Computer keeps freezing randomly

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Hatsunechan wrote on 2012-01-03 14:56

I've had this problem for a while now and it's really getting irritating. At random points in the day my computer will just completely freeze up for a few seconds and restart on it's on. Does anyone know any possible reason that could be causing this and a solution? I cant find one x.x
Mjoshua wrote on 2012-01-03 15:24

Well you really did not give much specification on your system or issue, so it could vary widely, however you can try reading this article and see if that may or may not help. You might also want to check if your fans are working and make sure that your PC isn't overheating. You also should check for any malware using the 8 steps.

In all honesty, unless you give more information about your system specifications and more info about the problem itself, i.e. "The pc freezes and restarts upon opening internet explorer", the issue could vary greatly and it will be difficult to help. So please, do elaborate a bit more.
Hatsunechan wrote on 2012-01-03 15:38

[Image: http://puu.sh/ciFs]

Is that all that's needed? ._. I didnt post system specs since I wasnt 100% sure on what people needed. And sorry Chinese windows XP.

The problem isnt the one in the article. Basically whenever I'm playing mabi, watching youtube videos, or doing anything else my computer just decides to freeze on me and restart. I have no clue what's causing it at all. I'm fairly sure it's not my computer overheating since it likes happening at completely random times. For example this morning it froze about an hour after I started it and it's been going fine now for about 3 hours. Some days it'll freeze 3-4 times in a few hours and other days it wont freeze at all. Is there a way to check if it is overheating? The fans work since my computer doesnt have a side cover and I can hear/see them
Mjoshua wrote on 2012-01-03 16:01

Alright read this for CPU Temp, it explains about the temp and on the end tells you how you can check your CPU temp.

Also once again, make sure to scan for4 virus and malware. You can try using Hijack this as it does include a log.
Hatsunechan wrote on 2012-01-03 16:10

Ok, I downloaded Speedfan like that guide said but what's a normal CPU temp? Here's what it is as of this post: http://puu.sh/ciNk

And I'm running a full Malwarebytes scan right now. I normally only do quick scan since normal scan takes over an hour

Edit: Oh wow I assume the flame icons mean it's overheating ._.
Mjoshua wrote on 2012-01-03 16:36

Overheating defintely seems to be your PC's biggest issue canidate. So basically, you need to figure out what you want to get. Additional fans, liquid cooling, perhaps even an upgraded heat sink. Liquid cooling is nice and quiet, I personally prefer fans since that is what I'm use to, but its all up to you and whatever budget you may have.

If the issue still persists after you've updated the system with additional cooling, first check again your CPU temp with speedfan to ensure that your temp is regulated better, and if thats all in check then you should defintely update this thread saying that the problem still exists, since there is literally a lot more possibilities that could cause this issue.
Hatsunechan wrote on 2012-01-03 16:46

Is there a fix for a person with 0 budget? ._.
Mjoshua wrote on 2012-01-03 16:59

Lol... well fans aren't that expensive.. like you can easily find them for $5-15$, but if you cant find any way to have enough cash for that well... your best bet is used fans from thrown out PC's. You could stop at a local Computer Store or PC Fix, maybe geekSquad and ask them if they have any old PC's that they are throwing out and if you can scavange the fans off them.

Atleast in the city and neighborhood that i live in, I am always seeing people throwing out their old computers on the side of the road for trash day. You could go arround and scavage the fans off those as well.

Or you can ask your really really nice friends to buy you some lol. :chin:
Hatsunechan wrote on 2012-01-03 17:01

I dont even see anything wrong with my computer's fans ._. I have one large one in the back and 2 on the side with an open cover. I dont understand why it's overheating >.>

And I've had this computer for like 9 months now but this problem hasnt happened since like 3 months ago
Osayidan wrote on 2012-01-03 17:42

Did you clean out all the dust?
Dust likes to trap heat, clog fans, and make heatsinks fail at their job.
Also maximize airflow by keeping cables and stuff away from the CPU heatsink and fan.

^ costs nothing and works for almost every PC
Hatsunechan wrote on 2012-01-03 17:52

I'll try that, thanks Osay
TA wrote on 2012-01-03 18:03

Open your case and point a fan in it. See if that helps any.

Also, I don't recommend liquid cooling. It's probably way too expensive anyways, and you don't know what is overheating. It could be GPU (in which case a CPU liquid cooler wouldn't do you any good), or it could be the CPU. Those are generally the two things that overheat.

Not having poor air flow will help it stop that, so opening up the case, cleaning dust off of it and pointing a fan at it will probably help.

You can keep a temp monitoring program open and just take note of what temperature it gets up to before you freeze. Just make a note every couple minutes or something on a piece of paper (if there's any significant changes). Temps will likely go up while your computer is running games or something.

In the end, it may be a dying video card, not anything overheating at all, just dying. In that case, it depends who you have a video card with. I know that eVGA has lifetime warranties, so you could get it replaced no problem for free. Other ones might be able to work with you.

You need to determine what the problem is first though.

There are some stress tests you can run that will stress your CPU or your GPU and you can run them and if you freeze during it then you'll know you don't have adequate cooling.

You can try 4-8 passes with this for GPU (but not if you don't have a DX11 card, you'll need another test): http://unigine.com/products/heaven/

I also ran this for GPU/CPU - http://www.evga.com/articles/00530/

You could try this for the RAM: http://memtest.org/
Yoorah wrote on 2012-01-04 05:51

Major correction needed here: Your system is NOT overheating. At least, not based on those readings. The only overheating reading is the 125C AUX one, and that one is most likely a bugged reading. If something in your computer reached 125C, you'd probably smell it. lol

My guess is that your computer actually crashes, BSOD-style. However, most computers are set by default to reboot when they BSOD, so you see no BSOD... D:

Anyway, your computer should have generated a crash minidump as a result. These contain a snapshot of what happened in the memory at the time of the crash, and can sometimes help pinpoint what caused it. I believe they are stored in C:\Windows\minidump in Windows XP? You should upload the most recent one so that I or someone else could analyze it with the Windows Debugger. Or you can look up how it's done and do it yourself, if you're curious! :3
TA wrote on 2012-01-04 08:58

Quote from Yoorah;721424:
Major correction needed here: Your system is NOT overheating. At least, not based on those readings. The only overheating reading is the 125C AUX one, and that one is most likely a bugged reading. If something in your computer reached 125C, you'd probably smell it. lol

My guess is that your computer actually crashes, BSOD-style. However, most computers are set by default to reboot when they BSOD, so you see no BSOD... D:

Anyway, your computer should have generated a crash minidump as a result. These contain a snapshot of what happened in the memory at the time of the crash, and can sometimes help pinpoint what caused it. I believe they are stored in C:\Windows\minidump in Windows XP? You should upload the most recent one so that I or someone else could analyze it with the Windows Debugger. Or you can look up how it's done and do it yourself, if you're curious! :3

Might still be, assuming it wasn't overheating when the readings were taken (e.g. idle or something). Either overheating or failing video card are my best guesses.

If you have another video card laying around, you can try swapping it out and see if it stops. If it does, you know that was the problem.