Computer lock up

officeandink

I have a computer that randomly locks up.
I can't tell if anything triggers it.
It will completely freeze, and not respond to anything.

Is this most commonly a RAM issue? Or could something else cause it?

Thanks for any help.

seamus

Could be one of any number of problems. Does it ever come back or do you always have to reboot? Have you checked the event viewer to see if it reports any problems at/before the time that it locks up?

officeandink

Thanks for the fast reply seamus.

When it locks up, only a reboot will fix it.
I checked the event viewer, and just before the crash there were a number of errors with VNC.

I just uninstalled VNC but it hasn't fixed the problem.

In normal usage, the crash seems random.

However, when I do a virus scan it always crashes 15-20 minutes in.

ronkmonster

Try downloading this and doing a memory test (needs to be booted from cd or usb key)
http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

And try this program in windows
http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html
It will tell you if you hard drive is failing

Deano12345

officeandink wrote: »

Thanks for the fast reply seamus.

When it locks up, only a reboot will fix it.
I checked the event viewer, and just before the crash there were a number of errors with VNC.

I just uninstalled VNC but it hasn't fixed the problem.

In normal usage, the crash seems random.

However, when I do a virus scan it always crashes 15-20 minutes in.

Your CPU could be overheating, download Speedfan (if you have an older CPU like a P4) or CoreTemp (for newer CPU's) and check the temperature while running the virus scan

unnameduser

Have you tried opening the case and ensuring that fans are spinning and that the case is free from dust?

LD 50

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm having a similiar problem.

Recently upgraded to 7, and thing were going fine at first. But after installing a few programs, (google chrome, FF, CCleaner...) and some drivers, it would slow down. The CPU usage would drop, and then it would just eventually freeze.

Sometimes I'll get hours out of it before it freezes, sometimes minutes. I'm logged in onto a different user profile than my own(which is the administrator), and it actually seems fine now.

I've tried running CCleaner, and my AV program, on both this drive, and the old drive which is connected aswell. But they both say its running ok.

The OS is installed on a new HD with not much on it, so should I just re-format the drive and start over? or is there something I could do to find the problem?

unnameduser

LD 50 wrote: »

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm having a similiar problem.

Recently upgraded to 7, and thing were going fine at first. But after installing a few programs, (google chrome, FF, CCleaner...) and some drivers, it would slow down. The CPU usage would drop, and then it would just eventually freeze.

Sometimes I'll get hours out of it before it freezes, sometimes minutes. I'm logged in onto a different user profile than my own(which is the administrator), and it actually seems fine now.

I've tried running CCleaner, and my AV program, on both this drive, and the old drive which is connected aswell. But they both say its running ok.

The OS is installed on a new HD with not much on it, so should I just re-format the drive and start over? or is there something I could do to find the problem?

You are probably better off to start your own thread to get advice dedicated to your issue. Perhaps the original profile is corrupt. It happens quite often. Create a new profile for yourself and copy over your files.

LD 50

unnameduser wrote: »

You are probably better off to start your own thread to get advice dedicated to your issue. Perhaps the original profile is corrupt. It happens quite often. Create a new profile for yourself and copy over your files.

I just reformatted the drive, and reinstalled. Seemed to work.