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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

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

0 comments

966 additional answers

Anonymous

2010-02-05T15:50:46+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

keep an eye on the audiodg.exe task process. It has been known to exceed 1GB of commit memory use and I use 2 memory task utilities to keep this task process within its normal tolerances of 40-140mb use. If it exceeds this, its leaking memory. I use memclean and Minimem utils to control its memory use and reallocate its memory hogging. Until Microsoft fixes this ____. Audiodg.exe has had a problem based on many forums posts from the early Vista days. Its a go-between file between teh OS sound system and your sound card drivers to prevent your system fromo crashing in the event of a sound card driver failure.

I did some digging on audiodg.exe, and this could be the likely problem. It doesn't look like I can just disable the file either. I'm a bit tired of reinstalling OS's right now, so I think I'll stick with XP for the time being. Thanks for the help.

if u kill the audiodg.exe process you will loose your system sound since its imperative this process is running for sound to work correctly on your computer. Btw, Vista AND Windows 7 have an issue with this file from plenty of Microsoft MSDN, forum and blog posts I have found. Its not just Windows 7. This file has been a cancer in the OS and how it provides interoperability for over 3+ years now.

How many ppl have had problems, system reboots, and catastrophic failures since this file was created for Vista I wonder??? It's gotta be at least 100,000 ppl world-wide I think.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2010-02-05T15:25:57+00:00

i noticed that it freezes when im watching movies !!! the last 4 times it froze was while watching movies . with different media players each time .

keep an eye on the the process task called audiodg.exe and how much memory its using. If your system reports more then normal "COMMIT" memory usage of over 200mb for this process, let us know!
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2010-02-05T14:53:26+00:00

I had the same problem for a few days since I newly installed Windows 7 64-bit on my several-month-old Shuttle (barebone SG31GS) system.

The system used to freeze up randomly; before logging on, right after logging in, or during IE8 web surfing.

After a few days' search for a solution I ended up testing my system as BlokeUN mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

----- "I have been following the steps in this article http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135"

I checked booting options and services using 'msconfig.exe'. What I found is that the bugging problem has been gone (for almost 24-h) as I disabled one of the services named, 'Business Contact Manager SQL Server Starting Service'. I think this services was installed when MSOffice 2007 was installed, but I am not sure.

Yes, I have checked BIOS, memory setting (4GB DDR2, Corsair XMS2), and anti virus program. Nothing worked to solve the problem before.

For now I feel that I solved the Windows 7 freeze-up problem, at least for my system.

I hope this can help anybody looking for a solution.

Thanks for all your comments!

Wansik
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2010-02-04T19:55:49+00:00

i noticed that it freezes when im watching movies !!! the last 4 times it froze was while watching movies . with different media players each time .
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments