Computer occassionaly freezes after being idle for a while.

Anonymous
2009-10-31T19:22:05+00:00

Freezes/locks up after being idle.  No applications running in the background.  Clean install of Win7 with no other issues noted on HP G60-120 laptop that was using Vista with no problems.  Will not unfreeze and have to power down and remove battery to reboot.

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 No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2009-11-05T18:57:29+00:00

Update: my system now no longer freezes after being idle.  But it still returns to the logon screen all by itself after 10 minutes or so of inactivity, even though all power mgt is disabled, and screensaver is set to "none".  This is in Windows 7, and did not happen when we had Vista on the machine.

Regarding the freezing behavior that used to happen, on my system I found that on one of our 4 users, the 'application data' folder was missing the security entry to Deny Everyone permission to “List folder / read data”.  As a result it seems that we had some kind of recursive/infinate loop going on, e.g. in a search a single file came up 17 times, with paths such as:

C:\Users\Barry\AppData\Local

\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows

\Temporary Internet Files\Low\Content.IE5\HZTG9H19\ykb_popupWindow[1].js

I added the Deny entry to the security table to match the other users, and the computer doesn't freeze any more.  You might want to check your 'application data' file.  Step 1: in the file explorer click on 'organize' then folder & search options > view > show hidden files folders drives.  Step 2: go to \Users<user>\AppData\local.  Right click on the Application Data folder > properties > security > advanced, and make sure there is a "Deny" entry in the table.

Was this answer helpful?

3 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2009-11-10T14:20:33+00:00

Hey Ryan MC,

Welcome to Microsoft Answers.

There could be various reasons for Windows feezing when idle. Here are few steps suggested to troubleshoot the above issue.

Step 1: Run Check Disk to check your hard drive disk for file system errors.

To do so,

1)       Open the Start Menu and click on the Computer button.

2)       Right click the hard disk drive that you want to check, and click on Properties

3)       Click on the Tools tab, and click on the Check now button under Error-checking.

4)       Check the box Scan and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors

This will automatically attempt to repair problems with files and folders that the scan detects.

5)       Click on Start to start scanning.

Depending upon the size of your hard disk, this may take several minutes to finish.

See if this resolves the above issue.

If this doesn’t, go to step 2:

Step 2: Perform Clean Boot:

This checks whether the problem is to do with third party software conflicts.

Here’s how you put your computer in clean boot state.

1)       Click Start, type msconfig in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

2)       User Account Control permission

3)       If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the       password, or click Continue.

4)       On the General tab, click Selective Startup.

5)       Under Selective Startup, click to clear the Load Startup Items check box.

6)       Click the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and       then click Disable All.

7)       Click OK.

8)       When you are prompted, click Restart.

Now that your computer is in clean boot state, see if the problem recurs.

If it doesn’t, then we know for sure that a background program or startup item is causing this issue.

Follow the steps mentioned in the link below to find out the culprit.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Having performed the above steps, make sure you return your computer to start normally.

Return the computer to normal startup mode.

To do so,

1)       Click Start, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

2)       If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

3)       On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.

4)       When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

If you still face issue after clean boot, then problem some of the system files might be corrupt.

To fix it, go to step 3.

Step 3: Perform SFC Scan.

Steps to perform sfc scan:

1.      Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as Administrator.

2.      Click Continue or supply Administrator credentials if prompted.

3.      In the Command Prompt window type the following, and press Enter:

sfc /scannow

4.      You should see the following on-screen messages:

Beginning the system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.

Verification % complete.

5.      Once the scan has completed you will receive an onscreen message resembling one of the following:

…  found no integrity violations

…  found corruption but repaired it

…  found corruption that it could not repair

For more information visit website   http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936212  

Regards,

Shinmila H - Microsoft Support

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forumand let us know what you think

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

140 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2009-12-14T17:22:00+00:00

    Wow, glad I found this thread, finally.   I was suffering from this problem ever since moving to Win7 retail (did not occur on Win7 RC).

    After leaving my machines for 30 mins or so, and waking up the screen (all other Power settings set to remain on), the taskbar would not pop up, nor would CRTL+ESC pop it up.   Even CTRL+ALT+DEL would not respond.

    After a certain amount of time, typically a couple of minutes, the machine would respond again.   This occurs on brand new builds of 2 very different machines, so I wouldn't kill yourself looking for software in common, and in my case there was no hardware in common either.

    There is a relatively new support article from MSFT created re this issue and mentiones a large number of items being processed by the GPU:

    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/2005467

    However:

    1. This did not occur in the RC for me on the same 2 machines, so I doubt a ton of more GPU-intensive items were added for the final retail version.

    2. I'm running 2 HD 4870s in crossfire in one machine, so even if GPU-related, does it really take those 2 cards 2-3 minutes to load such items?

    It's just weird that disabling auto-hide on the taskbar would resolve this, but hey, it works.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2009-12-12T12:33:42+00:00

    Could you open Programs and Features window in Control Panel and list all the programs so you and I could see if we have any programs in common? If we do, one of them might be causing the problem. Here's a list of my programs (I put down developer and/or version where not otherwise stated):

    µTorrent (1.8.5)

    ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 (11.0.85)

    Acronis Disk Director Suite (10.0.2160)

    Acronis True Image Home (12.0.9646)

    Adobe AIR (1.5.2.8900)

    Adobe Flash Player 10 Plugin (10.0.32.18)

    Adobe Media Player (1.7)

    Adobe Reader 9.2 (9.2.0)

    Adobe Shockwave Player 11.5 (11.5.2.602)

    Apple Apllication Support (1.0)

    Apple Software Update (2.1.1.116)

    ATI Catalyst Install Manager (3.0.732.0)

    Auto Gordian Knot 2.55 (len0x)

    AviSynth 2.5

    Combined Community Codec Pack 2009-09-09 (CCCP Project)

    Compatibility Pack for the 2007 Office system (Microsoft Corporation, 12.0.6425.1000)

    Contrast PlanPlus 10 (3.0.3231.24461)

    Diablo II

    Diablo II (two entries, not a typo)

    DivX Codec (6.9.1)

    DivX Converter (7.1.0)

    DivX Plus DirectShow Filters

    DivX Web Player (1.5.0)

    eMule

    FrostWire 4.18.4

    Google Earth Pro (4.2.205.5730)

    Java(TM) 6 Update 17 (Sun Microsystems, Inc. 6.0.170)

    Java(TM) SE Develompent Kit 6 Update 17 (Sun Microsystems, Inc. 1.6.0.170)

    JMicron Flash Media Controller Driver (1.00.29.02)

    Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 (9.0.0.736)

    Launch Manager V1.5.4 (Wistron Corp.)

    Logitech SetPoint (4.80)

    MagicISO Maker v5.4 (build 0255)

    MagicDisc 2.7.106

    Microsoft Easy Assist v2 (8.1.6416.0)

    Microsoft Office 2003 programski dodatak za preslovljavanje (Microsoft, 1.0.0527.0)

    Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 (11.8173.0)

    Microsoft Silverlight (3.0.40818.0)

    Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 ATL Update kb973923 - x86 8.0.50727.4053

    Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable (8.0.56336)

    Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable (8.0.59193)

    Morrowind

    MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB954430) (4.20.9870.0)

    MSXML 4.0 SP2 (KB973688) (4.20.9876.0)

    mts mobilni internet (Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, 11.030.01.05.532)

    Nero 8 (8.0.182)

    Nokia Connectivity Cable Driver (7.1.22.0)

    Nokia PC Suite (7.1.40.1)

    Nokia Software Updater (01.08.010.40008)

    Ogg Codecs 0.81.15562 (Xiph.Org)

    Packet Tracer 5.1 (Cisco Systems, Inc.)

    PC Connectivity Solution (Nokia, 9.44.0.3)

    Power Data Recovery 4.1.1 (MT Solution Ltd.)

    PowerDVD Ultra (CyberLink Corporation, 7.3.3156.0)

    QuickTime (Apple Inc. 7.64.17.73)

    RealPlayer

    Skype 4.1

    SpeedSim (0.9.8.1b)

    SubSync

    Synaptics Pointing Device Driver (10.0.12.0)

    SystemDiagnostics (Fujitsu Technology Solutions, 2.04.0006)

    TES Construction Set

    VobSub v2.23 (Remove Only)

    Winamp (Nullsoft, Inc, 5.56)

    Windows Driver Package - Nokia Modem (06/01/2009 7.01.0.4)

    Windows Driver Package - Nokia Modem (10/05/2009 4.2)

    Windows Driver Package - Nokia pccsmcfd (08/22/2008 7.0.0.0)

    Windows Live Essentials (14.0.8089.0726)

    Windows Live ID pomoćnik za prijavljivanje (Microsoft Corporation, 6.500.3165.0)

    Windows Live Upload Tool (14.0.8014.1029)

    WinPcap 4.1.1 (CACE Technologies, 4.1.0.1753)

    WinRAR archiver

    Wireshark 1.2.4

    Xvid 1.2.2 final uninstall (Xvid team (Koepi), 1.2)

    V.M.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2009-12-11T13:58:12+00:00

    I've been experiencing the exact same issues with the mouse moving but not being able to get the task bar to appear or be able to click on anything after being away from the PC for a while.

    I unchecked auto hide for the task bar and the problems seem to have gone away.

    I hate doing that as I have always used the auto hide feature and prefer that it work.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments