Random lock up's, could it be the BIOS?

[Pethegreat]

I am getting random lock-ups of my computer. The display gets stuck and the computer is un-responsive. The lock-ups happen at random regardless of what programs are running. The only way to stop this is to do a hard reboot. Upon reboot the system gives me a "disc read error". This is only temporally fixed(until the next freeze) by unplugging the computer, waiting 10 seconds, and plugging it back in.

System Spec:
AMD phenom II X4 940
DFI LP DK 790FX (BIOS updated to 2009, 2010 updates only add support for X6 processors)
4gb ddr2
ATI 4850 (running catalyst 10.9)
620watt seasonic PSU.

At first I thought it was the power supply. So I bought a new Seasonic unit to replace the 4 year old Antec unit I had. However this did not do much to solve the problem. I also suspected the hard drive may have been causing the problems since it is also 4 years old. I checked the hard drive status with a S.M.A.R.T. utility, and there are no issues with the drive.

I suspect I am having problems with my bios since they are part of the chain that allows the OS to communicate the hard drive. The last time I updated them was back in February 2008 so that my motherboard could use the then new Phenom II processor. Since then no major updates have been released aside from adding Phenom II X6 support.

I am leery of trying to flash my BIOS again since the last 2 times have given me some form of trouble. DFI's site and their directions don't offer much help either.

So are my problems being caused by my BIOS? If so would flashing my BIOS fix it, and what is a foolproof way to go about flashing the BIOS?

 

[T_T]

Welcome, Newcomer. Are you using SATA or IDE? If you're using a SATA, try the following:

1. Change the SATA data cable
2. Change the SATA power cable
3. Change the SATA port

In an effort to ensure your RAM is good, I would download MemTest86+ and burn the .iso file to cd. You must make a bootable cd. After burning, pop the disc into the problematic computer. For best results, test only one stick at a time.

 

[Pethegreat]

I did run memtest 86+ back when I first running into issues. I found I had a bad 2gb stick that I removed. I had 6gb, running 4gb now. The 2gb stick was the different brand than the other 2 sticks I have in now. It was also 4 years old.

I changed the SATA power cable when I switched power supplies. I will switch the cable and port when I can get another SATA cable next week.

 

[Pethegreat]

Best answer selected by Pethegreat.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar