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

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
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

Was this answer helpful?

80+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

966 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2010-01-14T16:50:41+00:00

    I installed the ATK0110 driver on my failing computer, and it rebooted, connected to the net and sat happily for a few hours without a hitch.

    It's going to be a pain to set it back up again properly, and I'm not doing that today. But the fact it went from freezing within a few minutes of boot up literally every time it rebooted, to simply booting fine and idling without a hitch gives me a little hope.

    I hope the problem really was as simple as this.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2010-01-15T20:01:49+00:00

    In my case, the following critical errors always occur before the freeze:

    Event 219, Kernel-PnP

    The driver \Driver\UBHelper failed to load for the device IDE\CdRomHL-DT-ST_DVDRAM_GT30N_____________________1.01____\4&1f2e3f97&0&0.1.0

    or

    Event 1001, Dhcp-Client

    Network Card with network address xxxxxxxxxx. The following error occurred:0x79.

    Your computer will continue to try and obtain address on it own from the network address

    I sometimes have no freeze for a day and then the next day freezing several times in one hour.

    I also tried to disable the 'Workstation' service but noticed that it actually caused the freeze in some cases.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2010-01-15T20:35:24+00:00

    In my case, the following critical errors always occur before the freeze:

    Event 219, Kernel-PnP

    The driver \Driver\UBHelper failed to load for the device IDE\CdRomHL-DT-ST_DVDRAM_GT30N_____________________1.01____\4&1f2e3f97&0&0.1.0

    or

    Event 1001, Dhcp-Client

    Network Card with network address xxxxxxxxxx. The following error occurred:0x79.

    Your computer will continue to try and obtain address on it own from the network address

    I sometimes have no freeze for a day and then the next day freezing several times in one hour.

    I also tried to disable the 'Workstation' service but noticed that it actually caused the freeze in some cases.

    I am stumped as to what may be the issue here with your PC. I have tried to wrack my mind what could be the cause. Let me take a stab at it and see if you I can help you. It does seem that either a task process or a Service that is running is triggering this freeze and upon disabling this service or setting it to "manual" mode it may prevent it from happening. What this process is I can not tell you since I do not know the litany of services or processes your PC may be running and they may be different from mine. Based on the limited information I have above it would be a stab in the dark to the conclusion of the exact process/service.

    I will recommend you go into your power options and change the setting from "Balanced" to "High Performance" until this aspect of Windows 7 is resolved. There is a problem with spontaneous restarts and now Win7 handles partail system power downs when the computer is not in use or you are away form the computer for a time. You can also create a custom power scheme and disable specific components to not power down. For instance I do know that if the plan has the monitor set to power down it will NOT crash the system. The monitor power down does work. That much I am confident of. I have my suspicions on the hard drive power downs and the network card (NIC) power downs if you have "green" versions of either of those components.

    If you create a custom power plan. Enable one other component besides the monitor to power down and run it that way for a few days. If you system is stable, keep adding additional components to power down. With the power options control panel running in "high performance" you will manually have to shutdown the computer when you are done to conserve energy until a service pack or hotfix is released for this issue.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2010-01-17T14:20:49+00:00

    Okay, that driver definitely did not help.

    In fact, Windows froze on the "Windows 7" animation during boot up BEFORE it even reached the desktop.

    I'm starting to lean towards the possibility it's not a Windows issue and is, instead, motherboard related...for me, anyway.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments