- Dec 2, 2013
- 4
- 0
- 10,510
First of all, I built my PC back in August 2013 and have been having this issue ever since. The frequency and behavior of the freezing has varied and changed a lot. At one point in time, it would only happen rarely; once every 2 or 3 weeks. There are other times, such as lately, when it does it multiple times a day.
What it does is lock up completely. No BSOD or anything. The HDD LED stops blinking, the screen freezes, and the system becomes unresponsive. When does this happen? Randomly. It rarely, if ever, happens while I'm playing a game, however Minecraft is an exception to that. Sometimes I'm using Chrome, watching a video, or doing something entirely different. For a while, the issue seemed to be Chrome, since it only happened when I was using it. Now, I'm afraid that is no longer the case. It can happen at any time. Generally, my CPU is not under any substantial load (except when I'm playing Minecraft and running the server). It also has been known to happen while restarting, and a couple times when booting up.
My system has undergone some changes since I first built it, such as:
I've tried a great many things since I started having this problem. I'll try to list as many as I can remember here.
I'll update this list as I think of others.
I've been monitoring my administrative event logs and trying to fix them. I frequently get that a certain service has failed to start, or a driver has failed to install. The services are generally leftover from past installations, and I have gotten rid of some of them. It seems like the more I get rid of, the more new ones arise.
Here are my specs in the form of a PC Part Picker list:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dYWB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dYWB/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dYWB/benchmarks/
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card
Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN751ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($13.99 @ Amazon)
Other: NZXT CB-LED20-BU 2-Metres Light Sensitivity Sleeved LED Kit (Blue) (Purchased For $14.99)
Total: $695.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-11 19:24 EDT-0400)
What it does is lock up completely. No BSOD or anything. The HDD LED stops blinking, the screen freezes, and the system becomes unresponsive. When does this happen? Randomly. It rarely, if ever, happens while I'm playing a game, however Minecraft is an exception to that. Sometimes I'm using Chrome, watching a video, or doing something entirely different. For a while, the issue seemed to be Chrome, since it only happened when I was using it. Now, I'm afraid that is no longer the case. It can happen at any time. Generally, my CPU is not under any substantial load (except when I'm playing Minecraft and running the server). It also has been known to happen while restarting, and a couple times when booting up.
My system has undergone some changes since I first built it, such as:
New set of same model of RAM (First pair was faulty)
Two full reinstallations of Windows 8
SSD was added
Full disassembly and reassembly into a different case
Antivirus program has changed from Norton to Avast! to Windows Defender
I've tried a great many things since I started having this problem. I'll try to list as many as I can remember here.
Insured the RAM frequency in BIOS is correct (it is)
Changed the DRAM voltage in BIOS
Ran Memtest (No errors)
Deleted services of former installed programs
Updated and checked all drivers
Changed antivirus to Avast!, then removed all antivirus programs
Turned HPET off/on in BIOS
Updated BIOS to latest firmware
Monitored CPU temps (They're normal)
Turned fast boot off
I'll update this list as I think of others.
I've been monitoring my administrative event logs and trying to fix them. I frequently get that a certain service has failed to start, or a driver has failed to install. The services are generally leftover from past installations, and I have gotten rid of some of them. It seems like the more I get rid of, the more new ones arise.
Here are my specs in the form of a PC Part Picker list:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dYWB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dYWB/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dYWB/benchmarks/
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card
Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN751ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($13.99 @ Amazon)
Other: NZXT CB-LED20-BU 2-Metres Light Sensitivity Sleeved LED Kit (Blue) (Purchased For $14.99)
Total: $695.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-11 19:24 EDT-0400)
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