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Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 11:21 am Post subject: PC Freezing Up !

I've already had my computer guy look for the needle in the haystack. he scanned and i scanned and we ran some malware update and opined i had a rootkit issue--ugh--but did not. we thought we had it taken care of ... a few weeks ago. since then, my computer will freeze a few times a day! i have to shut it off at the source. when i turn it on again, it does a volume verification and repair, which gums up/slows down the works. twice when i turned the thing back on, i got a windows message about a disk check (CHKDSK) but nothing was found. i've already done a system restore to a date prior to this funk, but that didn't help. indeed i need some help from an expert but when and how is the issue since whenever i'm here i'm working. in the meantime, i limp along. and send this query to you who may have a theory or some answers or perhaps advice on how i might troubleshoot more from my end.

os is windows xp pro. there is no pattern to its freezing. i've kept a log and it happens when i'm on-line, or listening to audio, or just dinking around. arrrgh.
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bobsouer · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 11:49 am Post subject:

Diane,

First, I hope you have a good back-up of everything. If not, start that right now. Second, while I'm not expert, it sure sounds like you might be on the verge of a hard drive failure. Might be prudent to replace your system drive. Assuming you (or your computer guru) have the tools, clone your system drive and swap in the clone for the current drive.
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asnively · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 11:55 am Post subject:

Bob said what I was going to say. When I had this problem, it eventually became a full-fledged dead disk. Don't make the mistake I made-- start backing things up, just in case!
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schrecster · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 12:01 pm Post subject:

This kind of sounds like it may be a hardware issue. almost like a disc controller is going bad. you reboot the system and it clears the issue, but as time goes by whatever condition causes the puter to lock up returns and causes the system to lock up. not being able to put my paws on the machine makes it harder to troubleshoot, but from the symptoms you describe, it sounds like a hard ware issue. there may be some sort of I/O request that does not get a response and times out and locks up the system, or a read/write request does not get ack'ed and times out and locks the system up.

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 1:19 pm Post subject:

i have a raid system--dual hard drive--so, unless both are failing, i hope it's not all going south.

schrec--you're probably on to something. i just spoke with my computer guy, who built the system, and he suggested wiping the machine of everything, reloading windows, running it and, if there's no problem, by process of elimination we can figure out the source.

i'm going to back up essential information, give the computer guy a ring, and we'll start the rebuild. good times.
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asnively · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 2:37 pm Post subject:

Sounds like a lot of fun!
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schrecster · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 2:40 pm Post subject:

Diane, I have worked on a telephone switch that had a redundant disk drive setup. I am not 100% familiar with the RAID system you are talking about, but from what I read is it similar to the set up on the switch I used to work on. That problem was caused by a disc controller with an intermittent problem that caused the system to lock up. I also ran into a problem like this where there was an issue with a bus interface that plugged into the disc controller.

that is what has me thinking it is a hardware problem. I wish I could be more helpful

lhharris · Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Fort Worth, TX.

So…this is a blues riff in B, watch me for the changes, and ah… try and keep up.

System restore to before when it started happening.. good. This should rule out any system file changes. (You didn’t happen to install SP3 did you? I have heard some grumblings from some of my peers.)
A log… GREAT. Check the event viewer to see if there is anything there that may give you an indication of why this is happening at the times from your log. Click start, run, put in “eventvwr.msc”.
Check the Device Manager for any devices that may not have the drivers installed. Hold down the Windows key and hit “Pause/Break”. Click on Hardware and then Device Manager.
Go to Start, Run, and put in "compmgmt.msc". Click on Disk Management. This should tell you about the health of your drives.
RAID??? FANTASTIC!!! Do you have a raid controler? If you do, it may tell you the health of the drives and/or the controller.
You scanned for malware and virus. GREAT. It should rule these out, but you never know.
Shut the computer down at the power strip, or pull the power cable out of the computer, and leave it that way for a minute or so. Then boot the computer to Safe Mode. Hit F8 just after the BIOS screen goes away. Go to Safe Mode with Networking. Things will look different, and you will not have total functionality, but you should be able to open a few programs and surf, listen to music, whatever. I know it happens randomly, but see if you can make it happen here. If it happens in Safe Mode, it most likely IS a hardware issue.
If everything is working fine there, try a normal boot and unplug it from your network. One of the guys at work has been having problems on his XP machines if his Windows 7 machine is on the network at the same time.
Lets check hardware… Have you added any new hardware? A new printer, added RAM (memory), moved the computer to a new location to a new power source? Have you opened the computer and checked all the connections to the MLB (motherboard), pulled the RAM out and reseated it? Also check your video card and be sure that the fan is spinning, if it has one. Move it to a different slot if you can.

Okay. Still with me? Great. Go get a drink and take a potty break. I’ll be right here….

Now, from what I have read, off the top of my head, this sounds like it may be either RAM or, believe it or not, your video card driver.
If you know how, delete, and reinstall your video card driver.
If it still happens after that, pull one stick of RAM, presuming you have two. Still happening? Switch them. Are there four sticks? Pull them in pairs. Just one… see if you can get another, but this might be one of your last options.

Have you installed the latest and greatest BIOS update? Check the vendor for issues like yours and see if there is an update available.
These things are just off the top of my head, but I would not do a full system reload yet. There are too many other things to check first. On the other hand, I often reload my systems JUST because it keeps the OS clean and running smooth.
PM me if you like, and I can let you know about some of the ramblings above….
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

You might try replacing your CMOS battery before the full wipe. A small watch type battery.

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 6:45 pm Post subject:

Misters Harris, Eagle and Schrec--
Thank you for the goldmine of info, which I'll be sure to share with my computer guy.
Stay tuned.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 10:53 pm Post subject:

Here's a dumb question. With all the folks going on about the RAID, there's one little item that was not mentioned.

What RAID mode are you in? Depending on the answer, a failing drive cannot be ruled out.

Next question. How are you controlling the RAID? Software? HW?

If it's HW, then is it a RAID controller that's part of the motherboard, or a separate card?

All important items. And all will lead you further down the rabbit hole.

What I'm hearing could be a RAID card failing, or a drive failing in RAID 0 or RAID 1 (I hope it's the latter RAID config, or something better; RAID 0 is a good way to lose data). Considering you said that the computer is up for a while and then does this a few times per day, there's one other item which nobody mentioned.

Heat.

While you're checking out system and HW logs on your computer, snag a little utility called CoreTemp (it's free) and see how the temperature in your computer is doing when you're using it. If it's getting more than a little high, you probably have your problem (or at least, found the first part of it).

I used to have a laptop do the same thing that you're describing when it would overheat. Once I figured out the issue, I was able to deal with it rather quickly.
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bobbinbeamo · Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 4:06 pm Post subject:

Diane,
I wish I could offer advice but am going through my own brand of computer limbo right now. What I can say is I know what it feels like to not know what's up with your computer. I just had myself another meltdown today.
I hope your sitch is resolved soon.
ps- Can't believe how big Lio's getting.
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asnively · Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 5:24 pm Post subject:

Oh Bobbin! I thought that nightmare was behind you! I'm so sorry. How frustrating.
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georgethetech · Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 12:17 am Post subject:

Just take it to the genius desk. Oh, oops...
Def. hardware related issue. Overheating is one possibility, a USB device could also be the cause. Or, perhaps a bad RAM module?
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 1:07 am Post subject:

+1 for the bad RAM. Super easy and cheap to fix.
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