HELP!!!! HP DC7900 SFF computer freeze then BSOD

[Jordans HP DC7900 SFF]

Hi, my HP dc7900 small form factor PC running windows 7 pro has been driving me insane. Right after booting to the log in screen one day, I logged in and after a couple seconds, the screen freezes all pixelated like and then a bsod shows for a second and then the screen goes off. The computer tower itself is still stays on.
I then hold the power button down for 5 seconds to hard reboot and upon turning it back on, the monitor stays black and the fans in the computer accelerate to full power.
Now, I rarely get beyond seconds of logging on before it freezes again. So I can't even access any minidump files. Also, I tested the memory modules, hard drive, and monitor with a relatives computer, and they are fine. The drivers in device manager were all updated when i last checked as well. This problem is so frustrating because it worked fine before!

 

[rhysiam]

Does a boot into safe mode work? Press F8 just before the Windows loading screen appears and you'll get access to a variety of options, one of which will be Safe mode. If it boots into safe mode then you probably have a driver issue.

 

[Jordans HP DC7900 SFF]

Well, it even freezes in safe mode sometimes as well. I don't think it's a driver as I would think when they are all updated that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Hpguru4627]

I am aware of this problem with these units and in following these steps below, these issues shouldn't surface again.

1. The CPU and/or another component could be overheating. A good way to prevent this is by going into the BIOS settings and under the "Power" drop down menu enter the "Thermal" setting. This special setting simply adjusts the speed of the case fans. I have found the factory default setting is not sufficient enough to cool certain components when they are stressed by graphically intense software like 3D games.

2. The hard drive's windows boot files were most likely corrupt, so format the hard drive and do a clean re-installation of windows. I'd highly advise anybody else do the same with this same problem.

3. After re-installing windows, the very first thing you will want to do when connected to the internet is download a "SoftPaq" (a driver patch) that HP released a couple years after initially producing the dc7900. It contains a customer advisory about the problem and includes the driver patches that are supposed to solve the issue. After installing them, these computers should run perfectly with no freezing or bsod issues at all.

Here is the link to the HP advisory with the driver patches:

http://h20566.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/kb/docDisplay/?spf_p.tpst=kbDocDisplay&spf_p.prp_kbDocDisplay=wsrp-navigationalState%3DdocId%253Demr_na-c01662424-40%257CdocLocale%253D%257CcalledBy%253D&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken

 

[Jordans HP DC7900 SFF]

I am aware of this problem with these units and in following these steps below, these issues shouldn't surface again.

1. The CPU and/or another component could be overheating. A good way to prevent this is by going into the BIOS settings and under the "Power" drop down menu enter the "Thermal" setting. This special setting simply adjusts the speed of the case fans. I have found the factory default setting is not sufficient enough to cool certain components when they are stressed by graphically intense software like 3D games.

2. The hard drive's windows boot files were most likely corrupt, so format the hard drive and do a clean re-installation of windows. I'd highly advise anybody else do the same with this same problem.

3. After re-installing windows, the very first thing you will want to do when connected to the internet is download a "SoftPaq" (a driver patch) that HP released a couple years after initially producing the dc7900. It contains a customer advisory about the problem and includes the driver patches that are supposed to solve the issue. After installing them, these computers should run perfectly with no freezing or bsod issues at all.

Here is the link to the HP advisory with the driver patches:

http://h20566.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/kb/docDisplay/?spf_p.tpst=kbDocDisplay&spf_p.prp_kbDocDisplay=wsrp-navigationalState%3DdocId%253Demr_na-c01662424-40%257CdocLocale%253D%257CcalledBy%253D&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken

Thank you VERY much it fixed it alright!!