Re: computer freezing



"Patrick Keenan" wrote:

"tess" <tess@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:8546A057-F0EC-42D3-9FFA-71682499A1C0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We've had numerous problems with our 1 month old computer with hanging and
rebooting. I really thought the problem was solved when the technician
replaced our RAM at my request. Now it boots up quickly but still hangs
at
certain times, unpredictably - never during the same activity or for any
apparent reason, but at least once in 24 hrs. Alt Ctrl Del does not work
when this happens, the only solution is to press the restart button.

I thought the Event Log would record the "freezing" event and also the
subsequent need to force the computer to restart but I can't see anything
other than information lines at the time of the problem. As the computer
shop can't seem to duplicate the problem, I'd really like to be able to
present them with some evidence of what's causing the freezing/hanging or
if
it's something simple, solve the problem myself. If it was a power
problem,
wouldn't the computer simply close down, instead of just hang? The
technicians always like to say it must be the software but we're not using
anything we didn't use on our old computer.

I have a 2.67 gig Intel Core 2 Duo, 1024 MB memory, 320 GB HD, NVIDIA
GeForce 7300 GT graphics (latest manufacturer's driver), Windows XP SP2
fully
updated, and Kaspersky Internet Security as well as the usual MS Office
and
other wellknown software.

Any advice or suggestions would be great.


If the problem is with power, yes, the system will usually shut down
suddenly. If the problem is with failing or incompatible RAM or supporting
circuitry, you will also tend to get sudden shutdowns that are not
accompanied by restarts. The same with heat related issues (which can
cause serious damage).

It's somewhat inaccurate to say that you are using the same software as
before, because your sytem almost certainly has new hardware, and that means
new drivers - which are software.

Would suggest that you start with trying Process Explorer, keeping it in a
position where you can see it, and when the system freezes, note what
processes appear to be taking the most cycles.

Frequently, system hangs like this are related to video hardware and
drivers. Sometimes the newest isn't the best, and rolling back to an older
version can aid stability.

HTH
-pk


Go through these cleaning steps to see or get a clear opinion on how
clean your machine is:
= Click Start >> Control Panel>>Network and Internet Connections >> Double
click Internet Options.
On the IE properties windows you will see these Tabs:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs |
Advanced.
Under General Tab clear your History, Internet Files and Cookies.
Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
[ ] Disable script Debugging (internet Explorer) <= check this box
[ ] Disable Script Debugging (Other) <= check this box

Then click on Programs Tab and click Manage Add-Ons and Disable all none
Verified Add-Ons (You should Renable them later one-by-one and see the
culprit and update it or remove it.
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256

2.... And also for malware from here:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://www.sophos.com
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?productid=symhome&langid=ie&venid=sym
Download Avast Cleaner from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html
Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine:
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5

=How to perform a clean boot procedure to prevent background programs from
interfering with a game or a program that you currently use
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796

Run Disk Cleanup and Defrag in Safe Mode.
Open a run command and type in:
sfc /scannow click [OK] you may need your XP CD installation media to
accomplish this operation.

Open a Notepad, customize or minimize to the taskbar as you will need it
later for this step to copy the error message on it.
Open a run command and type in:
eventvwr.msc click [OK] you will get the Event viewer control Panel.
click on each of these:
Application
System
Security
Look in the right Pane/window for error message with red (X) or Yellow
exclamation mark /!\ , double click each one to get more info about the
causer.
On the Event error properties message you will see:
Up Arrow
Down arrow
Two pages
Click on the two pages to copy the error message then bring up the Notepad
you opened earlier and right click on the first line and select Paste from
the list, this will paste the error message on a Notepad.
Please don't duplicate the error message one of each kind will be sufficient.
HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us
HTH.
nass
----
www.nasstec.co.uk

.

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