# [SOLVED] Windows 7 is locking up on me



## Trimz (Mar 27, 2010)

Ok, so I'm by no means a complete newbie to technology, but alas this problem is beyond that knowledge that I have.

My computer is built by me so I am the tech support guy, but at this point I am baffled as what to do.

So here it goes. My problem is that every 3-48 hours my computer will completely lock up. Yes I know that's a big window, but I'm just giving you the range. It has happened as quick as 3 hours, and has taken as long as 48 hours before it locks up. But it always locks up before 48 hours is up.

When I say my computer "locks up" I mean that the image, whether screen saver, desktop, or internet browsing (It hasn't happened in full screen programs YET.), will be frozen on and my computer will become completely unresponsive.

I've tried running logging programs in the back ground before to see if I can catch what's happening, but they always either don't save because I have to manually shut down my computer, or will only show the last recording prior to it freezing.

From analyzing what little information I have been able to gather, temperatures that is, I see nothing anomalous.

My max cpu temperatures are all 50c range.
My gpu is not OC'd and remains at a cool 43-46c

I've run check disk, and memory diagnostics all come back fine.

I've updated my gpu driver

I've flashed my BIOS to latest version.

I've cleaned the air flow filters on the case.

I am seriously at my wits end.

I'm going to attach a dxdiag file of my computer.

Hopefully someone can help me with this problem, because I think the problem is becoming more frequent.

-------------------------------------

P.S. I made sure that my computers hard drive in power management is not set to suspend, hibernation, sleep mode, and screen saver have all been disabled in an attempt to locate my problem.


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## jcgriff2 (Sep 30, 2007)

*Re: Windows 7 is locking up on me*

Hi - 

What audio card do you have? DirextX Kernel report shows default Microsoft drivers installed for audio and no 3rd party name, e.g., Realtek, IDT, etc..

Both your network drivers need updates -


```
[FONT=Lucida Console] Realtek RTL8168D/8111D Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC
 Rt64win7.sys 3/2/2009

 802.11n Wireless PCI Express Card LAN Adapter
 netr28x.sys  5/18/2009 [/FONT]
```
Realtek driver downloads --> http://www.realtek.com.tw/DOWNLOADS/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=7&PFid=10&Level=3&Conn=2

netr28x.sys a component of the LinkSys RT2860 - also known as the RaLink RT2860 Series Wireless LAN Card. Try both Linksys & Ralink sites -

Linksys --> http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/support

Ralink --> http://www.ralinktech.com/support.php

I also took note that you have the NVIDIA beta drivers installed as recommended by NVIDIA - timestamp = March 2010.

That's it from the DirectX Kernel Diagnostics report.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

.


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## Trimz (Mar 27, 2010)

*Re: Windows 7 is locking up on me*

Thank you jcgriff2.

I have a hard time believing that a few out of date drivers in my audio and LAN cards could cause such system freezes.

With that said, I have seen weirder causes for problems on computers before.

I have finished updating all of the above drivers as well as my intel matrix storage manager chipset and driver.

I should know within 48 hours if this has solved my freezing problem.
If the problem is solved I will post back.

So either way expect to hear a report back from me within the next couple of days.

P.S. If anyone else reads this post and has some other ideas for solutions, by all means post your ideas, because until I report back that the problem is solved consider the issue still open.


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## art_l_j (Nov 11, 2009)

Would you please post the hardware information for your computer, including (but not limited to) the following:
- Motherboard Make & Model number (this is usually printed on it somewhere)
- CPU (Processor) type and clock speed
- RAM (memory) installed, its configuration (for example, '2 x 2GB RAM sticks'), and the Make & Part number (for example, 'Kingston, KVR800D2N5/2G')
- Power Supply size (in Watts), Make & Model number (this should be on a sticker on the power supply)
- Hard disk size(s), Make & Model number (for example, '500GB, Western Digital WD5000AADS')
- CD/DVD drive type, Make & Model number
- Graphics (Video) card Make & Model number
- anything else that you can think of, such as a sound card, etc., that is hardware inside your computer

This allows us to determine if your system is configured correctly, and does not have any 'conflicts' or 'deficiencies' in its hardware configuration.

Thanks in advance,
Art

*While we are waiting for you to send us your complete hardware list,* here are several things that you can check:

Your problem may have something to do with this reported problem:
Microsoft details Windows 7 memory leaks, hangs, freezes

Your system's problem might be how it reacts to this memory leak bug. Anything is possible, in this type of situation.



> Microsoft has been tracking some odd issues that occur on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. These bugs are not typically fixed via Windows Update, because these hotfixes should only be applied to systems that are experiencing specific problems. So if you are not severely affected by either of them, wait for the relevant service packs. Here are the four most prominent issues, listed in order of decreasing severity.
> 
> The first manifests itself when the computer crashes after it runs for some time ...


The 'hotfix' in the above article is not part of any normal 'Update', so you do not get it unless you specifically request it.

Have you run a 'Full Scan' with a good anti-virus product, like Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)? You can download and install MSE for free, and in my experience (I am an OEM of custom-built computer systems), it works very well.

Next, your problem might be the following, *if you are using an ATI Graphics card.*

There have been widespread reports of ATI 4xxx and 5xxx Graphics card driver problems:



> There are 3 big categories of problems:
> 
> #1 is people experiencing 2d crashes: to these people, a good fix that seems to be working very well for most is to set your idle clocks higher (most suggest 400MHz for core and 900MHz for memory, but any value between that and 725/1000 should, in theory, be fine.
> 
> ...


Full Article:
Radeon 5xxx Owners Report Grey Screens/Hangs



> A significant amount of ATI users have taken to the AMD user to user forums to complain about grey screens, crashes and colored-striped hangups.
> 
> (There's actually countless forums out there with threads like this – including at least 4 threads in our own forums. I'm concentrating on the AMD forums because these guys, between them, have collected nearly 40 pages of possible causes involving everything from Windows, to mobos, to RAM.)
> 
> So far it's unclear as to what is causing the problem. Users report that grey, brown or colored stripes/screen appear while playing games, watching movies and in some cases, while idle. The problems seems to be confined to the HD 5xxx series, although there are a couple of mentions of 4xxx cards.


One thing's for sure, there's a serious problem with the lineup; and so far ATI/AMD haven't stepped up to the plate to take care of it.

[The above was copied from a user's Post at PlanetAMD64, where I am a member.]

I think that this 'ATI Driver bug', is worth looking into.

*[UPDATE]* So after huge amounts of forum trawling, we're seeing the following model numbers crop up again and again: 4770, 4850, 4870, 5770, 5850 and 5870. The cards seem to be coming from all different companies; the following are the ones we've seen crop up more than a few times from different users: XFX, Sapphire, Diamond, ASUS and HIS.

Also, something that I always try, [almost] regardless of the actual computer's failure symptoms, is a known-good power supply.

You should also determine if your power supply is under-sized for the total load that your system puts on it. Generally, you should estimate the total power consumption of your whole system, and then *multiply this number by at least 1.5,* to get a 'safe' total power output that you need, in your power supply's specifications.

A power supply that is undersized, or is putting out incorrect voltages, or that has a lot of AC noise on the DC outputs, can appear as almost any problem under the sun. Even a brand-new power supply, from a reputable manufacturer, can be bad.

Power supplies today are so inexpensive, that I always have a selection of various sizes on-hand at all times (it helps that I am an OEM of custom-built computers).

Something else, that often fixes 'unstable' machines, is to [when the power is off and the computer's case is open] basically un-plug (disconnect) and re-plug (connect) all connectors, RAM (DIMM) modules, the CPU chip, etc. You should be sure to do this (un-plug and re-plug) on *every connector* that you can see, inside your computer.

It is surprising, how many 'weird' problems can be traced to a simple 'the connector was not fully plugged in' type of problem.

One more thing, is to make sure that your RAM size/configuration/part number, is supported by your Motherboard's 'Qualified Vendors List', or 'QVL' for short.

In ASUS Motherboard manuals, the QVL will be in the section describing how to install the RAM (DIMM) modules into the Motherboard.

For example, in the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe manual (I have 2 of these Motherboards), the QVL is in Section 2.4.2 'Memory configurations', starting on Page 2-12.

Also, if you have multiple RAM sticks (DIMMs), try installing just one at a time, in your Motherboard, to see if you have a bad one. Look in your Motherboard's manual, to see which socket (nearest or farthest from the CPU) is recommended when only one DIMM is installed.

You should also 'un-install' your graphics card driver, and then reboot your computer. Windows will then detect the 'new' hardware, and automatically find and install the 'best' driver for your graphics card.

I hope this helps,
Art


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## Riskyone101 (Oct 22, 2008)

*Re: Windows 7 is locking up on me*

I agree with Jcgriff2 here, 

Network or even sound driver or video driver can cause all sorts of problems to go on with a computer, especially if installation wasnt done right or not with a genuine operating system DVD.

These drivers can play an important part of taking up resources from the computer internals especially if they go wrong or not functioning properly.


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## Trimz (Mar 27, 2010)

art_l_j said:


> Would you please post the hardware information for your computer, including (but not limited to) the following:
> - Motherboard Make & Model number (this is usually printed on it somewhere)
> - CPU (Processor) type and clock speed
> - RAM (memory) installed, its configuration (for example, '2 x 2GB RAM sticks'), and the Make & Part number (for example, 'Kingston, KVR800D2N5/2G')
> ...


Motherboard: ASRocks 58x Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Motherboard

CPU: Intel i7 920 OC'd @ 3.8 Ghz

RAM: (3 x 2GB) OCZ Gold 240-pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK

Power supply: Antec CP-850 850 Watt Continuous Power CPX

Hard Drives: 2 x Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA Internal Hard drive. (They are setup in RAID 0)
1 x Seagate 750 GB 7200 RPM SATA Internal Hard drive

CD/DVD Drive: LG 22X DVD+-R DVD Burner with lightscribe Black SATA Model GH22LS30

GPU: XFX GX260NADFF GeForce GTX 260 with 896MB VRAM 448-bit GDDR3.

My sound card is an onboard realtek hd sound card.

I have a wireless card as before mentioned, (it's difficult to find the model number for it though, since it's originally from my slightly older hp.)

My monitor is a Generic PnP because it's my HD tv hooked up through VGA.

The case I have has great air flow. It's a Antec twelve hundred Black steel ATX full tower.

--------------------------

I was originally using the 7100 Build RC copy of Windows 7, but when it ran out I bought the full version. When I installed the new version of windows I made sure to format the hard drive first so it was a clean install.

As it states in my profile I am using windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

I apologize that all of this wasn't in my original post; I thought that it would have been in the dxdiag report.

Obviously I should have looked that over before I assumed such.

Anyway, I hope this answers all of your questions.

Thank you ray:

P.S. Just a quick note, so far it looks like Jcgriff2's solution might have done the trick. It hasn't quite been 48 hours yet, but so far it hasn't froze on me.

*crossing my fingers hoping that I didn't just jinx it*.

I will post tomorrow if it froze or not.

Thank you everyone and please keep the advice coming, I don't want to claim victory yet.

I thought I had this problem licked before with CPU temperature, but it showed up again. So I won't be declaring "problem solved" until tomorrow when my computer has been up for 48+ hours and not frozen.



Riskyone101 said:


> I agree with Jcgriff2 here,
> 
> Network or even sound driver or video driver can cause all sorts of problems to go on with a computer, especially if installation wasnt done right or not with a genuine operating system DVD.
> 
> These drivers can play an important part of taking up resources from the computer internals especially if they go wrong or not functioning properly.


Interesting that you should mention that, because after I installed all the driver updates and my audio driver (which wasn't installed at all, it was using the default windows driver) my system memory usage has gone up.

It used to average in the low 24% range of my 6GBs, but not it's around 30%.

Not really an issue since I've got more than enough memory to go around.

Now that I think about it, my RC copy of windows 7 used 30+% of my resources, but it never froze. And I didn't forget to install the realtek drivers on that install.

Hmmm.


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## Riskyone101 (Oct 22, 2008)

*Re: Windows 7 is locking up on me*

Take your time as needed here we will be watching post and see if you need any more help or suggestions, ty.


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## Trimz (Mar 27, 2010)

*Re: Windows 7 is locking up on me*

SUCCESS EVERYONE!

It has been over 48 hours up time for my computer and no crash. The system resources is even back to it's 24% usage.

Everything is running a-ok smooth.

Thank you everyone for your ideas and help in this matter.

Special thanks to *Jcgriff2* who noticed that my computer was running without a network card or audio driver. My computer was only using windows generic drivers, they must have been causing a conflict somewhere that was resulting in the system freezes.


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## Trimz (Mar 27, 2010)

*Re: Windows 7 is locking up on me*

I'm going to formally state now that my problem is SOLVED.

My eternal gratitude for every ones help.


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## Riskyone101 (Oct 22, 2008)

*Re: Windows 7 is locking up on me*

Glad to hear it!

You can mark thread solved under thread tools tab near top of this page, TY for choosing TSF.


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