Random Freezing

[muserandi]

Hello,
I am a little bit of a computer noob. My guy friend mainly does the computer repair, I just play the games. However, he isnt here for me to ask the questions, and Im getting a bit desperate.

Recently I have had a problem with my computer freezing up. Most of the time I am playing games, but others I could be online, and sometimes it happens even when my computer is sitting idle.

The warning sign is a weird noise that comes out of the speakers, and my computer will sit non-responsive.

I am worried that it might be a problem with my Ram, or even the processor. I purchased 8 gigs of ram, and under properties it only seems to be registering that there is 3.75 gigs.

Also, when I was originally assembling my computer I accidentally bent the pins, but I fixed it using a credit card.

Then, when moving the computer my friend dropped it, and broke the case. Needless to say it has been through hell.

The reason I am going through all of this, is because any one of those incidents could have played a factor.

However despite the broken case (which did get replaced) I did manage to use the computer for all of about a month before it "broke". The first time I had this issue of freezing occurred in Sept after I started playing SC2.

After that it just started happening more and more frequently, and now my computer wont run an hour without having to be restarted.

Help!

 

[alyoshka]

If you're using a 32Bit OS then it's not going to be able to use anything more than 4Gigs of RAM and will not reflect in the properties either. Only a 64Bit OS is capable of utilizing RAM in excess of 4Gb.

You can try to disassemble the whole system and then after cleaning it properly inclusive of new thermal paste after removing the old one from the top of the processor , reassembling it slowly and nicely with ample cable management and air flow withing the case.

It's surprising that your rig worked at all after a fall and bent pins and stuff like that..... you're very very right in saying it lived on Elm Street....

And of course it'd be really helpful to know or see the systems specs here......
Since I think you didn't have these problems or other problems earlier, it may not be a hardware compatibility problem, but something could have gone phut! when it went for roller coaster ride...... so it'd be better to redo the whole thing step by step....

 

[Onus]

First take: The strange noise may indicate overheating or power problems, or it could be some buffer in the sound drivers is overflowing.
Full system specs including brand and model (not just wattage) of the PSU would be helpful.
Are all fans running? Have you blown out accumulated dust within the past month or so? There may be a "PC Health" screen (or similar) in your BIOS that will show you temperatures. What are they? HWMonitor may also provide that information for a running system.

 

[muserandi]

Alright, not exactly sure what you're looking for but here is my stuff according to the computer properties:
My processor is an AMD Athlon II x4 635 Processor 2.9 ghz.
Ram is 8.00 (3.25 GB usable)
32-bit Operating System.

I use windows 7

Now, as far as the type of stuff I use:
I have a CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin
AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB Hard-drive
ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
and EVGA 768-P3-1360-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Video Card.
hec XPOWER780 600W(780W Peak) ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI NVIDIA HYBRID-SLI Certified CrossFire Certified Active PFC Power Supply

As far as the cleanliness issue goes the case is completely clean. I keep it that way, mainly because it is in a acrylic case. (I went for looks, not practicality). I guess where I am getting at, is no... there is not a build up of dust/dirt/whatever, and I would clearly be able to see it if there were.

All fans are running and accounted for. Also, there is a temperature gauge on the case where it is connected to my computer's innards. Ive been assured multiple times today that it is NOT overheating.

My tower is also located close to a vent, and since it is always hotter then 40 hells where I am at the air is always on. It stays 70 degrees f. here. So it isnt like there isnt plenty of opportunity for cool air flow.

Is there anything else that I could provide that might help?

 

[alyoshka]

So that solves the 8GB RAM Problem, if you have another rig use the 4GB from this machine in that one, here it's just going to go waste unless you change over to 64Bit Win7 or any other version that's 64Bit.

Sincerely, just remove 4Gigs of RAM first and see if the random freezing issue occurs again.....

 

[socratesx]

32-bit Operating System.

I use windows 7

Now, as far as the type of stuff I use:
I have a CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin

What a waste of RAM!! I would suggest to format the drive and install 64bit windows 7 first and then check if you have the random freezes again.

 

[muserandi]

So that solves the 8GB RAM Problem, if you have another rig use the 4GB from this machine in that one, here it's just going to go waste unless you change over to 64Bit Win7 or any other version that's 64Bit.

Sincerely, just remove 4Gigs of RAM first and see if the random freezing issue occurs again.....

Once I get off of work today that is what I will do. Honestly I had no idea that being 32 vs 64 would make a difference, so I used the 32 bit disk that I had laying around.

Like I stated before, I am a huge computer noob. I hope that this will fix the problem.