Vista Freezes

[rgeiken]

An HP A6827C desktop computer has an abnormal amount of crashes with Windows Vista 64 bit. At times the crash happens when moving the mouse, but occasionally it happens with no programs running. I removed Norton Security Suite and have Comodo and AVG 8.5 installed at present and while the number of crashes has reduced, they still happen. when the O/S reboots, it comes back on and things will normally work normally. What are some of the files that can be viewed to try to determine what is causing the crashes or I as I would like to call them, Freeze ups. Everything just freezes in place and the mouse pointer is frozen in place too.

Ron Geiken

 

[dmroeder]

Do you get a blue screen? If so, what does it say?

 

[rgeiken]

NO Blue Screen. It just freezes, and if you are moving the mouse, it just freezes in place. Restarting computer causes it to work next time, and it may not freeze any time soon after that. It seems to be an intermittent freeze. Also, not particular program may be on. The Vista 64 bit may just be running with no other things running. Have replaced Norton with Comodo and AVG 8.5, and not sure if that was part of problem or not, but still freezes up. The computer is actually owned by my neighbor, but have been there frequently when it was freezing up. Might freeze once or twice a day. Some days more often. Have updated the HP drivers that HP software indicates are outdated, and has not seemed to help. Vista is also fully up to date. I have disabled Norton in msconfig, but have not removed it completely. As near as I know, it is installed, but not running. Most of the time, no other programs are running. I have seen that a whole lot of HP Desktop and Laptop computers seem to have freezing problems too. I have Vista 32 bit on a custom built computer, and it runs smoothly with almost no crashes over a week or month.

The HP computer has a dual processor and 6 gig of ram. The computer runs good when it is not crashing. Also it is connected to the internet by router and cable modem.

Ron Geiken

 

[aford10]

Boot into the repair console and at the command line type chkdsk /r

You also may want to download memtest and test the RAM.

 

[Zoron]

Wouldn't hurt to try a BIOS update... that's one update that might not have been done.

 

[rgeiken]

This HP Desktop computer was crashing right out of the box. It's reliability Index as can be read in the Reliability and Performance monitor was about 3 to 4 and it should be 9 or greater to be able to have a computer that runs reliable. It came from Costco, and you can return it with no question in 90 days. It will go back to the store and my neighbor will buy a new Lenovo or other more reliable unit. My own computer is around 7 which is none too good, but can live with that. That is a good reason to buy electronics from Costco or other sellers that will let you return things within a 90 day period. Right now, I don't have a very positive outlook on HP computers.

 

[aford10]

^ You aren't alone with that opinion.

 

[ibnsina]

Using the System Configuration utility, you can disable all start-up programs (Diagnostic startup) to see if any program is causing the problem.

To perform a diagnostic startup, follow these steps:

For windows Vista
Click Start, type msconfig in the search box and then click OK.
On the General tab, click Diagnostic Startup, and then click OK.
Restart your computer.


For windows XP
Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
On the General tab, click Diagnostic Startup, and then click OK.
Restart your computer

If the problem does not occur, run the program again and choose Selective startup mode to try to find the problem by turning individual services and startup programs on or off.


For more information click here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560
(this guide for windows XP, but applies to Vista as well)


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Also there are other useful tools in windows , such as Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor which provides a system stability overview and details about events that impact reliability.

To use this program do as follows.

From windows go to Start, the put mouse cursor on Computer (or My Computer in XP) and then press right button on the mouse and click Manage , once the programs opens up, In the navigation tree, expand Reliability and Performance, expand Monitoring Tools, and click Reliability Monitor.

Based on data collected over the lifetime of the system, each date in the System Stability Chart includes a graph point showing that day's System Stability Index rating.

The System Stability Index is a number from 1 (least stable) to 10 (most stable) and is a weighted measurement derived from the number of specified failures seen over a rolling historical period.

Reliability Events in the System Stability Report describe the specific failures. Look at chart can you see any x and i, below 0 . If yes then double click on it. At the bottom it gives more information about the about the cause of Error event, whether it was Application , Hardware, or miscellaneous Windows Failure .

For more information about interpreting the System Stability report, click here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749583%28WS.10%29.aspx


Also look at the even viewer more information click here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766042%28WS.10%29.aspx

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If the problem persists, then try installing the components one at the time until you find out which is the conflicting one.
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[rgeiken]

When you buy a brand new computer, you don't expect to have to do things like that. This computer is owned by an older woman, and she certainly does not have the expertise to do things like that. I have helped her get it up and running, and did not expect to find stability problems. It is up to HP to turn out computers without stability problems not up to me to try to discover where they are. I saw a lot of people out on the Internet having Freeze problems with HP computers, and The two computers that I have with Vista, 1 32 bit, and 1 64 bit run just fine with a minimum amount of problems. The freezes on the HP happened when my neighbor was just using the computer. I have had a HP computer in the past, and while most of the time it worked pretty good, it never worked as good as my current "White Box" computer. System Stability Report is a valuable tool in Vista, and it shows when you have a computer that is a real problem, especially when it is brand new.

 

[ibnsina]

What are some of the files that can be viewed to try to determine what is causing the crashes or I as I would like to call them, Freeze ups.

 

[rgeiken]

Under Administrative Tools in Control Panel, select Reliability and Performance, and then select Reliability Monitor. This gives you a rolling average of your computers reliability for the past month. There are different kinds of reports that you can generate in this app that may help you to determine what is causing the failure. Often times when you have a crash there will be a windows screen that comes up with the files that are generated due to the crash. I have never been able to find those files when I did a search on the start menu. I don't know as much as I could about this since my computer has usually been stable enough that I didn't have to delve into them. There is probably a lot of information on the Internet to point the way to resolve the crash problems. However, somethings they seem to be random types of events. Maybe in 10 years this type of information will be more common on Computers. When you have run chkdsk, system file scan, and all the drivers in Device Manager are up to date and the Vista Operating system is also up to date, the resolution of problems become more difficult.

 

[rgeiken]

Sorry, this problem was not solved!!!! The computer was returned to Costco and the money paid was refunded. A new Lenovo computer was purchased at Fry's Electronics. The new computer had a quad processor and 6 gig of ram, and had a reliability rating of 10 after a week of use. That means that for seven days it had not crashes compared to 5 to 10 crashes on the HP after a week or two of operation. Personally I would not buy another HP computer. My Lenovo and also my neighbors have both proved very reliable and enjoyable to use. It is best to read up on any computer that you are going to buy and see if they are having abnormal problems. I found out about some of the HP problems after the fact. You buy a computer on faith that it will come out of the box and operate pretty reliably for years. You don't need one that has continual problems from day one.