Tech prob: Application Freezing

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Darkon
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Tech prob: Application Freezing

Post by Darkon »

Recently (starting last week) my computer has been victim of seemingly random freeze attacks...
I could be browsing the internet when all of a sudden firefox locks up, I close firefox then all of a sudden MSN freezes, I close MSN then all of a sudden explorer freezes, I close explorer, reinitialise it then it freezes immediately afterwards, however if I close explorer, wait a few minutes then restart it, it works fine... for a while.

I’ve virus scanned, spyware scanned, scanned for disk errors, reverted to a early system recovery date yet nothing seems to work, the only thing I can think is that a system file somewhere has corrupted or I have a virus that the virus scanner isn’t able to pick up.

I’m contemplating reformatting my computer and starting it from scratch however id rather not do this if other options are available since I have no method of backing up data (atm).

Anyone have any suggestions that I could try?
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Holger
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Post by Holger »

This sounds very much like faulty memory (RAM) sticks to me...

Do you have the possiblilty to temporarily exchange all your RAM (with a different computer, with a colleague's computer etc.)? If not, try removing all your RAM sticks except for one, and cycle through all your sticks (maybe only one stick is faulty, or some of them, but not all). If it's bad RAM, you will quickly find out this way.

You could also run a RAM check, but I won't trust it too much... The above check usually works better.
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Darkon
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Post by Darkon »

Really? So it could be a ram issue? Hm, I suppose I could test it with another computer (not my own computer but should still be ok) but ill have to wait till friday.

It could even be because the ram sockets on my computer are EXTREMELY tight, one of the sticks might have been damaged when I was putting them back in last (or not put in properly for that matter).

*edit* I just thought, I have 2 sticks of ram in this computer, couldnt I test it the same if I just took one of the sticks out, rebooted then repeat with the other stick? Unless of course the problem is both of them... which I hope it isnt...
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Holger
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Post by Holger »

> Really? So it could be a ram issue?

Yes, I think so. It could also be a problem with overheating components, like the CPU getting too hot (maybe because of a CPU fan failure), but I don't think so in this case, because you wrote that you were able to close/kill those frozen applications -- if it's the CPU, usually the whole system freezes (even though the CPU is too hot ;-) ), because it then goes into HALT mode etc., which affects the whole OS and not single applications.

About checking for a heat problem (I also had this several times -- it might even be the cause for the bad sectors of my harddisk now!): Try running your system without the case cover for some time (and check all fans, while the case is open). This sometimes looks like a so-called "Heisenbug": As long as you have the case cover removed and are staring at the hardware, everything works fine (system is a bit cooler). When you think "Then it's all OK now" and close the cover, the bug comes back...

> It could even be because the ram sockets on my computer are
> EXTREMELY tight

Possible, but not so likely (in this case you will likely have the problem all the time). Another, similar cause (which I also had once) is RAM that lost contact in its sockets (due to dust or temperature differences over a long time) -- in this case, remove the RAM, clean the RAM sockets a bit (don't use soap ;-) ) and put the RAM back into the sockets. This helps sometimes if it's really a contact problem.

> I just thought, I have 2 sticks of ram in this computer, couldnt I test it
> the same if I just took one of the sticks out, rebooted then repeat with
> the other stick?

That's exactly what I meant, yes. As there's usually only a low probability that *both* RAM sticks fail at the same time, this can be a good, quick test. (But make sure about your RAM configuration, especially dual-channel RAM configurations and the exact sockets to use for single or dual RAM stick configurations.)

> Unless of course the problem is both of them... which I hope it isnt...

Don't think so -- good luck! :)
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Darkon
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Post by Darkon »

Ok about to gut out my computer now, wish me luck.

Ill edit if it worked or not, and if I dont edit, then you know something went horribly wrong and ill be sat in the corner of the room sobbing :-p.

*edit* ill have to wait till tomorrow... havnt been able to find my screwdriver to unscrew the case...
Daniel H.
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Post by Daniel H. »

Darkon wrote:*edit* ill have to wait till tomorrow... havnt been able to find my screwdriver to unscrew the case...
Is there any way to tell when he edited this since nobody has posted any replies since then?

Darkon wrote:if I dont edit, then you know something went horribly wrong and ill be sat in the corner of the room sobbing :-p.
How long should we wait for him to edit?
The H. World levelset can be downloaded from http://www.bd-fans.com/RnD.html -- search The H. World on that page.
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Darkon
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Post by Darkon »

Hehe, sorry, I havnt got round to doing it yet, however I plan on doing it first thing tomorrow morning.
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Darkon
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Post by Darkon »

Well so far everything seems fine...
I had 2 ram sticks in, both the same brand however one of them was alot older so I decided to remove the older one.

*edit*
Newer ram = same problem, now testing to see if the problem occurs with my old ram
*edit2*
Had the computer on practically all day and had no problems, however I can definately see the effects of only having one stick in...
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