System freeze

[erix]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows Update, the
system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use" everything seem
to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer period of time
(anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the computer may cease to
respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only remaining option. No warnings
or other explenations are given before or after reboot. Although the problem
appears randomly, it does so more often than not.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Eric

------------------------------------------
System:
WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
Plenty of RAM and HDD space
Power Save functions are OFF
EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus

 

[Malke]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

EriX wrote:

> After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows Update,
> the system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use"
> everything seem to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer
> period of time (anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the
> computer may cease to respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only
> remaining option. No warnings or other explenations are given before
> or after reboot. Although the problem appears randomly, it does so
> more often than not.

> System:
> WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
> Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
> Plenty of RAM and HDD space
> Power Save functions are OFF
> EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus

1. Did you install any drivers from Windows Update? If you did (and that
is always a Bad Idea), go to Device Manager and roll back the drivers
for that device.

2. Look in Event Viewer for any clues.
Start>Run>eventvwr.msc [enter]

Random lockups are most often caused by hardware problems. Here are some
general hardware troubleshooting steps:

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power
supply can be faulty.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA).

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"" wrote:
> After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows
> Update, the
> system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use"
> everything seem
> to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer period
> of time
> (anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the computer
> may cease to
> respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only remaining
> option. No warnings
> or other explenations are given before or after reboot.
> Although the problem
> appears randomly, it does so more often than not.
>
> Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Eric
>
> ------------------------------------------
> System:
> WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
> Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
> Plenty of RAM and HDD space
> Power Save functions are OFF
> EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus

Also check your HD for fragmented files, its important to defrag
regularly as we keep downloading so many MS updates, patches and
hotfixes, the drive gets fragmented sooner than we realise. Its worth
trying.Gud luck.

--
Posted using the http://www.windowsforumz.com interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
Topic URL: http://www.windowsforumz.com/General-Discussion-System-freeze-ftopict553143.html
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: http://www.windowsforumz.com/eform.php?p=1755744

 

[erix]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Thanks, Malke!



Indeed, hardware failure can occur at any time, but since everything worked
fine until I installed the latest WU fixes I tend to believe it's a software
problem. Also, since the computer never complains during 'hard work' but
locks up when it is NOT used for a while, I find overheating less likely to
be an issue.



I'll give the hardware a check and come back to tell you more.



Eric



"Malke" <notreally@invalid.com> skrev i meddelandet
news:uyxxRDNgFHA.3844@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> EriX wrote:
>
>> After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows Update,
>> the system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use"
>> everything seem to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer
>> period of time (anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the
>> computer may cease to respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only
>> remaining option. No warnings or other explenations are given before
>> or after reboot. Although the problem appears randomly, it does so
>> more often than not.
>
>> System:
>> WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
>> Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
>> Plenty of RAM and HDD space
>> Power Save functions are OFF
>> EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus
>
> 1. Did you install any drivers from Windows Update? If you did (and that
> is always a Bad Idea), go to Device Manager and roll back the drivers
> for that device.
>
> 2. Look in Event Viewer for any clues.
> Start>Run>eventvwr.msc [enter]
>
> Random lockups are most often caused by hardware problems. Here are some
> general hardware troubleshooting steps:
>
> 1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
> observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
> you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
> and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.
>
> 2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
> have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
> download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
> the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
> need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
> download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
> In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
> immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
> errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.
>
> 3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
> you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
> with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
> errors, replace it.
>
> 4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
> you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
> laptop, although of course the power
> supply can be faulty.
>
> 5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
> www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.
>
> Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
> with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
> uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
> computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA).
>
> Malke
> --
> MS-MVP Windows User/Shell
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic"

 

[erix]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Defrag is donne on regular basis, as well as cleansing of temporary files,
running AdAware, SpyBot, HijackThis, and some other stuff.

But thanks for the advise.

Eric

"cadmium" <UseLinkToEmail@WindowsForumz.com> skrev i meddelandet
news:3_1755744_0a228b5bc40f21935dad6021599f9d53@windowsforumz.com...
> "" wrote:
> > After installing the latest set of security fixes from Windows
> > Update, the
> > system freezes randomly. As long as the computer is "in use"
> > everything seem
> > to work fine but if I leave it untouched for a longer period
> > of time
> > (anything between 15 minutes to several hours) the computer
> > may cease to
> > respond, leaving me with COLD BOOT as the only remaining
> > option. No warnings
> > or other explenations are given before or after reboot.
> > Although the problem
> > appears randomly, it does so more often than not.
> >
> > Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Eric
> >
> > ------------------------------------------
> > System:
> > WinXP Pro, SP2 on a single NTFS partition
> > Home computer, no network (except for the DSL connection)
> > Plenty of RAM and HDD space
> > Power Save functions are OFF
> > EZ Firewall, Avast! antivurus
>
> Also check your HD for fragmented files, its important to defrag
> regularly as we keep downloading so many MS updates, patches and
> hotfixes, the drive gets fragmented sooner than we realise. Its worth
> trying.Gud luck.
>
> --
> Posted using the http://www.windowsforumz.com interface, at author's
> request
> Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
> Topic URL:
> http://www.windowsforumz.com/General-Discussion-System-freeze-ftopict553143.html
> Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse:
> http://www.windowsforumz.com/eform.php?p=1755744