Computer Freezes Randomly

[imail724]

Every now and then my computer will completely freeze on me, leaving me no choice but to hold in the power button and restart it.
When the issue first arrised, I did not have a dedicated graphics card, and the computer would black out and be unresponsive. Upon installing a graphics card I continued to have the issue, but instead of turning black it would just freeze on whatever screen I was currently on.
After trying many different suggestions (such as updating drivers, deleting things, etc.) I updated the BIOS of my GA-880GMA-USB3, but after a few minutes running it blue-screened. I then was suggested that taking out 2 sticks of RAM could help (I have 4 installed, 2 when I built the computer, 2 added later). I did this and the blue-screens stopped and I thought the problem was fixed. After a little over a week, I had another freeze up, so that's not the issue.
I have ran both memtest86 and hdtest which both passed. I have also checked cpu temp and that was normal too.
RAM timings and voltages are set manually in the BIOS based on manufacturers recommended settings.

· OS - Windows 7 x64
· Age of system - ~ 2 - 2.5 years
· CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
· Video Card - MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready
· MotherBoard - GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD
· Power Supply - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series 550W
· RAM - G. Skill Ripjaws Series DDR3-1600 8gb (4x2gb)

 

[spooky2th]

What about the timing on the memory? Manufacturer specs are 9-9-9-24

If that doesn't work, slow it down a bit with 9-9-9-27

 

[TenPc]

Disconnect the external hdd and then see if the system freezes. Only connect it when you are actually needing it for a task.
You should not have an external hdd connected prior to boot up or at shut down.

 

[spooky2th]

It should not make any difference if an external HD is connected or not at boot up or shut down. That is the safest way to connect them, prior to boot and disconnect after shut down.

But it is something worth trying to see if the external HD is causing problems or not.

 

[imail724]

What about the timing on the memory? Manufacturer specs are 9-9-9-24

If that doesn't work, slow it down a bit with 9-9-9-27

I am running those timers from the Manufacturer specs, I'll try 27 though and see what happens.

 

[TenPc]

It should not make any difference if an external HD is connected or not at boot up or shut down. That is the safest way to connect them, prior to boot and disconnect after shut down.

But it is something worth trying to see if the external HD is causing problems or not.

No it is not the safest way to connect them, you run the risk of damaging the external hdd, but suit yourself.

 

[spooky2th]

"No it is not the safest way to connect them, you run the risk of damaging the external hdd, but suit yourself."

TenPc? Are you saying that you should connect or disconnect an external drive while the CPU is running??? Just like an internal drive you should power down before connecting or disconnecting anything. USB thumb drives are OK to connect while the comp is running but you should use the "safely remove hardware function" when uninstalling them or else power down the PC.

 

[TenPc]

No, I'm saying that having the external hdd connected prior to booting up(powering on) is an unsafe method, as is powering down at shutdown.
The PSU has to account for the power requirement of the external hdd when it powers up all the hardware etc.. It's better not to havi it connected so the power requirement is only for the hardware inside the case.

 

[spooky2th]

TenPc?
I do not know of any external HD that is powered by the computer's PSU. Except flash drives and the power is so very minimal with them. Besides, whats the difference if you have an external drive and then you install it inside the computer and wire it to the PSU and have several drives. Maybe even a RAID configuration of 2 to 6 drives internally?

 

[TenPc]

An external hdd is connected to the usb port.

 

[spooky2th]

TenPc,
All of my external USB HDs are powered by a power supply that I plug into a wall outlet. Even my dual slot BlackX SATA bay (external) is powered by AC from a wall outlet. The manual that came with the USB drives even states that it is best to not insert or pull out the USB connection when the PC is running. I have many USB devices (printer, scanner and more) that stay connected when powering down and up.

 

[TenPc]

Probably only in your country.

The xternal hdd is connected to the usb port for its data transfer.....

All I'm suggesting is to just remove it prior to booting, at least try it rather than debate the issue.

Just about everyrthing else has been tried except the external hdd and actually using the correct ram speed as shown in the spec sheet.

 

[spooky2th]

TenPc?
You said that you run the risk of damaging an external HDD by connecting/disconnecting when the computer is off!?!? It is exactly the other way around! You are talking about what country I am from??? Well, I'd bet that external HDD's are universally the same in any country.

It's not always the best thing for the computer either even when some devices and ports are designed to be "hot swappable." Comps should be "off" when connecting or disconnecting devices, especially HDDs or at least use the "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" function that is there for external USB devices.

 

[TenPc]

Spooky, go back and read what I actually wrote.. You just confirmed what I had already stated.

If the OP is still there, try using the PC withouit the external HDD connected, at least for a few hours. If the problem persists, give details.

 

[imail724]

Well I just bumped the tRAS timing to 27 from the manufacturer's recommended 24, so I'm going to see if anything changes. Unplugging the external HD will be my next move if this doesn't work.

 

[spooky2th]

imail724,
Let's hope it works for you! You should try various settings until you get a stable setting. In the last 880 board I used for a build, I installed 1333MHz memory and the only stable configuration that I found was 9-9-9-27 running at the 1333MHz.

Edit: Even though the manufacturer's specs were 9-9-9-24
And bumping up the DRAM voltage a little might help as well.


And TenPc,
I read what you posted and you gave some terrible advice, saying that external HDD's could be harmed if they are still connected at boot or shutdown. I said that HDs should be connected prior to boot and disconnected after shutdown and you responded:

TenPc: "No it is not the safest way to connect them, you run the risk of damaging the external hdd, but suit yourself."

Oh well.....

 

[TenPc]

I said to not cvonnect then at boot up and disconnect prior to shutdown.
2.5inch external hdd's draw all their running power from the usb port so on boot up, the psu has to account for that device.
3.5 inch draw their power from qan external power source but the usb port is still drawing power to which the PSU will also have take into consideration.

If a power surge occurs to that usb port,w hich cvan happen at times, the hdd is in danger of being fried.

If the OP prefers to take your advice then the onus is on you.

This will be my last comment on this thread.

Good luck with your PC.

 

[spooky2th]

All USB circuits, at least since the inception of USB 2.0 have (and it is required) over current protection. There is little to no chance that booting and shutting down a comp will damage an external USB HDD. Getting struck by lightning, maybe.....

 

[imail724]

So after thinking I may finally be out of the water, I had another freeze up 2 nights ago. First one since May 12. So all signs are still pointing to PSU or mobo.

 

[spooky2th]

I would bump up the memory voltage slightly higher than 1.5V.

 

[imail724]

It was at 1.6 for a while before I lowered it to 1.5, do you think I should try 1.7?

 

[spooky2th]

I would try 1.62 thru 1.7 if you can get those increments. Serious overclockers go a lot higher. Like I said previously, you will probably have to try several settings to find the right combination.

 

[imail724]

Possibly a fluke since this isn't the same error I've been running into, but I just had a BSOD, would someone be able to take a look at this dump file and tell me what caused it? Thanks
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsz7lug8f69rdwi/070513-23166-01.dmp

Edit: And since posting this I've had 2 more blue screens. I haven't installed any new hardware recently and up until today the computer has been running fine so I have no idea what's causing these.

 

[spooky2th]

Re-reading this thread again, I noticed that you updated your BIOS. And then it immediately blue screened. Try setting optimized defaults and then setting the memory and what ever else needs to be set up. Every time you update the BIOS, you need to set it up again, normally starting out with optimized defaults.

 

[imail724]

Yeah I did that, so I don't think that was it. Today after it was happening, I removed 2 sticks of RAM (leaving me with 4 gigs rather than 8) and the blue screening stopped. Maybe my motherboard just can't handle 8 gigs, even though the specs say it can.

 

[bogbog]

Dear imail724,

My new office computer used to freeze on me and I also did exactly as you did. I added graphics card and it improved from black out to just freeze randomly. I did a ram check, HDD scan, changed ram etc., exactly almost everything that you did. I brought it home (for service) and found that it's running fine for days so I thought it might be because of the power (the surge protector or UPS) and I was right. If I only use that UPS with my PC, it's fine but if I added printer (just an inkjet, in the direct port) the PC will freeze. So I dedicate that UPS (1000 VA, Syndrome Star something) solely for the PC and it still running without randomly freeze up on me again (finger crossed).

At first I didn't think that the UPS was the cause, really it's a brand new set of computer but the PC can be used with my CanoScan LiDE which power from USB just fine so I don't think it's because the power supply of my PC.

Hope this might be useful,
B