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

2010-01-30T21:57:04+00:00

I'm glad I found this thread, because I'm having similar problems with my PC. I feel that my problem is sound-related though. I've currently switched back to XP x64 because I never had problems with lock-ups until I switched to Win 7 64-bit. My PC is running fine now. It's pretty frustrating to go through all kinds of tests only to switch back to an older OS as a final solution. I hope Microsoft is watching these forums so that they can find a solution.

The problem's not limited to ASUS boards, by the way:

OS Name    Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional x64 Edition

Version    5.2.3790 Service Pack 2 Build 3790

Other OS Description     Not Available

OS Manufacturer    Microsoft Corporation

System Name    KING

System Manufacturer    Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.System Model    G31M-S2L

System Type    x64-based PC

Processor    EM64T Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6 GenuineIntel ~2400 Mhz

Processor    EM64T Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6 GenuineIntel ~2400 Mhz

BIOS Version/Date    Award Software International, Inc. F10f, 6/1/2009

SMBIOS Version    2.4
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Anonymous

2010-01-30T16:39:02+00:00

Hi all. Posted for a while and had problems after install over c drive (not the update install). I finally got tired of all the freezing, and completely wiped the drive, reformatted, and did a fresh install. This time, I did not install any of the Lenovo drivers and just let WIN7 do it's thing. It looks like I now have a stable system. The problem here (for me) may be the Lenovo WIN7 drivers just aren't working right. Letting WIN7 run the show seems to be working.
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Anonymous

2010-01-30T13:14:28+00:00

This long thread helped me realize I'm not the only one experiencing the same thing, and getting mad at my brand new computer we just got for Christmas.

Symptom: The computer is barely usable with random lockups at bootup, sleep, screen saver, or in the middle of tasks. The PS2 keyboard and USB wireless mouse become unresponsive. All I/O is dead including the USB ports and built-in digital media (card) readers.   When this happens, note the time in the lower-right system tray, and after rebooting, take a look in the Event Viewer for Error or Warning messages that might be a clue as to what happened. On two lock-ups, I saw this in the System Log:       Error                 1/28/2010 10:28:00 PM     bowser            8003          None

Workaround: The only workaround is to power-cycle to reboot, and hope for the best.

Specs: eMachines ET1810 desktop with Intel dual core CPU, 3 GB RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, and Norton Internet Security.

Comments on other posts: I tried disabling "Hybrid sleep" as mentioned in the second post. I also followed a recommendation to disable the "USB Selective Suspend" setting. I completely disabled sleep in power options, and the screen saver. It would still lock up. I did see occurrences in the event log of the IE8 error that KMEM reported on Dec 4th, but I don't think that is related to the lock-up issue. I haven't seen that error in the log at the time of a lock-up.

Apps used frequently: Windows Live Mail, IE8, Google Chrome, Skype, daughter uses SIMS 3

Possible Solution (two-part):

1. Stop and Disable "Computer Browser" (see symptom above) in Services per: http://www.hightechdad.com/2007/05/09/how-to-fix-master-browser-mrxsmb-event-id-8003-errors/

    How to Fix Master Browser (MRxSmb) Event ID 8003 errors

a) One disadvantage to turning off this service is that I can't acceess my network hard drive anymore.

b) This alone did not fix the computer freezing, as it froze twice after that service was disabled.

2. Install this MS hot fix: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976972http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976972

     You encounter problems when you move data over USB from a Windows 7.....computer that has an NVIDIA USB EHCI chipset and at least 4GB of RAM

a) I installed the HF even though I don't have at least 4GB of RAM, and I'm not sure about the USB EHCI chipset on my computer.

b) So far after a week, I have not had a computer freeze or lock-up with both of these "possible solutions" done together. Only more time will tell...

I sure hope that when Win7 SP1 comes out, it will fix this blasted lock-up/freeze problem!
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Anonymous

2010-01-30T06:24:22+00:00

I have the same problem of random Win 7 freezing, on my ACER Veriton M460 computer which previously was running Vista with no freezing, Win 7 installed over the Vista OS. My ACER Laptop eMachines E720 which was also running Vista but had a fresh Win 7 install has never frozen. Both machines have Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus, I mention this because some people seem to think it is something to do with the AV software. I don't see testing for this fault in safe mode is a viable option because the computer can run for weeks without freezing, then may freeze twice in 24 hours then run a month without freezing.
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