# Computer freezes



## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi,

I have a problem with my computer freezing. I am using the Windows XP. The freezing occurs kind of randomly, but when it occurs, I have to push the power button on my computer to shut everything down. There is no error message, everything just stops. 

I think it is related to programs that display graphics. It seems to freeze very often, or much more quickly if I am playing a video game. For example, I purchased the Sims video game, and the computer would usually freeze within 10 minutes always of starting this program. If I don't play a video game, then the computer may or may not just freeze randomly (but it usually doesn't freeze for hours in this case). After a freeze from the video game, the computer freezes once or twice during startup before I can get a startup that lets me do things again. I have noticed the last couple of times I started up after freezing, the screen goes black just after I can see the desktop and when I click the mouse, the screen comes back and the resolution has been reset to the lowest possible setting, even though I did not reset it myself. 

I have tried scanning for viruses with the AVG Free program. I have tried scanning for spyware with Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. I have tried scanning my computer for errors with a program called CCleaner. I have tried Defragmentation. I have tried turning off every other process in Task Manager except essential system processes. As a last resort, I did the Destructive System Restoration where it set my computer again as if I had just bought it. The problem persists through all of these things.

I am thinking that it is a failure of the hardware in some respect, but I do not know. 

I would be helpful for any diagnosis of my problems, and any suggested solutions. I thought of buying a new computer, but I really like this one. I hope the problem is resolvable. 

Thank you.


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## cwby74 (Jan 26, 2007)

please give us some basic info on your computer please such as type of video card how much memory and so forth on the computer that your having these problems with.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

It is this:

Compaq Presario SR1120NX
MS Windows XP SP1
Intel Celeron CPU 2.66 GHz
503 MB RAM
Intel 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller

Let me know if there is more to specify, and how to find out the information.

Thank you.


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## cwby74 (Jan 26, 2007)

ok read up a little on you computer and it seems that the only kind of vidcard that you can get for your computer is a pci vid card just in case it is your vid card doing this. you only have 64 mb of onboard memory for you vid card so if your game needs more memory than this to run its going to take it away from you onboard memory. windows xp recommends 256 mb just to run windows xp to so if your game recommends that you have at least 1 gig of memory which some sims games to or at least require you to have at least 500 mb or ram just for the game to run well this might be your prob. do you remember how much memory your sims game requires you to have to run the game.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi, 

Thank you for replying to my problem. I do not think it is a memory problem, but I don't know for sure. Sometimes, I have had 200-350 MB of memory free and it will still freeze. (I was watching the free resources at the same time just for this reason.) Also, it will just freeze randomly when I am not having it do any tasks like video games or Internet. 

I have read a bit about my graphics controller. I guess this controller is integrated with the motherboard (although I'm not really even sure what motherboard really means). So, I don't know if this is called a video card. I was searching and found someone saying they were able to install a new card and get the system to stop using the original graphics controller, so that is possible. 

Thank you.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

For the Sims game in particular, it requires 128 MB or RAM. There is a further requirement saying that the video card needs to have at least 4 MB of memory. 

This also happened with a video game I am playing more recently that has a requirement of 64 MB of RAM. 

Video games with primitive graphics (like from the early 90s) do not seem to trigger the problem with the same frequency.


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## cwby74 (Jan 26, 2007)

sounds like your playing one of the first sims gams that was available, so you should definitly have plenty of memory available for that. and from what im understanding of your pc which was one of compaq's budget models i would probably invest in a newer vid card something with like 256 mb cache intergrated you will get better performance from you games than that of your onboard vid. Your motherboard or sometimes referred to as a mobo for short. is the board that everything is connected to when you open the case (not suggested unless you know what your doing.) One of the other things i forgot to ask you have you been running any antivirus programs or anti-spam or adware programs that are running when you do this?


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi,

Thanks for your input on this. I have tried turning off all of the non-system processes before, including antivirus processes that were labeled as 'SYSTEM'. The computer still froze up with these processes off. I checked and the only processes that I left on were essential system processes, but the computer still froze. 

Do you think that my graphics component is faulty? Would that explain the freezes? Would that explain why the freezes occur more frequently in video games? Also, it is a consistent resolution change to the lowest resolution when I restart after freezing, what could be causing this? 

Finally, if it is my graphics component that is faulty is it possible to totally bypass it so that it is 'cut off' from my system? (I don't want details on how to do that, but I will probably come back here for help if I bought a new video card to replace it.) 

Thank you for your help.


