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Computer freezes and hums after a few minutes

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Hi, all!
I bet someone here can solve my problem easily!
This is my first build. I built it 2 years ago this month. Went together easily. I love the mobo, because it didn't POST the first time, but it told me that something was loose, I fixed it, and was off and running.
Was so stoked, as it is by far the best machine I've had since my $2000 486dx-33! That was a blazer back in the day!
Anyway, about a week after I built it, I had to run to Southern California to care for a sick Uncle; didn't bring 'Blue Blazer' - yea, that's her name - because I thought I'd only be gone a couple weeks. Well, he wasn't just sick, turned out he had cancer, so I stayed down south. Last year, I moved my husband down here, and moved home with him after my Uncle passed.
Got Blue Blazer up and running with no problems, until recently, when it began freezing up. Display freezes, mouse freezes CTL-ALT-DEL does nothing.
Also, I can't get my Linksys router to work, so I can't get this laptop and Blue Blazer online at the same time, but that's a subject for another thread, I just want my baby back!
Any suggestions, oh wise ones?
Thanks

More about : computer freezes hums minutes

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D'oh, here are my specs: :whistle: 

Intel Quad Core Kentsfield 2.4Ghz Q6600 CPU

ASUS V-70 92mm Sleeve CPU cooler

EVGA nForce 750i SLI Socket 775 Mobo

650W Hiper PS

2 x 1G Crucial RAM

EVGA e-GeGorce 8600GTS SSC 356MB

SoundBlaster Audigy

2 x Seagate Barracuda 750GB HD

Sony DVR

Hauggague Tuner - I don't use it, because I don't have antenna for it

XP MCE 2005 with all SPs and automatic updates

It might just need the CMOS cleared. Take off any jumpers around the Battery and take out the battery and un-plug the PSU. Then hold down the power button for 30-seconds and put it all back together and the CMOS should be cleared.

If that dosn't work you might just try a fresh install or restore of the operating system.

I hope this helps!
Homebuilt system Expert

Well I would first

Check temps on the CPU and GPU make sure there within specs

Run a memtest to make sure your ram is stable

Update all drivers for your mobo, GPU, Mouse, SB Auidigy

Take out the tuner card your not using

I would think hard about upgrading the OS and PSU
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Wow, fast replies! Thanks!
I'll try all of your suggestions. Except, I can't remember where to find the temps.
Will upgrade OS to Win7 when I can afford it.
How big of a PS should I get?
Homebuilt system Expert

A 550W PSU will be fine for your setup, maybe something like a corsair 550W. Try to do the other things first, if all else dont work it might be a a PSU problem.

Depends on your budget, cause if you have enough money we can find you a *Nice* PSU of course!

I don't think it would be overheating *UNLESS* your overclocking that Q6600 and if thats the case go back into the BIOS and reset the BIOS back to default and that would change the clocks back to normal scaling.

You can also check system TEMPS in BIOS so when the computer boots press DEL or F__something.

I hope this helps thanx for the questions.

I'm with zip on this one. Open your case, make sure dust isn't a problem and all fans are working. Go into your bios and check out "PC Health" and make sure your temps are in line after being booted for a couple minutes.

After that is verified, check the windows event log (right click "My Computer" > Manage > Event Viewer) and make sure errors and critical events aren't causing the freeze. It could be a simple OS issue, virus or some such, that's causing a freeze after services come online. I honestly don't expect it to be listed in the event viewer, but it's worth a shot. If you can, download and burn a live linux distro and see if the freezes continue.

After verifying that it's not an operating system issue, disconnect all but the most basic devices to boot and operate (CPU, memory, HDD, GPU) to see if the problem returns. If you have more than one DIMM, make sure to use only one at a time in the case that one went bad.

Post back after you've checked this if you're still having an issue, and we should all be able to better understand your issue and give you more tailored advice.

Quote:
You don't think it could be overheating unless she's overclocking.........?.........Can you actually see if her cpu fan is spinning or if it's clogged with dust or if the heatsink came unnatached?? LOL

Why people are suggesting you upgrade your psu and OS is a mystery to me as it has nothing to do with the problem your stating. It's possible it could be a bad psu, but you need to verify temps and fans first.



Well the reson for the upgrading or reinstalling the OS is it very well could be a virus. OR it the CPU fan is not spinning of the HSF has come off it will make it freeze up because of overheating.

Another thought, I have had my newly built Athlon II x3 machine freeze up like you have described but it was because i was OCing it and the CPU didn't have enough power to run full load. The solution was to increase CPU power!

cookies said:
I'm with zip on this one. Open your case, make sure dust isn't a problem and all fans are working. Go into your bios and check out "PC Health" and make sure your temps are in line after being booted for a couple minutes.

After that is verified, check the windows event log (right click "My Computer" > Manage > Event Viewer) and make sure errors and critical events aren't causing the freeze. It could be a simple OS issue, virus or some such, that's causing a freeze after services come online. I honestly don't expect it to be listed in the event viewer, but it's worth a shot. If you can, download and burn a live linux distro and see if the freezes continue.

After verifying that it's not an operating system issue, disconnect all but the most basic devices to boot and operate (CPU, memory, HDD, GPU) to see if the problem returns. If you have more than one DIMM, make sure to use only one at a time in the case that one went bad.

Post back after you've checked this if you're still having an issue, and we should all be able to better understand your issue and give you more tailored advice.


Try to boot into safe mode (turn on the computer and when the windows screen comes on hold down the power button and shut it off, turn it back on and it should give you the option to boot into safe mode!) Safe Mode will only run defalt windows programs such as drivers ect...

Mashing F8 on startup to enter safe mode is a better option than a hard shutdown of the computer while booting into Windows IMO. Thanks for bringing up the safe mode option justin, totally skipped my mind.

Sorry it takes so long to get back to you all, life keeps getting in my way.
OK, the cpu fan begins fine, spins up rapidly, then stops after a few seconds.
It's an ASUS V-70 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler. I got it, because it seemed like the most powerful cooler that didn't overweigh my MOBO's specs.
Off to check it out first off. I hope I can fix it, I've never pried a cooler of of a chip before!
O, and I haven't 'clocked it.

OK, I unplugged the fan and replugged it. o, and I already unplugged all the lights and stuff when this first started. Haven't taken out the tv tuner, because I haven't found the box... it's in the garage after the move.
I turned it back on, and the fan still stops spinning. It seems to stop just after the beep, so I bet that's significant.
Also, it's clean and dust free (I'm amazed at how clean it is).
Homebuilt system Expert

Quote:
You don't think it could be overheating unless she's overclocking.........?.........Can you actually see if her cpu fan is spinning or if it's clogged with dust or if the heatsink came unnatached?? LOL

Why people are suggesting you upgrade your psu and OS is a mystery to me as it has nothing to do with the problem your stating. It's possible it could be a bad psu, but you need to verify temps and fans first.




Reason to upgrade the OS is because winblows XP MCE is the biggest POS MS made and the driver support for it will be gone soon.

If you read the post you can see the OS and PSU is at the bottom of the list of things to trouble shoot.

Well I would first

Check temps on the CPU and GPU make sure there within specs

Run a memtest to make sure your ram is stable

Update all drivers for your mobo, GPU, Mouse, SB Auidigy

Take out the tuner card your not using

I would think hard about upgrading the OS and PSU :pt1cable: 


Everyone has there ways to try and trouble shoot problems. Why you think your so high and mighty and need to lol at other people is beyond me :non:  As i can recall you had a problem with your video on your PC and it was as simple as to reset the CMOS no ? :pt1cable:  why cant we just stick to trying and helping the OP out and not criticize others ?

( like Rodney King said ) Cant we all get along :sol: 

NO she said the fan does spin until XP boots up
it doesn't sound like a hardware problem
anyway an OS upgrade would be nice you ca get win. 7 ultimate for like $150
if you are a collage student you can get it for $65!
Homebuilt system Expert

Quote:
If I read the post?? LOL, HOW BOUT YOU READING THE POST BEFORE YOU REPLY>>>> SHE SAID THE CPU FAN IS NOT SPINNING!!!! OBVIOUSLY THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

I see no reason to re-install the OS either for driver support or a Virus, lol.

There are more intelligent ways to fix a virus and as far as I know driver support for XP is absolutely alive.



I posted my reply well before the person said anything about a CPU working or not.




Quote:
So your solution to a fan that's not working is to get Windows 7. ROFLMAO

With all the graphics and other problems with Win7, you won't see me buying it. I've had Vista64 for 4 years now and absolutely love it.


DUDE! I love 7 ult.
vista sucks
and 7 doesn't have driver problems if you know what your doing
and my suggestion to get Windows 7 because she will love it
anyway XP is 32bit (only supports 3gb RAM) a 64bit install of 7 would support all the RAM she could put in there
and maybe it is a virus in XP that controls the fan
havent you ever heard of the virus that turns your HDD off when the arm isin a partcular pisition it will scratch up the HDD inuseable!

Anyway she could take another 3 pin fan and plug it into the CPU fan slot and trn it on for a few seconds to see if it is the fan's falt of XP falt
Homebuilt system Expert

Quote:
Quote:
As i can recall you had a problem with your video on your PC and it was as simple as to reset the CMOS no ?


Absolutely. Your never too old to learn and 10 heads are better than 1 when trying to diagnose a problem.
I could not get video, I tried another video card, still no video, I tried another psu, still no video.....no I did not think that maybe the motherboard was stuck in sleep mode, never occured to me, and that's why I came here and asked others opinions on what could be wrong, and low and behold, someone answered me with the correct question which I was extremely thankful for.

That's what this place is all about, helping others and being helped if needed.

I'm sarcastic and straight to the point. I tell it like it is, and sometimes I'm wrong, and I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong. And being wrong isn't always a bad thing, as long as you tried to help. :lol: 


Thats my point we are just trying to help the OP out. We might not be right 100% of the time but we try to help, but when people laugh and make fun of people that are trying that dont sit well with me. Anyways i was the one that said to reset the CMOS on your mobo. Only reson i said that the OP might want to think about upgrading the OS is because i had Windows media center and it was a POS, and the PSU might be a problem with the system locking up, but i posted this well before the OP said anything about the CPU fan stopping. Anyways maybe it was a misunderstanding. Peace :) 

This thread is getting or becoming so off topic, and by the way check this before anyone else comments on this thread.

Posted by: SurferGurl

"Sorry it takes so long to get back to you all, life keeps getting in my way.
OK, the cpu fan begins fine, spins up rapidly, then stops after a few seconds.
It's an ASUS V-70 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler. I got it, because it seemed like the most powerful cooler that didn't overweigh my MOBO's specs.
Off to check it out first off. I hope I can fix it, I've never pried a cooler of of a chip before!
O, and I haven't 'clocked it. "

The key point in this is ("the cpu fan begins fine, spins up rapidly, then stops after a few seconds").

I hope this helps anyone who's needing an update on the thread.

Well we just need to wait for SurferGurl to respond for an update or a possible solution she might have found.

Thanks everyone for your post though and I hope this post won't start any flame against any members.

well, I'm back. Between being totally overwhelmed here, and husband's medical issues, I haven't hardly turned this laptop on for a while.

I DID have a virus a while back, so I'm going to first try to reinstall windows.. I have a LOT of data to backup, but I googled 'reinstall windows xp without losing data', and I might try that. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your patience

SurferGurl said:
well, I'm back. Between being totally overwhelmed here, and husband's medical issues, I haven't hardly turned this laptop on for a while.

I DID have a virus a while back, so I'm going to first try to reinstall windows.. I have a LOT of data to backup, but I googled 'reinstall windows xp without losing data', and I might try that. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your patience


Sounds good for the fact that trying the little things first will help you come to find out if it is a major problem that your running into.

Thanks, buddy. I apologize for all the time this is taking... seems like everytime I turn that computer on, my husband needs something, and I have to start all over, because the computer freezes by the time I get back.

If you would like another suggestion on backing up your data I would just place you HDD-Hard Drive into a seperate computer/desktop.

To explain open up another computer or by a external HDD case so you may take out your Hard Drive in your computer thats locking up and place in on a computer thats running fine and once you have transfered your data place it back in the old computer and run the re-install of your Operating System.

Heres a link to what I mean:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

I hope this will help you out to find a quicker solution to your probelms.

Coolness, shanemarines! I have a Thermaltake BlacX docking bay I've never used... got it on sale a couple of years ago and forgot all about it, until you jogged my memory.
Now off to pop my HDDs out of the big box, one at a time, so I plug them back in in the correct order, and burn through this little laptop.
Takes me some time... tx once again for your patience...

:)  jeez guys...
i would do as follows:
1. back up data
2. reinstall xp (or win7 if u can)
3. run memtest
4. run super f disk bad sector surface test for hdd
5. get a corsair 550w psu.
lolerooo

Thanks, shovenose. When I bought it, I thought I had researched enough that I was getting a good ps... sigh. Although it didn't give me any trouble for so long, it very well could be part of the problem, but I have to save up for a new one. My husband is computer-clueless, so it's hard to gt him to let me but new stuff. It was like pulling teeth to build this machine.
I hope to start reinstalling xp later today. Will buy new os when I can afford it.
You're very patient with me...

for antivirus use miscrosoft security essentials, and if not included with windows also microsoft's windows defender. both protect against different attacks, and work great and dont slow down the computer much :) 

SurferGurl said:
Installed! It's giving me trouble setting up my Verizon DSL connection, but I'll get there. Installing all the drivers, then antivirus, etc. soon as I get connected to the net...


Besides giving you internet trouble, is it having the same issues as before?

I'm glad though were getting this far lol :) 

Nope... fan keeps spinning, so it must have been a Windows issue. Just getting back to working on this. I wish I could just have a block of time to do this, instead of a few minutes here and there!!
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