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

2009-12-14T16:46:16+00:00

Thanks BlokeUK, I tried your suggestion with disabling the services but I do not have an Asus Control Service and the only item I have running after hiding all the MS services is XAudioService. After disabling that I froze again right away. After reading Dragon_Nexus post about virus I now recall switching from Avast to MSE and that's about when my troubles began. I am going to remove MSE and see what happens even though MSE is running on my desktop with an upgraded Windows 7 with no issues.

Secondly, In the MS troubleshooting link you posted am I to start disabling the MS services that it first said to hide to see if any of those are causing the issue? I want to make sure I'm doing this right so I don't brick my machine.

I have spent probably 40+ hours trying to get this to work. Probably better off just buying a new laptop.

Thanks Microsoft for another wonderfully compatible product.
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Anonymous

2009-12-14T14:11:04+00:00

Same issue, random freezes, Windows 7 64bit, 12 GB of RAM, Core i7 920, Asus P6T.

I do not appear to be experiencing freezes with the same frequency as most. My system will be stable for days at a time, and then I just move the mouse and everything hangs, locks up hard, no blue screen, it just freezes - requiring a hard reset. It always hangs when I am basically doing nothing, and just as I've begun to move the mouse. Odd. Perhaps if I were a gamer I'd lock up more frequently.

I've tried amping up the CPU/RAM voltage a little with no luck. I don't have any overclock, and in fact I've tried underclocking. But basically I don't think this is a hardware problem as this computer was rock solid under Vista 64bit for several months. This is very, very clearly a Windows 7 issue.

Eagerly awaiting a fix. This is a big black eye for Microsoft in my opinion. I can no longer say that MS Operating systems are rock solid and stable - which has been my experience since NT 4.0.
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Anonymous

2009-12-14T04:01:46+00:00

Well, it's been a while since I replied to this.

I fell into despair and reinstalled Windows 7 completely. Wiped the hard drive and partitions, reinstalled it and put everything back.

I've had maybe 1 freeze and 2 blue screens in the 6-8 weeks since I did this compared to the 3-8 a day I had before.

The only thing I can thing of that I've done differently is not using Avira (I went back to Avast!) and not using Malwarebytes (went back to Spybot).

Maybe something else, I didn't stay with Ms's suggestion for Asus drivers. I'm not sure if I actually updated anything or just installed what I already had, but I made sure to install every Asus driver listed on the site (drivers, not utilities. Though I didn't have any utilities installed before either).

I have media sharing running just fine upon start up, and it stays going while I use the computer.

Not a single hitch. I don't know if any of the above truely was relevent, or if the simple act of reinstalling Windows 7 fresh was enough, but there we go.
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Anonymous

2009-12-13T21:22:28+00:00

Ok let's not get fooled here it is a MS issue not hardware at all

WHERE IS OUR FIX !

Possibly,

But it seems most if not all of people here have an Asus or Gigabyte board and have the same problems.

Whosever fault it is a fix now is most welcome, I am not entirely convinced it is all M$ fault, If the MB developers do not follow the guidelines or keep updated with spec changes, things break, fact of life!

I have used Asus for years, and have always and I mean always found their utilities buggy at best and hardware destroyers at worst.

Windows will know better than Asus on controlling hardware configurations, since Asus and Gigabyte do not have to be concerned with what third party hardware will or will not work with their motherboards, whereas M$ do.

I can not say that what I did to fix my problem will work for everyone, but I can say it works for me.

use msconfig.exe and disable Asus Conrol Services from the services tab and uninstall the Asus utilities for the moment, what do they really offer anyway? if you want to OC do it through the BIOS, also disable the Intel Matrix storage drivers from the startup tab if you are not using them, it is better to do this while in 'SAFE MODE' see if this fixes your problem, if not try following the link for the article that I posted earlier http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

Good luck

i don't have any "Asus Control Services" , so i can't test ur fix.
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