Computer locks up in a weird way...

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
H

Hurricane_32

Reputable
Jul 7, 2014
7
0
4,520
Hello. Something really weird has been happening to my computer lately...

It suddenly hard locks up, once every 2 days, requiring me to reset using the power/reset button. Time of day seems to be random. For example, days 30, 2, 4, 6, it has locked up, and I can predict it will lock up again at 8, 10, 12, etc...

When the computer locks up, this happens:

  • I am unable to move the cursor.
    The HDD activity light shuts off. No solid on or anything.
    Num, Caps and Scroll lock keys and lights do not respond.
    If music was playing, it simply goes silent. No "looping" sound, just completely silent.

I believe that this is not a hardware problem, because this happens once every 2 days, not completely randomly.

I have performed a full virus scan with MalwareBytes, which found nothing.

Event Viewer shows nothing relevant, other than some "System was shut down unexpectedly", due to me having to force reboot it.

I have recently installed Realtek Sound Drivers. Could these lockups be caused by this?


Hardware specifications (As reported by PassMark PerformanceTest):

MotherBoard: Intel DG43NB
RAM: Kingston 2G-UDIMM
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual E2180 @ 2.00 GHz
HDD: Samsung HD502HI

Thank you for your time.
 
Solution
H
Good news: I was able to solve the problem!

A few days ago (before I fixed), the computer locked up, this time with a bluescreen, which helped me troubleshoot the issue. It said there was a problem in restarting the video driver or something like that (Bluescreen code 116).

So I opened up my computer (which was a bit dusty), and took out the graphics card. And what did I find? There was a tiny little dust bunny inside the PCIe slot, which was probably preventing good contact with the pins, causing lockups. How did it get in there? I have no idea :p

And since I took out that bit of dust and cleaned the rest of the computer, it has never locked up again.

Thank you all for your support and help anyway :)

T.L. D.R.: Keep your computer...
Sort by date Sort by votes
H

Hurricane_32

Reputable
Jul 7, 2014
7
0
4,520


I'm using Windows 7. How did I forget to mention that XD

I'd say it's a custom built PC. No particular brand...

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

BleedingEdgeTek

Reputable
May 29, 2014
709
0
5,360
Check the health of your HDD: http://www.hdtune.com/

Also, uninstall drivers for EVERYTHING and then download directly from the manufacturers website a new copy of the drivers, and reinstall. Don't do it through Windows, or let Windows reinstall anything. Also make sure your BIOS is fully up to date.

Let me know what you get then :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

Hurricane_32

Reputable
Jul 7, 2014
7
0
4,520
Wierdly, it decided to lock up again, today... this was before I made the system restore I mentioned earlier. Hopefully the restore worked. I'll wait a few days and see if, hopefully, it no longer locks up
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

Hurricane_32

Reputable
Jul 7, 2014
7
0
4,520
Good news: I was able to solve the problem!

A few days ago (before I fixed), the computer locked up, this time with a bluescreen, which helped me troubleshoot the issue. It said there was a problem in restarting the video driver or something like that (Bluescreen code 116).

So I opened up my computer (which was a bit dusty), and took out the graphics card. And what did I find? There was a tiny little dust bunny inside the PCIe slot, which was probably preventing good contact with the pins, causing lockups. How did it get in there? I have no idea :p

And since I took out that bit of dust and cleaned the rest of the computer, it has never locked up again.

Thank you all for your support and help anyway :)

T.L. D.R.: Keep your computer clean! :p
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom