Intermittent complete freeze

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

>From time to time, and very often within 30 minutes of my computer
being inactive (me not using it) it freezes completely.

I have checked the obvious Event Viewer and there is no activity logged
around the time of each crash... The CPU seems to running at a
reasonable temperature (though I received a warning on booting, once,
that the fan wasn't working (though it definitely is now). I've
unplugged all peripherals and tried running with virtually no programs
running to no avail.

Any ideas about what to check or what could be the cause would be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Gavin Ayling

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Does the silence suggest that no-one has any ideas? I have pretty much
ruled out everything now....

It looks like the fan just hadn't got up to speed in time for the
BIOS's warning....

 

[Malke]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

gavin.ayling@gmail.com wrote:

> Does the silence suggest that no-one has any ideas? I have pretty much
> ruled out everything now....
>
> It looks like the fan just hadn't got up to speed in time for the
> BIOS's warning....

Sounds like hardware issues. Here are general hardware troubleshooting
steps:

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an hour or two - unless errors are
seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Download
the file and make a bootable floppy or cd with it. Boot with the media
and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power supply can be faulty.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a professional
computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA).

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User