Solve : Computer Freezes shortly after loading desktop?

1.	Solve : Computer Freezes shortly after loading desktop?
Answer» Hi, I just built a new computer with gaming in mind, specifically crysis. I was playing with the settings maxed out (tricked the game into allowing very high settings on windows xp) and had been playing for about 4 -5 hours straight when the computer suddenly froze up in game - the type of freeze where the sound loops really really fast forever. I restarted the computer, logged into my account, and the pc froze again (same type of freeze) a few seconds after loading the desktop (however, it didn't completely finish loading the desktop when it froze). I thought it might be due to overheating, so I let it sit for awhile and tried logging in again. This time, it was stable, but when I went to youtube to watch some videos, it froze after about 2 mins of video...more rebooting and youtube...after a few times through this, I noticed it tends to freeze when trying to adjust the volume or skipping ahead on the video, though not always. I let it sit overnight and the next day the same THING happened, though it took a little while to get it to freeze up again while watching videos. After getting it to freeze for the first time (if it hasn't been on in awhile), it usually freezes during the loading of the desktop. Here's an interesting bit too...one time I loaded up the desktop and it didnt freeze, so I decided to just sit around and wait for it to freeze (to see if it would do it just idling). It didn't freeze after 20 mins, so i tried to back up my Hdd using an external drive (which im also having some random unrelated issues with getting it to be detected - isn't getting detected on other systems so it seems unrelated to this one)...since it wasn't being detected, I tried to test the usb ports i was using with a game controller...as soon as i plugged the controller into the usb port, the computer froze like it has been doing. I backed up all the data i needed and then wiped the HD and reinstalled windows to rule out driver conflicts as the HD is from an older system (somewhat extreme I know, but I've been meaning to do it anyways)...windows installed just fine, no problems, no freezes for over 2 hours while wiping and installing, but as soon as I loaded the mobo drivers from the stock CD, it froze again. After freezing and restarting, I check the cpu and mobo temps through bios and get readings of around 40 C for the CPU and 34-38 C for the mobo. The graphics card does not seem unreasonably warm for its model. I had made a pretty clear path for the air before I even tried turning the pc on for the first time, so airflow through the case may not be the problem. I'm using the stock cpu fan to cool the cpu (its a core 2 duo processor), and the thermal paste is also stock - however, the thermal paste does not entirely cover the processor due to the way its applied on the cpu fan. I'd say it covers about 90% of the cpu, with only the edges of the cpu not having any on it (its applied in a circular "blob" fashion). I also tried blowing a big clean, regular-old fan directly onto the heasink from point blank, yet it still froze when watching videos. I've ordered a new fan and some arctic silver and I'm gonna try rolling back all the drivers and flashing BIOS in the morning to rule out BIOS/driver conflicts, but in the meantime, is there anything else I can do to rule out other potential problems? Thanks! Windows XP home edition SP2 Core 2 Duo Intel processor E8400 (LGA775) Asus P5Q mobo XFX geForce gtx 260 896 Mb graphics card (single) 2 Gb DDR2 pc2-8500 Crucial Ballistix Ram - Kit (2 one gig sticks) Maxtor 160 gb SATA HDD Rosewill 600W Performance series PSU CD/DVD burner/player, Floppy Drive Almost forgot, one last question...my mobo has an option of plugging in an 8 pin power connecter for the CPU (instead of 4 - in fact, it's two 4 pin connecters SIDE by side). The PSU also has two 4 pin CPU connecters, but I wasn't sure if my particular CPU was made to support that much power(manuals didn't say anything about it either), so I just plugged in the traditional 4 pin connecter for the CPU...not sure if this could have caused a problem or not, but like I said, it was fine for over 4 hours and it still semi-works now... It's possible the problem IS caused by the HDD- I personally had a HD years ago that would cause my computer to freeze- turned out it had developed some bad sectors. One telltale sign (for me) was that the HD light would remain on as the computer froze. Doesn't prove the HD is at fault. Try a Chkdsk /r to scan for and attempt repair) of bad sectors. It's also possible the graphics card overheated during the marathon run of the game, and caused permanent damage. No way to really prove that but try another card. Quote from: jakkusto on July 26, 2008, 11:36:09 PM but as soon as I loaded the mobo drivers from the stock CD, it froze again. are there any newer drivers?OK took awhile to do all those tests, but I appreciate all the feedback, thanks guys... BC_Prog, I checked all three of the HD's partitions for errors, all three came back clean...I used a maxtor HD floppy BOOT program to do all tests that it could, all of them came back as 'passed'. I also used chkdsk on xp to check the partitions, for the 2 that don't have anything on them (yet) I was simply able to right click on their names in "My computer" and then click properties, tools, error checking to check for errors...for the C drive, I had to go into command prompt to do it since it seemed to freeze when I did it the way I tried to do with the others...when I tried doing it that way, I had to restart the computer, and then xp checked it before fully loading, but it always froze on step 4 when checking files, so I tried doing a lower level way (command prompt) of checking it, but it seems to have checked out with 0 bad sectors/clusters...in all the hours of testing, nothing froze except for when trying to check the C drive as mentioned above. I just flashed the BIOS and replaced the newer video card with my older PNY geforce 7600 gt (no drivers installed yet) to try to rule that out...just wanted to update you guys on my status before I go to youtube and try to freeze up edit* I forgot to mention, there may be newer drivers on the asus website, but I havn't downloaded them yet since I want to see if could be the video card...I'll let you know the status on that on my next postSighok: Please start a new topic so that you can get the help that you need. Quote from: drmsucks on July 27, 2008, 10:10:45 PM Sighok: Please start a new topic so that you can get the help that you need. I split it. It looked like he put a lot of effort into it. Quote from: Carbon Dudeoxide on July 27, 2008, 10:15:25 PM Quote from: drmsucks on July 27, 2008, 10:10:45 PM Sighok: Please start a new topic so that you can get the help that you need. I split it. It looked like he put a lot of effort into it. Yep, he did - they both have the same mb; my BET is a driver or driver conflict; maybe a BIOS update. ok seems to be working without freezing after i flashed the bios, but now I've got another problem. The cd/dvd drive isn't being detected in windows. It was being detected before the freezing occured, as I was installing drivers from the stock CD for the mobo, but now it's not listed in my computer or device manager. If I put a Cd in (say for drivers), it won't autoplay, although the cd drive is spinning(power on). I think the BIOS sees it though, because it specifically lists the model on the boot priority list and also lists it right after POST. I've ruled out the IDE ribbon cable and the cd drive as I tried another good drive and cable (seperately)...all connections seem solid and the 1st pin on cable is lined up with the 1st pin on mobo IDE connector, jumper settings on cd rom are on master (also have it properly connected with respect to the master part of the cable)...any ideas? edit Installed updated mobo drivers from asus website prior to noticing this problem, but I can't be sure if that's the problem because I didn't test the cd/dvd drive after flashing BIOS and before downloading/installing updated mobo driversWindows supplies the drivers for the DVD/CD drive. Remove the drive in Windows Device Manager then re-boot. Windows should 'find' the drive and re-install the drivers for it. Start>Control Panel>System>Hardware Tab>Device Manager, click the '+' sign by DVD/CD Devices, right-click on your drive, 'uninstall'. Re-bootWasn't listed there, nor was it listed under IDE devices/controllers - its like windows doesn't even detect it...I'll recheck the BIOS again, maybe I overlooked somethingOk...I've rechecked BIOS, but i noticed something odd under the boot device priority list. Usually it detects and specifically lists my cd/dvd drive, but occasionally it does not...I haven't really changed the settings during times when i notice this occurring either. Also, even if it's not listed in the boot priority list, it's always listed right after POST on a black screen where it lists the current bios version...this screen is before another screen that lists details about the entire system. On the second screen, I don't see a listing about the cd/dvd drive. I'm starting to suspect that the board's IDE connector is at fault here. Anyone know if there are PATA > SATA converters for the cabling? In other words, is there something I could go buy that can connect the 40 pin ribbon cable into a SATA connector so that I can effectively turn my drive into a SATA cd/dvd drive? I've got multiple SATA connectors on board but only one IDE connector, and I'd rather just go around that particular problem then have to RMA the whole boardFinally found the problem...when I was still trying to resolve the freezing issue, I had gone into device manager and turned off a device that was listed as the SCSI and RAID controller...apparently, this device also controls the IDE interface on the board, but it wasn't listed that way...kinda stupid. Anyway, on a hunch I re-enabled it, and wallah - my cd/dvd drive was detected. Thanks again for everyone's input and advice!Congratulations Enjoy your new build!

Answer»

Hi,

I just built a new computer with gaming in mind, specifically crysis. I was playing with the settings maxed out (tricked the game into allowing very high settings on windows xp) and had been playing for about 4 -5 hours straight when the computer suddenly froze up in game - the type of freeze where the sound loops really really fast forever. I restarted the computer, logged into my account, and the pc froze again (same type of freeze) a few seconds after loading the desktop (however, it didn't completely finish loading the desktop when it froze). I thought it might be due to overheating, so I let it sit for awhile and tried logging in again. This time, it was stable, but when I went to youtube to watch some videos, it froze after about 2 mins of video...more rebooting and youtube...after a few times through this, I noticed it tends to freeze when trying to adjust the volume or skipping ahead on the video, though not always. I let it sit overnight and the next day the same THING happened, though it took a little while to get it to freeze up again while watching videos. After getting it to freeze for the first time (if it hasn't been on in awhile), it usually freezes during the loading of the desktop.

Here's an interesting bit too...one time I loaded up the desktop and it didnt freeze, so I decided to just sit around and wait for it to freeze (to see if it would do it just idling). It didn't freeze after 20 mins, so i tried to back up my Hdd using an external drive (which im also having some random unrelated issues with getting it to be detected - isn't getting detected on other systems so it seems unrelated to this one)...since it wasn't being detected, I tried to test the usb ports i was using with a game controller...as soon as i plugged the controller into the usb port, the computer froze like it has been doing. I backed up all the data i needed and then wiped the HD and reinstalled windows to rule out driver conflicts as the HD is from an older system (somewhat extreme I know, but I've been meaning to do it anyways)...windows installed just fine, no problems, no freezes for over 2 hours while wiping and installing, but as soon as I loaded the mobo drivers from the stock CD, it froze again.

After freezing and restarting, I check the cpu and mobo temps through bios and get readings of around 40 C for the CPU and 34-38 C for the mobo. The graphics card does not seem unreasonably warm for its model. I had made a pretty clear path for the air before I even tried turning the pc on for the first time, so airflow through the case may not be the problem. I'm using the stock cpu fan to cool the cpu (its a core 2 duo processor), and the thermal paste is also stock - however, the thermal paste does not entirely cover the processor due to the way its applied on the cpu fan. I'd say it covers about 90% of the cpu, with only the edges of the cpu not having any on it (its applied in a circular "blob" fashion). I also tried blowing a big clean, regular-old fan directly onto the heasink from point blank, yet it still froze when watching videos. I've ordered a new fan and some arctic silver and I'm gonna try rolling back all the drivers and flashing BIOS in the morning to rule out BIOS/driver conflicts, but in the meantime, is there anything else I can do to rule out other potential problems? Thanks!

Windows XP home edition SP2
Core 2 Duo Intel processor E8400 (LGA775)
Asus P5Q mobo
XFX geForce gtx 260 896 Mb graphics card (single)
2 Gb DDR2 pc2-8500 Crucial Ballistix Ram - Kit (2 one gig sticks)
Maxtor 160 gb SATA HDD
Rosewill 600W Performance series PSU
CD/DVD burner/player, Floppy Drive

Almost forgot, one last question...my mobo has an option of plugging in an 8 pin power connecter for the CPU (instead of 4 - in fact, it's two 4 pin connecters SIDE by side). The PSU also has two 4 pin CPU connecters, but I wasn't sure if my particular CPU was made to support that much power(manuals didn't say anything about it either), so I just plugged in the traditional 4 pin connecter for the CPU...not sure if this could have caused a problem or not, but like I said, it was fine for over 4 hours and it still semi-works now...

It's possible the problem IS caused by the HDD- I personally had a HD years ago that would cause my computer to freeze- turned out it had developed some bad sectors. One telltale sign (for me) was that the HD light would remain on as the computer froze. Doesn't prove the HD is at fault. Try a Chkdsk /r to scan for *and attempt repair) of bad sectors.

It's also possible the graphics card overheated during the marathon run of the game, and caused permanent damage. No way to really prove that but try another card.

Quote from: jakkusto on July 26, 2008, 11:36:09 PM

but as soon as I loaded the mobo drivers from the stock CD, it froze again.

are there any newer drivers?OK took awhile to do all those tests, but I appreciate all the feedback, thanks guys...

BC_Prog, I checked all three of the HD's partitions for errors, all three came back clean...I used a maxtor HD floppy BOOT program to do all tests that it could, all of them came back as 'passed'. I also used chkdsk on xp to check the partitions, for the 2 that don't have anything on them (yet) I was simply able to right click on their names in "My computer" and then click properties, tools, error checking to check for errors...for the C drive, I had to go into command prompt to do it since it seemed to freeze when I did it the way I tried to do with the others...when I tried doing it that way, I had to restart the computer, and then xp checked it before fully loading, but it always froze on step 4 when checking files, so I tried doing a lower level way (command prompt) of checking it, but it seems to have checked out with 0 bad sectors/clusters...in all the hours of testing, nothing froze except for when trying to check the C drive as mentioned above.

I just flashed the BIOS and replaced the newer video card with my older PNY geforce 7600 gt (no drivers installed yet) to try to rule that out...just wanted to update you guys on my status before I go to youtube and try to freeze up

*edit*
I forgot to mention, there may be newer drivers on the asus website, but I havn't downloaded them yet since I want to see if could be the video card...I'll let you know the status on that on my next postSighok: Please start a new topic so that you can get the help that you need. Quote from: drmsucks on July 27, 2008, 10:10:45 PM

Sighok: Please start a new topic so that you can get the help that you need.

I split it. It looked like he put a lot of effort into it. Quote from: Carbon Dudeoxide on July 27, 2008, 10:15:25 PM

Quote from: drmsucks on July 27, 2008, 10:10:45 PM
Sighok: Please start a new topic so that you can get the help that you need.
I split it. It looked like he put a lot of effort into it.

Yep, he did - they both have the same mb; my BET is a driver or driver conflict; maybe a BIOS update.
ok seems to be working without freezing after i flashed the bios, but now I've got another problem. The cd/dvd drive isn't being detected in windows. It was being detected before the freezing occured, as I was installing drivers from the stock CD for the mobo, but now it's not listed in my computer or device manager. If I put a Cd in (say for drivers), it won't autoplay, although the cd drive is spinning(power on). I think the BIOS sees it though, because it specifically lists the model on the boot priority list and also lists it right after POST. I've ruled out the IDE ribbon cable and the cd drive as I tried another good drive and cable (seperately)...all connections seem solid and the 1st pin on cable is lined up with the 1st pin on mobo IDE connector, jumper settings on cd rom are on master (also have it properly connected with respect to the master part of the cable)...any ideas?

*edit*
Installed updated mobo drivers from asus website prior to noticing this problem, but I can't be sure if that's the problem because I didn't test the cd/dvd drive after flashing BIOS and before downloading/installing updated mobo driversWindows supplies the drivers for the DVD/CD drive. Remove the drive in Windows Device Manager then re-boot. Windows should 'find' the drive and re-install the drivers for it.

Start>Control Panel>System>Hardware Tab>Device Manager, click the '+' sign by DVD/CD Devices, right-click on your drive, 'uninstall'. Re-bootWasn't listed there, nor was it listed under IDE devices/controllers - its like windows doesn't even detect it...I'll recheck the BIOS again, maybe I overlooked somethingOk...I've rechecked BIOS, but i noticed something odd under the boot device priority list. Usually it detects and specifically lists my cd/dvd drive, but occasionally it does not...I haven't really changed the settings during times when i notice this occurring either. Also, even if it's not listed in the boot priority list, it's always listed right after POST on a black screen where it lists the current bios version...this screen is before another screen that lists details about the entire system. On the second screen, I don't see a listing about the cd/dvd drive. I'm starting to suspect that the board's IDE connector is at fault here. Anyone know if there are PATA > SATA converters for the cabling? In other words, is there something I could go buy that can connect the 40 pin ribbon cable into a SATA connector so that I can effectively turn my drive into a SATA cd/dvd drive? I've got multiple SATA connectors on board but only one IDE connector, and I'd rather just go around that particular problem then have to RMA the whole boardFinally found the problem...when I was still trying to resolve the freezing issue, I had gone into device manager and turned off a device that was listed as the SCSI and RAID controller...apparently, this device also controls the IDE interface on the board, but it wasn't listed that way...kinda stupid. Anyway, on a hunch I re-enabled it, and wallah - my cd/dvd drive was detected. Thanks again for everyone's input and advice!Congratulations

Enjoy your new build!

Solve : Computer Freezes shortly after loading desktop?

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