No matter how long someone has been working with computers, troubleshooting the problem when a computer randomly freezes can be one of the hardest things to fix. There are so many factors that can play into this issue. Between hardware, software, cables and accessories you get a huge laundry list of things that can cause computer freezes.
IMPORTANT: The number one thing you can do when troubleshooting this issue, is to try and figure out exactly what is causing the computer to freeze. Here is what I mean:
- Is it when you plug in the new external hard drive you just bought the other day
- It freezes when you open your internet browser and point it to a specific website – it could be a feature that website requires such as Flash that is causing your computer to freeze
- Is it when you start to play your favorite game – Does it happen for all games you play or just a specific one
You need to get really specific and try to pinpoint exactly when this is happening. By doing this, you will greatly reduce the number of factors that could be making your computer freeze.
I was recently experiencing this issue myself. I have a custom built computer with Windows Vista on it. It seemed that every time I would either play a video on the internet or do something that required a lot of CPU threads that my machine would freeze and eventually just reboot. It took me a bit of troubleshooting to finally narrow this down, but once I did I started to perform some things that I thought would fix this issue.
The first thing I thought of was an overheating issue. I thought that maybe the RAM was going bad due to overheating. When I would shut my computer down, I could barely even touch the RAM because it was so hot. I reseated the memory and tested by playing a video and sure enough, the computer still froze.
Finally: I unplugged everything from the back of my computer and removed the side panel. I went ahead and removed the Processor, Memory, Video Card and all plugs from the motherboard. I then broke out my trusty vacuum cleaner and began the cleaning. I made sure the processor heat sink and fan were clean plus all other case fans.
I plugged everything back in and it has been running like a charm since!
Cheers
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Increasing your laptop memory is the fast and most cost effective way to improve the performance of your laptop.
I looked inside and there is no dust.Anyway tommorow Im going to the store and tell them to check my comp for any problems. I think its something about the video card when the comp freezes sometimes I can close the game and then I get an error saying something about the video crashing and everything starts to have low graphics ( desktop , icons everything). If thats the problem then Im lucky I can get a new one for free I still have 1 year insurance. About the RAMs I would get more but I dont know if I have the money right now. I will post again in 1-2 days and tell you what the problem is. Thanks
Good call Waldo. Take advantage of the insurance. As I always say. On anything that includes electronics, it is always best to get a warranty or extended insurance.
Please do let us know what ends up correcting the issue!
Good luck.
2 GB RAM
Intel(R) Core(TM) Due CPU E7400 @ 2.80 GHZ (2 CPUs)
Gigabyte Technology Co.,Ltd
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Windows XP Professional
The computer works fine accept when I play games. Sometime it freezes after 5 minutes of playing sometime after 1 hour so its really random. But it doesent freeze at every game only at newer ones like Mass Effect 2 , WoW and others. I have this problem for 1-2 months now since I last reinstalled windows.
Any advice on the matter please.
Waldo:
There are a couple of things that stand out to me from the info you have provided.
The first is that you only have 2GB of RAM. You may want to think about bumping that up to 4GB. It looks like your Video card should be sufficient, but maybe you could try lower the game play resolution a bit on the games that your computer freezes up on.
Also make sure all internal fans are running and that your CPU heatsink is not all clogged up with dust. Take not to the fan on your video card as well. Sometimes a good cleaning can do wonders.
Let me know if you need some help finding the correct RAM if you think you want to upgrade. That would be my first suggestion.
I have a Gateway GT 5032
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 x2 Dual Core 4200+
L2 Cache – 128 KB
4 GB RAM
Motherboard C51MCP51
NVIDIA GeoForce 7300 GT
Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard 1.1 Combo (Mouse included) USB
Primary Master HD – WD3200 – IDE
Primary Slave HD – WD3200 – IDE
Secondary Master – HL-DT-STDVD-RW GWA-4165B ATA
Secondary Salve HD – Hitachi HDP7250 – SATA
Windows 7 Ultimate (6.1.7600)
IE Explorer 8.0.700.16385
I have tested the memory with Microsft Memory Diagnostic Tool and it seems fine.
Have no overheating problems, all my fans are working perfectly, video card the same.
It doesn’t matter if I have all the drives connected or just one, after a random amount of time the comuter freezes, mostly when surfing the web (no especif site).
I have tried with Win XP, Vista, Win 7, no other software installed and it does the same. I have tried with 1GB of RAM, 2, 3 and 4 and it’s the same.
I have disbaled the hardware accelaration, same results.
Interesting facts. If I use the MOBO integrated grapchics controller (NVIDIA 6100), the OS (Any Win XP, Vista or Win 7) install perfectly but the first time it boots to finalize the installation, a black screen comes up. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del brings with Win 7 the Logon screen and the Task Manger option, but when pressed the black screen returns. If I installed the GeoForce 7300 I have perfect video.
The computer can be on without being used for hours and then suddenly freezes. Can be on for 5, 10 or 15 minutes and after surfing it freezes. The same happens if working with no internet connection.
I disable the bult in LAn and installed a PCI one, same results.
Can’t seem to find what triggers the freeze.
Anyway, thanks for lstening to me or for giving me a new insgight to continue to solve the problem.
Wicho:
Thanks for the comment!
I read over it and it seems like you are definitely in a position to pull your hair out! I hate it when it is almost impossible to find out why a machine is acting the way it is.
I have a couple of quick things you could try.
1. Try checking to see if there is a firmware or bios update for your motherboard. If there is, I would update it.
2. Unplug any component that is not needed. Extra drives..PCI cards..use the onboard video…and also reseat all components including the processor.
After doing this see if you are still having the same problem and report back.
Cheers.