I built a new computer a few months ago which has been running fine until now. This is my build:
System
CPU - AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz Quad-Core
Heatsink - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
MoBo - ASRock 990FX Extreme4 ATX AM3+/AM3
Memory - Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333
Storage - Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB
Case - Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower
PSU - SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX
Optical Drive - Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Peripherals
Monitor - Asus VS247H-P 23.6"
Keyboard - Logitech MK300 Wireless Keyboard (junk)
Mouse - Logitech M510 Wireless Laser Mouse
Headset - SteelSeries Siberia V2 USB Gaming Headset with Virtual Surround 7.1 Sound (included with Indepdent Soundcard) (Black)
As of two months ago, my computer randomly started freezing. It does not appear to freeze as a result of loading any specific programs or closing applications, but just randomly. It has happened in the middle of games, on the desktop with no applications running, while browsing, etc. By "freezing" I mean the computer is running still, but is completely unresponsive. Cursor doesn't move, CTRL + ALT + DEL does nothing. Nothing does anything. At this point I have to reset my computer, and everything works fine for anywhere between a 15 minutes to a few days (the freezing is not consistant). It does not appear to be an overheating problem, my CPU runs at 30 degree Celsius consistantly. Memory test says all 8GB are functional (but should I be looking for something else?)
One thing I did note is that it did start happening after a Windows Update. When I tried to do a system restore to see if it was the update that caused the problem, the system restore wasn't successful. When I tried to do it again I found my restore points were all gone
My strongest suspicion is maybe something related to USB ports. The wireless receiver for my keyboard, the wireless receiver for my mouse, and my headset are all plugged into 3 of the 4 frontal USB ports on my case. Also, when I go to my device manager, under "Other Devices" there are 2 yellow caution flags for "Universal Serial Bus Controller", which I think indicates the drivers need updated for something USB related. However, when I try to automatically search for an update it doesn't find anything, and I also can't find any driver updates by manually searching the manufacturer site for my keyboard or mouse. I suspect it has something to do with moving my mouse because the closest to "consistant" freezing I've gotten to is returning to my computer and moving the mouse. It moves a few pixels and then the computer freezes. This isn't the sole scenario the computer freezes under, but has occurred about 4 times.
Can an outdated USB Controller driver causes freezes like this? How can I fix these device manager errors if I can't locate the updated drivers? Is there good driver update scanner software that is more thorough than the Windows one? Maybe it's the motherboard/BIOS?
My last clue, which may be unrelated, is that few times when the computer freezes, I hear the hard drive make a whir like it's booting up for the first time or like it just restarted. But I don't have any evidence anything is actually happening with it or if it is just repsonding to something else in the system.
I realize "halp computer frozen" could be for thousands of reasons, and I'll probably need to provide some more information. But if anybody could help based on the above I would really appreciate it! Feel free to ask for my information that is needed. It's very disheartening to have a new build freeze up for no reason every once in a while and have no idea why. Thanks for any help!!
System
CPU - AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz Quad-Core
Heatsink - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
MoBo - ASRock 990FX Extreme4 ATX AM3+/AM3
Memory - Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333
Storage - Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB
Case - Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower
PSU - SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX
Optical Drive - Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Peripherals
Monitor - Asus VS247H-P 23.6"
Keyboard - Logitech MK300 Wireless Keyboard (junk)
Mouse - Logitech M510 Wireless Laser Mouse
Headset - SteelSeries Siberia V2 USB Gaming Headset with Virtual Surround 7.1 Sound (included with Indepdent Soundcard) (Black)
As of two months ago, my computer randomly started freezing. It does not appear to freeze as a result of loading any specific programs or closing applications, but just randomly. It has happened in the middle of games, on the desktop with no applications running, while browsing, etc. By "freezing" I mean the computer is running still, but is completely unresponsive. Cursor doesn't move, CTRL + ALT + DEL does nothing. Nothing does anything. At this point I have to reset my computer, and everything works fine for anywhere between a 15 minutes to a few days (the freezing is not consistant). It does not appear to be an overheating problem, my CPU runs at 30 degree Celsius consistantly. Memory test says all 8GB are functional (but should I be looking for something else?)
One thing I did note is that it did start happening after a Windows Update. When I tried to do a system restore to see if it was the update that caused the problem, the system restore wasn't successful. When I tried to do it again I found my restore points were all gone
My strongest suspicion is maybe something related to USB ports. The wireless receiver for my keyboard, the wireless receiver for my mouse, and my headset are all plugged into 3 of the 4 frontal USB ports on my case. Also, when I go to my device manager, under "Other Devices" there are 2 yellow caution flags for "Universal Serial Bus Controller", which I think indicates the drivers need updated for something USB related. However, when I try to automatically search for an update it doesn't find anything, and I also can't find any driver updates by manually searching the manufacturer site for my keyboard or mouse. I suspect it has something to do with moving my mouse because the closest to "consistant" freezing I've gotten to is returning to my computer and moving the mouse. It moves a few pixels and then the computer freezes. This isn't the sole scenario the computer freezes under, but has occurred about 4 times.
Can an outdated USB Controller driver causes freezes like this? How can I fix these device manager errors if I can't locate the updated drivers? Is there good driver update scanner software that is more thorough than the Windows one? Maybe it's the motherboard/BIOS?
My last clue, which may be unrelated, is that few times when the computer freezes, I hear the hard drive make a whir like it's booting up for the first time or like it just restarted. But I don't have any evidence anything is actually happening with it or if it is just repsonding to something else in the system.
I realize "halp computer frozen" could be for thousands of reasons, and I'll probably need to provide some more information. But if anybody could help based on the above I would really appreciate it! Feel free to ask for my information that is needed. It's very disheartening to have a new build freeze up for no reason every once in a while and have no idea why. Thanks for any help!!
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