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

2011-10-07T02:30:37+00:00

I have the same machine (Dell Inspiron) running dual boot with Linux and windows 7. Most of the time I run Linux and in the last two years I have had ZERO lockups or any other problem with the machine booted into Linux. In the last two days running windows 7 (64 bit) I have had 10 lockups at totally random times with random apps running. These statistics totally rule out hardware and point only to software (win 7 64 bit...). I am a hardware guy with 40 years experience writing low level drivers and real time embedded processor code - I am not a neophyte by any means. Windows 7 has a serious flaw.

drjo
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Anonymous

2011-10-05T01:24:00+00:00

If this is just a personal Windows 7 computer then you are not running any GPO's and you're not running SCOM. That hotfix would only apply to systems that are part of an Active Directory domain and likely an enterprise network.
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Anonymous

2011-10-04T01:07:59+00:00

Gentlemen,

This is not a hardware issue. I just finished reading the 70 pages of replies and the common thread among the various replies is - no one has the same hardware. In other posts about the same issue, the same has been true - a wide variety of people posting with the same complaint about random shutdowns, with a wide variety of hardware profiles. I replaced my motherboard, my video, and my RAM, and update Windows 7 Pro on a regular basis, all to no avail. This is NOT a hardware related issue. Microsoft , please begin research on this issue and supply us with a fix.

Why should they? Is it sales relevant? Most likely not.

You should start using EventViewer and Verifier.exe, this is the official way of hunting down your problem.

Wow, the official way. Instead of assuming that a poster is stupid or doesnt know better, maybe you can not assume anything at all. Its 71 pages now, and I read them all, you dont think somewhere in there maybe at least once someone already mentioned those things? I am a professional technician, and have used those tools, several tools. In my case, the crashes happen sometines when the computer is not being used at all.
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Anonymous

2011-10-03T14:58:51+00:00

Try this

http://www.pcworld.com/article/204972/weird_windows_woes_fix_random_freezes_test_mode.html

It's a hotfix that you have to have emailed to you. I haven't tried it my self yet, just about to. Maybe we all could try and report to see how it goes?

Cheers

Ian
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