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

2010-05-24T09:07:53+00:00
I managed to fix the problem for myself. Like some of the posters said, changing your memory timings can fix this. I did not believe this, as I had my memory settings already set up manually. My ram is rated at 1333Mhz 7-7-7-20 with 1.65V. I had all of those set as close as possible (voltage was 1.66V). However, when I looked in CPU-Z (which shows you the JEDEC configurations for the memory), it showed that the 1333Mhz setting actually needs 9-9-9-19 @ 1.65V. So, I turned the speed down to 1066Mhz so I could take advantage of the faster timings, and it seems to be working so far.

Also, right after setting the timings I reinstalled windows. I think this was the reason I was having the problem through all of my fiddling and reinstalling... I only did one thing at a time! The very process that requires you to do one thing at a time was the reason I was not able to fix this problem!

Anywho - to summarize what I did:
1. Set memory timings to whatever CPU-Z says.
2. Reinstall Windows.
I have been running crash-free for 12 hours, and before this I was having at least 4 freezes every hour. Jolly good!
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Anonymous

2010-05-25T19:15:40+00:00

Hi People,

I spent over an hour with Microsoft support today and the guy I spoke to said he had helped lots of people with this problem. So, we did quite a few things to my comp and we will see if it is fixed. I have asked him to send me an e mail with all the steps he took and when I get it I will list it all here.

So far I have not had one freeze for a few hours but only time will tell.

I will keep you informed!
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Anonymous

2010-05-25T21:50:36+00:00

Had another freeze!

All services stopped except Microsoft. Firefox was open and Bit Defender was running. I opened TMPGEnc Karma Plus and started to scroll through the thumbnails. Computer froze! My freezes always seem to be video related but not always Karma Plus. Have reported this to Microsoft.
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Anonymous

2010-05-26T08:33:46+00:00

Had another session with Microsoft Support who I must say are being very helpful. One thing they did say was that it is very doubtfull that the problem is connected with RAM settings! I have uninstalled Firefox and Karma Plus to see if that fixes it.

Here's hoping ;o)
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