# Computer Freezes 2-30 minutes after startup



## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well hello. Recently one of my computers started to have issues with freezing, literally overnight. The freezing occurs usually 2-30 minutes after I log in, but sometimes I can use the computer for up to an hour or more without freezing. The freezing is just everything stops, no black screen or anything, just the computer stops, frozen in place. 

However, the computer does work when I boot it up in safe mode. So while in safe mode I did a virus scan and a spyware scan, but nothing showed up.

I then thought it may have been my processor overheating, which it wasn't. Then I replaced the processor and heatsink completely with an identical set, and the freezing occurred again.

Oh, and I am using Windows XP SP2 if that is important.

I am completely out of ideas, any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks.


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## mongo_nc (Aug 26, 2007)

Well, if you've ruled out the CPU, have you tried checking the video? Do you have a video card with a separate GPU or do you use the on-board video? If you use the on-board video, then there could be an issue with your north bridge chip. Another thought could be the hard drive or the hard drive controller and/or cable. A bad cable/controller/hard drive can cause lockups too.

Also, have you tried doing an XP repair install? If you're using XP Professional, you'll need an SP1 disc (or a slipstreamed SP1->SP2 disc). If you're using Home, I think you can use an SP2 disc, but I'm not certain. I use an XP Home SP2 that will do a repair install at work, but I'm not sure if that's an SP1->SP2 slipstream.

Try eliminating hardware issues first, as cumbersome as that may seem.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well, I think it may be an issue with my RAM, but is there any way to check each stick of RAM? I have 4 sticks of 512mb of Memory, and It would be hassle and take forever to try each one individually until I get a freeze.

I tried that windows memory diagnostic tool, but some reason it refuses to boot up, when I tried it with a floppy disk, i get a Disk I/O Error or something like that, and with a cd boot up disc, I just get _ and then it keep going.

This is really bothering me, since yesterday, It didn't freeze up at all, I thought it magically got fixed, however today, it has been freezing up on me. So it is definitely a instability issue.


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## MaverickUK (Nov 30, 2006)

If your RAM modules are of different manufacturer, latency et al, then this is probably the reason for the lock-ups. In most cases what you are describing usually happens to computers that are overheating or have electrical (PSU) issues.

Check your whole system in general for overheating, download a program such as SensorView Pro to check for both that and electrical irregularities, report back the results from both.

Use memtest to check that all your RAM modules are working correctly, you must do this ONE STICK AT A TIME, otherwise results will vary and will become inaccurate - meaning all that time you just spent is completely wasted.

Check event viewer for any recent application or system errors that happen within the same time period as these lock-ups are, report back any suspicious ones so we can see what the issue is and if it's related to your system crashes. You can get to event viewer by typing "eventvwr.msc" in "Run, accessed by going to Start.

Nick.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

I ruled out memory being the problem, I took out all of my memory but one stick for each of the sticks and my computer still froze.

As far as temperatures and voltages:

CPU: 33° C
GPU: 60° C
SYS: 31° C
AUX: 208° C
HD0: 36° C
HD1: 38° C

Voltages:

VCoreA: 1.55V
+3.3V: 3.31V
+5V: 4.88V
+12V: 11.80V
-12V: 6.07V
+5VSB: 4.99V
+VBAT: 2.05V

And there were no suspicious apps that I could see under event viewer.


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## MaverickUK (Nov 30, 2006)

The +12V rail is slightly underpowered, however unless the voltage actually drops below 11.80V then there's not a lot to worry about - but none-the-less it should be even closer to the 12V than it is. What PSU do you have? I'm guessing that the temperature reading for the "AUX" is incorrect, otherwise your computer would of probably self-combusted by now.

We need to know your system information too, from RAM, GPU, PSU, CPU to any drives attached. Your best bet would be to do a system restore, as close to before the date it started occuring as possible. 

One last thing, i would really suggest running memtest on each module - this way we know for 110% that the issues are not RAM related. If you have RAM modules that do not match in manufacturer, chip type, density and/or speed, then this is the likely issue.

Nick.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well I tried a system restore a few days ago, and it didnt help anything, even restored back 2 weeks before it happened, nothing.

