Random freezes with windows 7 - 64 bit

Anonymous
2009-10-28T19:01:43+00:00

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

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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Anonymous
2009-11-14T19:44:19+00:00

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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  1. Anonymous
    2010-07-17T16:26:05+00:00

    mihaicosmin,

    I found that amd had a new 64 bit driver on their web site that seemed to help my ATI Radeon HD 7500 series graphics card.  I would check the AMD site as they have one dated June 16th, 2010.

    http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx?type=2.4.1&product=2.4.1.3.4&lang=us&rev=10.6&ostype=Windows%207%20-%2064-Bit%20Edition

    Good Luck!

    It's no good I tried installing that update as soon as it appeared and it wouldn't install properly. It extracts to the specified path but near the end of installation says it's installed but when I look there are no files installed in the program files. I resorted to using ATi Mobility MODDER and whilst this worked it still didn't address the issue and so resorted to rollback to previous drivers.

    I don't think it has anything to do with whether you have an intel or AMD as it seems to affect both.

    It may well be the external harddrives but why should I disconnect them when I need them for my data storage? Disconnecting it is not a long term solution for me.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-07-20T07:12:04+00:00

    ____ you microsoft, I'm installing ubuntu, sick of this ____.

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-08-03T14:55:59+00:00

    Ok, basically everything I tried was worthless, except disabling my sound card driver.  It's a RealTek.  This has taken the frequency of crashes down to about once every 14 days or so - still unacceptable, but livable.  I get by with a USB speaker for sound.

    But I still have a RealTek network card (NIC).

    Assuming this is a driver issue, and that software quality (or lack thereof) is common across one company's drivers, I am going to install an Intel NIC and disable the RealTek NIC and see if that brings me back to rock solid stability.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-08-09T01:40:52+00:00

    I believe I have finally solved my problem with Windows 7 x64 freezing (screen and system frozen, mouse/keyboard inoperative, requiring a hard reset), which has beset my system from October 27, 2009 (date of installation) until June 3, 2010 (the date of the last system freeze, over 65 days ago).

    I wish that I could advise as to the precise solution, but I made a number of changes on or after June 3, any of which (either alone or cumulatively) could have resulted in the fix.  I will detail what transpired after June 3, in the event that the information might be helpful to someone.

    The problem (and the solution) was not related to hardware.  There have been no changes to my hardware (Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P motherboard, with an Intel i7-920 CPU, overclocked to 4.2 GHz) since early May, 2010.

    I always keep my system fully patched via Windows update, and all of my drivers are up to date.  In addition, prior to June 3, I had installed the following Windows HotFixes (which were not served/available via Windows Update):  KB981621; KB975599; KB976972; KB977307; KB981197; KB981314; KB981898; KB981208; KB981466; KB981187; KB980663; KB981679; KB980681; KB980295; KB979155; KB978118; KB978632; KB979444; KB979366; KB977357; KB978042; KB976418; KB974476

    On or after June 3, I installed the following additional Windows HotFixes (again, which were not served/available via Windows update): KB983543; KB982293; KB983615; KB981180; KB983396; KB983401; KB982667; KB983551; KB982383; KB2120976; KB2028551; KB2028560

    The following drivers and software were also updated after June 3, 2010: Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000; Realtek HD Audio; Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller; ATI Radeon 4770, and new versions of LogMeIn and Alcohol 52%.  I have only listed drivers and/or software that remain in memory, either as applications or services, at all times when Windows is loaded (my system operates 24/7).

    My freezes were random, but there must have been a trigger of some sort.  Many of them occured in the middle of the night, when no one was at the keyboard.  Windows Task Manager indicates that in any 24-hour period, I have 78 Windows tasks that are started.  I turned on task logging, and checked to see whether there was any correlation between the commencement of any of the Windows tasks, and the time of the system freezes.  There was no discernable correlation.

    So my next question became, are there any potential triggers that aren't logged?  Indeed ... many 3rd-party software applications have automatic update routines, and periodically poll for updates. So I entered the registry, [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run], and deleted the following keys:

    "SSBkgdUpdate"=""C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Scansoft Shared\SSBkgdUpdate\SSBkgdupdate.exe" -Embedding -boot"

    "PaperPort PTD"=""C:\Program Files (x86)\ScanSoft\PaperPort\pptd40nt.exe""

    "IndexSearch"=""C:\Program Files (x86)\ScanSoft\PaperPort\IndexSearch.exe""

    "PPort11reminder"=""C:\Program Files (x86)\ScanSoft\PaperPort\Ereg\Ereg.exe" -r "C:\ProgramData\ScanSoft\PaperPort\11\Config\Ereg\Ereg.ini"

    "Norton Ghost 15.0"=""C:\Program Files (x86)\Norton Ghost\Agent\VProTray.exe""

    "QuickTime Task"=""C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime"

    "SunJavaUpdateSched"=""C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe""

    The goal was to delete memory-resident programs that are unnecessary.  The following programs still poll for updates regularly: Windows Update; InstallShield; Logitech Webcam; aVast! anti-virus; Firefox; and Thunderbird

    My general sense is that the problem was not Windows 7, but was rather one or more 3rd-party applications, most likely the ones that poll for updates or undertake other periodic activity.

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