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

2011-10-31T15:33:45+00:00

I'm having the same problem as JakeyDood.

System specs:

CPU - Intel i5 Core 750

Mobo -

GPU - GeForce 9600 GT

4 GB DDR3 Ram

1 x Samsung 500 gb hdd

1 x Western Digital 80gb hdd

Windows 7 x64 Pro, installed on 80gb drive, one partition, C drive.

Occasionally I hear one of my drives making a 'click' noise, but it has done this a lot recently, not entirely sure why it does that. Old drive I guess.

Update: While I've eben typing this out, my comp has frozen up in safe mode at login screen. Not very happy about this at all.

OS runs very well, loving it up til now. hope there's a fix for this later.

Hi Raikov,

Is it a click noise coming from the Hard Drive or from a Cooling Fan?

Check the Wires and make sure the Fan Blades are not hitting the wires.

Remove the power from the Hard Drive not obtaining the operating system and see if the noise can still be heard.
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Anonymous

2011-10-31T11:19:37+00:00

That is exactly the same for me, i can play games etc but anythin todo with online media is a know go. sometimes as you stated i can have no freeze for around 9 days then bam its every couple of days
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Anonymous

2011-10-31T06:52:26+00:00

Hiya mate,

Just thought I'd let you know of a couple of things that I have tried. I decided to completely uninstall windows and start fresh. I decided to write everything down as I was installing it, to try and pin down what it was. I have had no crashes at all so far, and the following is what I have left off my machine compared to before:-

I have three hard discs in my machine, one with windows on, and the other 2 I had running as another dynamic volume. I removed the dynamic volume.

I have not installed Microsoft security essentials as yet

I haven't updated to the latest drivers for my graphics card GTX 9800.

All the drivers I have on my machine are just as they are when I installed windows, by which I mean I haven't went to the ASUS website and updated them.

So far, no crashes, I think for about 2 weeks? Not saying if any of this could help you, as it looks like people's problems are completely random. O

Oh, another thing I have done is turned off fast boot in the BIOS. Just another thing to try.

Cheers

Ian
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Anonymous

2011-10-31T04:22:21+00:00

Hi all, just joining the club ;-)

Got my pc about nine months ago - running win7 64 - same problems as everyone else here started about a month after delivery (and tried many of the fixes to no avail). Best I ever got was 9 days without a freeze, usually I sit around a crash/freeze every 4 days, at the moment its locked up every day for the last three.

Lots of interesting theories around but so hard to pin down isn't it.

Anyhow I just want to thank everyone for posting their experiences as you have saved me some work in the "don't bother because i just tried it" department. Its funny because whenever you think you are on to something it just... happens again.

In my case a couple of things, - it hasn't happened when I have been playing a game (touch wood) only while watching or listening to media, browsing websites or (most often) just sitting there with me off doing something else. I don't have a lot of expertise in this (im no technician) but I thought perhaps within the cyclical nature (in my case) of this might be a clue? In my reliability history there is a spike (caused be me having to hard reboot) every 4 days or so - like something firing up on a schedule and causing the problem. I have had periods before when (like now) it crashes often for a few days - but overall it has definitely followed an almost predictable pattern - anyone else found this to be the case?
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