As far as system specs.

I got 

4x 512mb Crucial PC-3200
XFX Geforce 6600 GT
2.8 Ghz p4 processor, forgot the maker, i think kingston or something like that
Some generic power supply, forgot the wattage.

I tried that memtest thing, but when I did, I either got a Disk I/O error, or just a bunch of numbers, I think 2003 spammed constantly.


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## MaverickUK (Nov 30, 2006)

If it's a generic power supply, then i guess your system may well be underpowered. Find out what amperage is given on the 12V rail, this will be indicated on the side of the power supply or somewhere about there - for the video card you have, nothing less than 18A minimum.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Only thing is, Is i dont see how my computer could have lasted this long with no faults, since it had the same power supply and parts for about 3 years now. Unless power supplies weaken over time.


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## MaverickUK (Nov 30, 2006)

Like any other hardware in your computer, it doesn't last a life-time. Generally speaking, power supplies all have their own specific so-called life expectancy and it's practically guaranteed that generic power supplies will be lower than that of it's competitors such as Thermaltake, OCZ, enermax and so on.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well I opened up my computer, and its a Viomax 550w Power supply.

Im not sure whether it said minimum or maximum but I saw 30A


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## MaverickUK (Nov 30, 2006)

That would practically (but not completely) rule out the PSU as the source of the issue. The issue would now seem to be related to your RAM modules, one of them seems likely to have an error. As i have never used Memtest i really can't advise you on this problem you're having with the program - so maybe testing each stick alone for an hour or so (just letting your system run, try and max it out).

It takes time, but atleast it saves (or could) money.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Ive already tried it in batches of two, and both times it froze up, Its highly unlikely that more than one of the RAM sticks is messed up. Tomorrow I will try them individually, maybe all of them are broken except one who knows.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well I tried them all individually, and I am still getting freezes. Is it possible all of them got broken at the same time?

Any ideas would really be appreciated, Id hate to have to build a new computer completely since I cant isolate this problem.


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## MaverickUK (Nov 30, 2006)

The chances of them all being dud are very, very slim. Do you have a spare PSU that you can test out? Disconnect *everything* except HD, PSU, CPU, RAM, GPU and see if the errors still occur.


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

I would change the psu, sorry to say that is junk and generics will degrade over time.


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## jazz3000 (Apr 19, 2007)

If it just started freezing overnight have you tried a simple reformat and reinstall? Virus Scans don't mean much and it may be you have downloaded something not on the books yet. Sometimes the issues of the mouse and or keyboard can cause major problems as well. 
You need to start simple and work up from there. If there's a deeper problem you can start swapping things out after that. Just my suggestion. (A restore doesn't always work). The other more simpler issues is a new application that we've either uploaded or downloaded that might cause these types of issues. Let us know Jazz


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

well today its starting to do another thing. Whenever it freezes and I try to turn it off, it just turns on again. I mean, when I press and hold the button, it stays off, but once I let go of the button, it starts on again, the only way to turn it off is to flip the switch in the back.

I am fairly certain this is a hardware problem.

But is it possible its my mobo? I do not want to go out and buy a new PSU unless I am fairly certain it is the PSU and have no other ideas.


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

You are convincing me even more it's the psu...don't wait for the "bang" which is next, it will take the mobo and possibly cpu with it.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well I just switched out the PSU, still getting the freezing, and the problem when turning it off


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## jazz3000 (Apr 19, 2007)

Are these freezes generally on-line or when you're working the basic computer? Do you do any gaming on-line? Chatting? etc.? Let us know as it may have a lot to do with what's going on. Jazz


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

It is freezing whether I am on desktop, in a screen saver, on the internet, in a game, anything. Its completely random.


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## jazz3000 (Apr 19, 2007)

http://www.eusing.com/Download.htm

The above is a free registry and window washer though if you want to throw a small donation it doesn't hurt their feelings. Try the downloads and when the window comes up for a donation or purchase just click on the skip button and scan and clean. use the window washer to clean up your internet files. 
Go to your scan for errors and defrag under properties under your C drive and set the system up to check itself on boot up and then defrag. Let us know...Jazz


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Tried those things and still no dice.

Ive noticed that occasionally its telling me that Processor Overclocking failed in the startup prompt, and I have to press like F2 or something to load defaults and continue. I know the problem is not with my processor, but is it possible that my mobo is causing these issues?


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## win2kpro (Jul 19, 2005)

What is the exact make and model of your board?


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Asus P4p800 Se


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## win2kpro (Jul 19, 2005)

You *MAY POSSIBLY* have a problem with bad capacitors. Take the side off the machine and use a bright light to look carefully at the capacitors. The capacitors are small can type objects that should be perfectly flat on the top. If any have "bulging" tops, are leaking a brownish looking fluid, or the capacitors are leaning (not perpendicular to the motherboard) they may be bad.

Attached is a link showing what you should be looking for.

http://www.badcaps.net/ident/

Bad capacitors may not be near as bad as some of the ones pictured. I just finished a repair on a machine with bad caps and the "bulging" on the top was barely noticeable. 6 of the caps had a "bulge" and 3 other caps were starting to "lean" at about a 30 degree angle.

Machines don't have to be exceptionally old to have this problem. The machine I just serviced was built July 30, 2003.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well I took a gander at the capacitors and they look to be A-OK. I didnt see any gunk and they didn't have a bulge, they were as flat as can be. They are straight up and down as well.


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## jazz3000 (Apr 19, 2007)

I'm trying to get this clear in my mind. We know if it's an overclocking issue your Motherboard is telling you it doesn't like a setting or jumper or something. Is the error message on a black screen and requesting you to go into Bios through F2 to set your Bios back to the Default settings instead of Optimized? And are you saying after you do that everything is good? Let us know...Jazz


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well my processor is not overclocked, but sometimes when it freezes and I restart it, it is saying overclock failed and press F2 to go back to default settings. Then I boot and everything, but then I still get freezes. So I am starting to think it may be an issue with my motherboard.


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## jazz3000 (Apr 19, 2007)

Have you gone into the actual Bios and reset the Bios to Default Settings and pressed F10 and saved those settings? Jazz


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

I went into the bios and reverted to defaults, no dice. However I think the time it takes to freeze has gotten drastically shorter, now its virtually impossible to do anything on it, since it freezes like 30 second to 1 minute after bootup.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

I just tried replacing the video card and still no luck.

So the only things I didnt test so far are the Motherboard and hard drive. Since I am getting problems with it turning off I am leaning towards motherboard, so Ill see how it goes after I switch it out and let you guys know.


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## jazz3000 (Apr 19, 2007)

I think before I purchased another MB I'd reformat and reinstall my OS. If your swapping out the MB you'd have to do it anyway. On the off chance that you've eaten some virus or trojan online that isn't detectable yet it won't hurt you to determine if it might not be an outside source screwing up your registry and bios. Please let us know - Luck...Jazz


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well I noticed something, after I replaced the video card, I kept the new on in there. The computer has been freezing a lot less often, it can go even up to like 2 hours without freezing. Im not sure if there is some sort of correlation there, but just in case that gives any clues to whats wrong.


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well I managed to get my computer going. Turns out the PSU and Harddrive were both bad, had to replace them both. Oh well, beats buying a new computer


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Well my problem is back, but it is sort of different. Now my computer runs indefinably without freezing, but once in a while I hear this click sound coming from my hard drives or disc drives, not sure which, and then in a few seconds it freezes. It started after I replaced the GeForce 6800 graphics card that was inside with a 6600GT graphics card. 

I was wondering if you guys think it may be my PSU again.


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

Well the clicking is probably the hard drive and that means the drive is probably bad.


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## jazz3000 (Apr 19, 2007)

What does your error logs in the OS say. They must share something about what's happening? Let us know...Jazz


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## wasabi_ (Feb 24, 2007)

Yeah, but is it possible that the PSU doesnt have enough juice since I added the different video card, and the clicking is just the hard drive running out of power, or is that highly unlikely. Since it just started immediately after I changed the video card, so it would highly coincidental if the hard drive just screwed up then.

And what exactly should I be looking for under the logs?


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