrong ill be putting my foot back in my mouth ...

[ZK-MAT]

Hmmm, yep Mike, after hearing that it does seem like a CPU or Mobo issue.

My kids' PC starting acting up recently and we narrowed it down to the USB drivers were corrupt. I reloaded the motherboard software and updated the USB drivers and it runs ok now.

I don't know why we bother at times aye lol.

[creator2003]

yeah with the new install yesterday and it coming back from the shop the guy hadent even updated the ethnet drivers &audio so i sent scott off to the driverkit.com for the drivers and still same stuff ,yip my guess its one of those three ,it seems to die under pressure and while its on task,and i wonder in what system they did the bench marking in theres or his or both ?
i made all my tests in his system ,but due to the lack of parts at home lately i didnt have ddr3 ram for him and my spares psu m/b and cpu are at a mates house ,im always running outta ram ,as thats normally the number one cause to most ppls that come to see me ,scotts puter was the forth one through my place last week ,and im not even making money outta it

[HardCorePawn]

if you really want to test RAM go and get a free prog called memtest86+

www.memtest.org

you need to put it on a floppy disk or possibly a bootable cd (maybe a usb drive)... it test only RAM and as its a DOS type system it will help rule out other drivers etc.

helped me id the RAM as the cause of my issues back in sept when i built my new rig.

[squirrel350]

Well my grandparents are coming down tomorrow and they will have a look and see if they can put there finger on the problem if not I will be heading to NZAA with it to take it to my uncles shop in north shore to fix it up.

Thanks for the help guys but it doesnt look like I will be able to do much from my end at the moment.

SQ350

[gokanru]

I would give the psu unit a try,see if changing it makes a difference.If it doesn't then that is one thing less on the list

[squirrel350]

Well guys I booted it up in Safe Mode and got rid of Avast so far so good hasnt frozen yet fingers crossed it wont do it again.

SQ350

[squirrel350]

Well guys as I said on the old forum before it was closed my PC is working perfectly turns out it was the CPU causing all the freezing.

It is now a,

Intel 2.8Ghz CPU.
1024MB of Ram.
40Gig HDD (will add another one as a partition when I get back to NZHN).
Nividia GeFore FX5200 (128MB) Graphics Card.
And the 17" LCD Monitor.

SQ350

[dnkiwi]

hi squirrel350 i have found that the best antivirus to use for gamming is none other than trend micros PC-cillin and i can not count the number of times it has saved my pc while gamming online also u might want to check your pc using the house call for any hidden spyware as these can also frezze the pc u can do this by clicking here

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/


this link is very handy as u can norrow down your pc worries very quickly to a short list. also make sure u do a format of your HDD as i have found many programes can still work even after a fresh install


hope this helps

------------------------------------------------
hope this helps
Jason

[creator2003]

He has now been able to workout that it was the CPU that was poked so now he has another one in there and all is running sweet