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
    2011-02-21T14:01:22+00:00

    Hi all,

    i think i found a solution for the explorer.exe freeze problem with the following symptoms:

    system: win 7 64 bit

    problem: system freezes most of the time when i open explorer, for example i open the explorer box in powerpoint or word when inserting a picture. 

    but i realized i only happened when a folder in My documents was opened, it didn't happen whenever the explorer window was open and only the drives where visible. 

    So in my case it seems to be a 'bad folder issue', a folder i made a couple days earlier. and every time i came close to this folder the system would freeze. 

    i started deleting the folders i made the last couple days and found the bad folder, it was not possible to delete the system either froze or a message that i didn't have the rights or wasn't administrator would show up. 

    first thought was delete it from ms dos, since i'm not so good with the commands i used this site as a help http://www.pchell.com/support/undeletablefiles.shtml 

    Problem solved for me, hope it works for you too if you have the same symptoms.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-02-22T13:35:11+00:00

    Adding to this already HUGE thread - I bought a 64 bit Windows 7 Packard Bell ixtreme M3730 PC in December, Intel (R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.50GHz.

    I've had the same issue with it just randomly freezing up - frequently daily, usually a couple of times a day. There seemed to be no obvious reason as to what it was. It just seemed to do it whenever it wanted. Sometimes it would be when I was browsing the web, sometimes when just listening to music, and sometimes even if I just had the computer on not actually doing anything - it would suddenly freeze, and would require a hard reset. Obviously this was extremely annoying, and very inconvenient, as I could never "trust" the computer - incase I was doing something important on it etc.

    Found this thread, took a few ideas from it, and i've now gone 4 days without a freeze! Quite an achievement! :D

    Anyway on the 18th of February, I did the "Press F8 thing on boot-up" and ran the "Repair" option. Unfortunately the evening after having ran that, the computer froze. I took a look at the Event Viewer, to see if I could see ANYTHING that it might be that caused it. I noticed that the "Bonjour" service ran just before the freeze. "Bonjour" as you might know is part of iTunes. I wasn't sure if I had the 32-bit version of iTunes, or the 64-bit. I decided to uninstall iTunes, and then download & install the 64-bit version.

    Not wishing to tempt fate (and I realise I am by talking about it) but as I say, since doing that the computer has gone 4 (nearly 5) days without freezing once.

    So whether it was iTunes causing problems, or whether there has indeed been some kind of microsoft update recently.......I do not know.

    Thought i'd mention it anyway, as another possible/potential reason for these random freezes.

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-02-25T17:40:17+00:00

    Obviously I tempted fate, as i've had 3 freezes since my last post on the 22nd.

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-03-01T03:25:25+00:00

    It might be too soon to say this for certain, but.... I think Microsoft released an update and since I installed it, I havent had a freeze once. It was issued on 2/8/2010 IIRC (actually, there was a bunch in one day) and while I can't remember exactly which update it was, I remember that it seemed to correspond to this issue. Its now the 14th... thats 5 days without a freeze. Here's hoping Im right.

    using win7 64bit -- mine also freeze frequently.. then i upgraded to SP1.. still the same problem...

    now wondering if it is HD, RAM or any possiblities?

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