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## cwby74 (Jan 26, 2007)

from the examples that you are giving me and the details of it i would say yes it is your graphics card that is causing this at the moment. no you would not be able to by pass it till you got a new video card for your pc; which as i stated before would only be pci capable not agp or pci express or pcie for short.

for a low end budget card that gets great graphics if thats what you want to look for i can refer you to a couple and im sure some other people can give you a couple more. here is a couple links to a couple vid cards that i would recommend that i have had never had any problems with.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2940957&CatId=319

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=84766&CatId=319

dont worry about the site, this is just a couple that i pulled off a site so you know what they look like and what to look for and there in a good budget range for what you have.


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## ozrom1e (May 16, 2006)

If your video card on-board was defective you would not have a picture on the monitor (worst case) other than that you would have a very visible problem with the picture.

What is actually happening is the video card uses a portion of the system RAM that you have = 512 Mb and your specs say you have 404 MB left so your vidfeo card is using 8 Mb RAM. 

This is all your system is allotting to any program that wants to use it is 8 Mb if the program or game needs more then it has to argue with the Windows Page File and other programs and the windows page file is going to win all of the time. Thus a freeze occurs, if this is the case. The fix for this is to purchase a PCI video adapter that has enough RAM on it and make sure is is the same type of RAM that is in your computer for example if your RAM is DDR make sure the video card is DDR. 

If you get a new video card with say 128 Mb RAM on it then it will make eht video card on th motherboard shut down and this releases the ram that it was using back to the system and it should say 512 Mb RAM.

I would check with your friends and see if they have a PCI video card with atleast 64Mb RAM and try this before purchasing a new card, as the new cards are usually not returnable with out a testing fee.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi there,

Thank you both for your advice and suggestions. I appreciate the examples of video cards that might work good for the solution. The price does not seem so high, so I can see if one of these is able to fix the problem. I will remember it is pci (regular, not express). 

My computer was supposed to come with 512 MB, but I've seen in a couple places that it is really only about 503 MB. The video controller I have now says that it is 64 MB, but you could certainly be right that the video game needs more than 64 MB to work correctly. Getting the 128 MB pci video card and bypassing the built-in controller should fix the problem hopefully. 

Thank you for your help with my problem. 

Please feel free to remark additional insights or suggestions as well.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi everyone,

So I got the new video card today. I opened my computer and installed the new card in the PCI slot. I closed my computer and tried to start up again. I had plugged my monitor into the new VGA output place. I think I went into the program called BIOS or Setup that is before the Windows XP. It said there was PCI and OnBoard. The PCI was already chosen. 

When the system started, I could see my desktop, but much bigger than usual. It said it found new hardware, so I entered the CD and installed it. The book said to restart my computer, and since I couldn't see the Start menu (screen was too big). I pushed the power button on the computer.

After that the regular startup occurred, but after the Windows XP screen (that says 'Microsoft XP Home Edition' and is black mostly) there was just blackness. I couldn't see anything. I tried restarting and nothing helped. I tried going into the BIOS and switching to OnBoard, but it didn't help. 

I turned off the computer opened it and removed the card that was in the other PCI slot. I don't know what that card is, but it was in the PCI slot, and I thought it could be the old graphics card? (Even though I think my system is supposed to have onboard?) I tried again and there was just absolutely nothing. I finally plugged my monitor back into the old VGA output place. Then, I was able to see the BIOS screen again. I entered Setup and switched from OnBoard where it was then, to PCI. I tried again, switching the monitor plug back to the new video card output place, and I can see the BIOS, but just blackness after the 'Microsoft XP Home Edition' screen.) 

I'm not sure what I did wrong, but maybe I did not install the drivers in time? I have no idea what to do now, so I am thankful for any advice anyone might have. I guess I could always try reverting to what I had before, but I want this to work. 

Thanks.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi there,

I was able to get the new video card working apparently. I was able to switch plugs back and use the OnBoard system again. I installed the drivers for the video card from here. I also disabled the old video graphics controller, as per the manufacturer of the video card's instructions. I had to switch plugs again, and switch back to PCI in BIOS, but I got it working apparently. 

I sure wonder what that card I took out of the PCI card slot was for, but I guess it doesn't really matter (knocks on wood). 

Thanks for listening and best wishes.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi everyone,

So, tonight I tried playing a video game again, after successfully installing the new card, and hopefully disabling the old graphics controller through Device Manager. The computer still froze after playing for a couple of minutes! I guess I do need help or advice again. Is the old card still being accessed, did I disable it properly? I am almost certain it is the hardware problem. What could be causing the crashing now that I have switched to a new card? I am helpful for suggestions. 

Also, I noticed there was a lot of dust in the computer when I was in there last night. Could the dust be causing the problem? 

Thanks for any comments.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

By the way, Ozrom1e was correct. After I installed the new video card, the computer says I have 515 MB RAM instead of 504 MB RAM. So, the old card/controller was taking 8 MB. 

Do you all think I should request my thread moved to 'Hardware' forum? I am glad for any advice or suggestions. 

Thanks.


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## IOnceUsedDOS (Oct 11, 2007)

Viola, first may I suggest you stop using the Power Button to reboot or shutdown your computer? Windows has processes that it must shutdown first, and simply removing power is not conducive to that process. Also, why haven't you upgraded to Windows XP SP2? Are you certain that you are using the correct video driver with your new graphics card? Try checking your pagefile size under System.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi, 

Thank you for your reply. I use the Power button because when my computer freezes, there doesn't seem to be any other way to restart it, besides unplugging it. The freeze is total so that I can do absolutely nothing including ctrl-alt-delete. 

I had lots of updates before, but when I did the Destructive System Recovery, all updates were removed. This was to ensure that my problem was not in the system or software. The problem is hardware I believe, because it continued to occur after the Destructive System Recovery. I am not comfortable updating my computer until I have found the cause of the problem. 

I will try to find out if there is a newer video card driver. 

Can you tell me what 'pagefile size' is and how to find it? 

Thank you for your interest in my problem.


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## Brownie_DXB (Oct 19, 2007)

Hi,

I was searching through forums to see if anyone had a similar problem with any solutions. I have kind of the same problem as Viola, my computer randomly freezes and I have to restart it by holding the power button. It also sometimes freezes at the Windows Loading screen (the blue loading bar just stops). I just recently added a new PCI Express Graphics card to my system (Nvidia GeForce 7200 GS 256 MB), 1 GB more of RAM to my 512 MB, making the total to 1.50 GB, and a new HDD of 200 GB. If anyone can help me or Viola in this problem, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you/


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## Brownie_DXB (Oct 19, 2007)

By the way, here are my specs:

Windows XP Homw Edition SP2
Intel Pentium 4 3.20 Ghz
1.50 GB RAM
ASRock P4VM890 MotherBoard
Nvidia GeForce 7200 GS 256 MB Graphics Card
Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit Sound Card

Thanks.


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## ViolaPower (Sep 29, 2007)

Hi there,

I have also tried adding a new 1GB of memory. I have continued to try running The Sims video game that I described before. When I had the old memory alone (512), running this game was pretty much a surefire way to make my computer crash within a half-hour. Now that I have 1.5 GB, the game seems to crash less often. It may crash after 10 minutes, or maybe not crash after 2 hours. Why would increasing my memory help this problem, yet not fix it? I wonder if there is a hardware failure in the original memory that I have, the 512 MB? I am going to try removing that and seeing if the problem goes away. 

Thanks.


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## bluecomet (Dec 6, 2007)

Hi all,

I read all this post because one of my friends has a similar problem. How did you solve yours? It seems it had nothing to do with the graphics card or RAM. My suspicion is that it is a CPU problem. Maybe something related to its cooler, but it seems too simple to be this. What do you all think about these possibilities? Did you check the temperatures?

Thank you for writing on this subject. It was very interesting!


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## Geekers (May 1, 2008)

I'm wondering if it's the power supply unit.

I've just added a new larger hard drive to my system.. original was 40gb, and now also have a 160gb fitted.

Had to disconnect a CD player to power the new HDD.

So now i have 2 HDD's one geforece 6600 graphic card, an extra fan, and one dvd player.

I never had system freezes prior to this, but if i try to use the dvd player, the comp just completely stops responding.

Have an AMD Athlon 2800+ 2.13 ghz and 1gb RAM. 

The power supply unit is a 450 watt.

I'll try disconnecting the power to the new HDD later and see if i still get system freeze upon using dvd player. If not, then I feel it could very well be a power supply problem.

I can't see how an extra HDD minus one CD player could cause such a power drain unless the 120gb HDD uses far more than the original 40gb. 

As far as I am aware, all CMOS settings are in order, nothing appears to be in conflict. have run complete system scan, spyware, virus, registry clean etc etc.. no problems as such..

I do feel it may be the power supply. time will tell


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