Random freezes with windows 7 - 64 bit

Anonymous

I use to run Vista home premium x86 on a acer computer. This summer I downloaded Windows 7 rc x86. A month ago I bought all new parts and since I could use 64-bit system now I installed a 64-bit Windows 7. Then did the problem start. Every new and then the computer freezes, some days over 30 times. I thought it was hardware problem and tried a lot of hardware finders and nothing helped. I also installed windows 7 rc my mothers laptop (The same version I use to have that work fine) that used to run on Vista home basic.. But her computer didn’t freeze it just got a black screen now and then.

The I started to suspect that it was because it was a beta version so when windows 7 were released I bought two of them a 32-bit and a 64-bit. But the problem didn´t go away. It´s still there and It´s kind of frustrating and even more now when I’m trying to write a essay.

I used windows upgrade advisor and it didn´t see any problem with an upgrade to windows 7. What can I do?

original title: Random freezes with windows 7

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Anonymous

Guys,

I might have the answer to your problems. This might fix your sleep/suspend problems and your random freezing problems. Bottom line is that the default and "auto" values in Win 7 and your BIOS might not produce a stable computer...even with a virgin install.

RANDOM FREEZES FIX:

My computer used to freeze randomly until I fixed the memory timings. I suspected bad memory early on and tested it with MEMTEST, but it passed with flying colors. I even tried swaping memory out, trying to eliminate bad memory and/or slots. It turned out that it was a memory frequency/timings/voltage issue. No more freezes! If you have a similar setup, this will most likely fix it. If not, then check your memory and/or power supply.

The "AUTO" settings in BIOS *may not* produce a stable setting. You have to goto the ASUS support website and download the latest memory QVL and lookup the memory settings for your particular brand there. For my memory (OCZX1333LV6GK(XMP)) I had to make the following adjustments in the BIOS:

DRAM Freq:1066 (even though my memory is rated at 1333 frequency, the QVL guide recommended a lower freq!)

7-7-7-16 for the rest of the timings. The other settings I was able to leave in "AUTO"

DRAM BUS Voltage: 1.6

*warning: be sure to consult your memory/motherboard documentation...the wrong value could damage your components!

SUSPEND/SLEEP FIX:

My computer used to hang when coming out of sleep or wouldn't completely goto sleep. This solution may be partially dependent on you fixing a random freezing issue if you have one.

In your "advanced" power settings, disable "Hybrid Sleep". That's it! My motherboard doesn't like hybrid sleep.

*If you have a desktop with a UPS, Win 7 will treat it like a laptop and apply the battery settings....sooo make sure you adjust the "on battery" settings!

My setup:

Processor:Intel core i7 920

Motherboard:Asus P6T

Memory: OCZX1333LV6GK(XMP) (ie. 6GB in 3 sticks)

Harddrive: 3 x WD Caviar Black drives in RAID 5

PSU: X3 1000W

Video card: 2 x NVIDIA 9800 GTX+ SLI

*I have all of the ASUS overclocking/energy savings programs uninstalled

*I have the latest BIOS 0801 and all the latest drivers installed

Nick

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966 additional answers

Anonymous

2009-11-14T21:23:51+00:00

Well I have reinstalled W7 x64 and applied all the dell supplied drivers. I then applied the hotfix, http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/976972. The machine ran for almost half a day so I thought I had cracked it.

Alas back to freezing again.

The only thing I can think of now is to start disabling hardware, (WWAN card, GPRS, ethernet). Interestingly on this machine, (Studio XPS 13), the nVidia video drivers fell over after the wireless card was installed and had to be re-applied, this happened on both build occasions. Makes me wonder if the nVidea drivers are flaky.
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Anonymous

2009-11-14T19:27:42+00:00

FYI I'm not running CloneDVD so I'll stick out of that thread. I've got rid of everything that I can (I've also diagnosed my dumps with WinDBG as stated above and come to different results). However I think this could be a different issue (dumps only happen on shutdown).

Back to the real freezing problem then - I agree the 9F hotfix (stated earlier) looks an interesting prospect, but we need to wait for MS to write a knowledge base article for 976972.... still in the pipeline.
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Anonymous

2009-11-14T19:06:34+00:00

I'm now working on this issue with Mark from Microsoft at the TechNet Win7 forum. The link is http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itprohardware/thread/62fe9e71-9f3f-483e-8152-dc5e21cc4ead for anyone who wants to follow that.
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Anonymous

2009-11-14T13:41:08+00:00

Hey txtomcat, I see you also have the 9f error, which is related to the power transistion.

FYI, since my chance to update the chipset driver on my system, it has gone 48 hours with no freezes, and is working perfectly. (The default driver is provided by MS, so upgrading to the OEM one has seemed to help correct the issue)

I have the Intel chipset P45 / ICH10R, and found a driver from my MB manfacturuer (you can also get the update driver from Intels site for the chipsets)

Look for a driver in this version:

V9.1.1.1019 for Windows 32/64bit XP & 32/64bit Vista & 32/64bit Windows 7.(WHQL)

See what version of driver is currently on your systems, and if it is earlier than .1019, then you might want to try and update with the Intel version (especially if the one in your system is provided by MS or Dell, etc.).

On a side note, I agree with MSDNAlexS, don't always assume its a problem with MS. I have been messing with PC's since the 80's, and we always have had the same issues with hardware drivers everytime a new OS is released. MS does its best to get the correct drivers, but in the end, its up the the hardware manufacturer to update and supply drivers. Sometimes that is tough, since they want to sell us "new" hardware, and updateing product already in the pipeline takes time.

Not everyone will have the same hardware configuration, but with enough testing and feedback, we should be able to sort out all the issues.
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