Computer randomly freezing at random times
<div class="IPBDescription">Windows XP</div>Ok, two-three days ago my computer started freezing for 20-30 seconds at times; when it freezes, it freezes everything: like the cursor, sounds, etc.
I scanned stuff with Avast, Spybot Search and destroy, adaware, and bazooka, found just some statcounter cookie.
Though, at sometime between Ad aware scan and Spybot, the freezes stopped and never happened until today.
Today, everything worked fine for 3-4 hours, and then now it just freezed twice for 20-30 seconds.
<b>Edit(Not really, but I was running spybot while typing this post)</b>: The freezing stopped after I removed a cookie called "<b>statcounter</b>", that was yesterday<b>(though I am not exactly sure if this was the actual reason)</b>. Now it reappeared somehow.
<img src="http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/5791/st4tcounterrn4.png" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
I think this may be the cause of the freezing, where is it coming from(or is it suppose to be there for some reason)?
Some stuff: 1 gig RAM
1.8 GHz - AMD Sempron Processor 3100+
I scanned stuff with Avast, Spybot Search and destroy, adaware, and bazooka, found just some statcounter cookie.
Though, at sometime between Ad aware scan and Spybot, the freezes stopped and never happened until today.
Today, everything worked fine for 3-4 hours, and then now it just freezed twice for 20-30 seconds.
<b>Edit(Not really, but I was running spybot while typing this post)</b>: The freezing stopped after I removed a cookie called "<b>statcounter</b>", that was yesterday<b>(though I am not exactly sure if this was the actual reason)</b>. Now it reappeared somehow.
<img src="http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/5791/st4tcounterrn4.png" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
I think this may be the cause of the freezing, where is it coming from(or is it suppose to be there for some reason)?
Some stuff: 1 gig RAM
1.8 GHz - AMD Sempron Processor 3100+
Comments
when your pc is running idle, what is the cpu usage (taskmanager can show ya that). If some program is eating more cpu power then it is supposed to. Write its name (somefile.exe) in google to see what it is...
Clean your tempfiles.
Clear your firefox browsing history and downloads (in tools->downloads, the downloadbar plugin will NOT clear the actual download list).
Watch for HDD activity when the freeze occurs.
Install and CONSTANTLY run Motherboard Monitor, and set up the alarm values. (Free utility, google for it. I use MBM5, myself.)
Back up your data, format your system partition, install windows 'clean'. Most users will have to do this every 1-3 years, due to over-cruftification of the registry and other system files. It's a pain, but will solve a lot of issues, unless it's actually hardware based.
Unplug any unused peripherals. They still have to be scanned and share bandwidth and power, so when you're not using that USB joystick, pull the plug.
Update ALL of your drivers. Including the motherboard drivers. It's amazing the gains you can get with a new AGPGART or northbridge driver.
Also from <a href="http://paretologic.com/resources/definitions.aspx?remove=statcounter%20cookie" target="_blank">here</a> one of the problems of statcounter is - "Uses excessive system resources".
Edit: Hmm, I am not so sure now. Statcounter is always there, even if I run spybot twice in a row and fix it. But apparently it stops the "freezing" after I "remove" it with Spybot. Just 10 minutes ago my computer was freezing for 30 seconds to 2 minutes every 5-10 minutes. After I used spybot and "removed" stat counter, the problem ceased.
But if it IS the tracking cookie's fault, you should get a program which removes the cokies before they infest your computer. I think the Ad-Aware Pro has that function...
And Talesin: What the hell is it with that sign of yours, i was watching it for hours waiting for something to pop up and scare me...
I can't imagine it being a cookie from statcounter. I've used the site for a little while, it's useful for collecting data about the people that visit your web site (like Google Analytics (which I just discovered) but not as good). I haven't had any problems using the site, and I haven't heard about problems from anyone else using the site either. According to their site at least, the cookie is just used to keep track of returning visitors.
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Yes, It doesn't seem to be statcounter because I removed the cookie manually(by just deleting it in firefox) and then blocking it. The freezings now just happened a few minutes ago and statcounter is still gone, so it probably is not that.
Though I am still confused as to why "fixing statcounter" on Spybot stopped the freezings for many hours or if it was just coincidence.
It turned out it was some dirt in the RAM sockets so they were cleaned or replaced or something by some technicians. It could be worth a try to check out. (taking out the ram and putting them back in didn't solve the problem, they had to be cleaned)
I had the same problem and they became more and more frequent.
It turned out it was some dirt in the RAM sockets so they were cleaned or replaced or something by some technicians. It could be worth a try to check out. (taking out the ram and putting them back in didn't solve the problem, they had to be cleaned)
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Were the dirt/dusk visible to you with a flash light or so?
Anyway, I am starting to think it is probably my RAM, I've tested HDD, defragged, virus/spyware/adware, overheating, etc.
I am going to test the RAM with memtest86 when I can get a floppy disc.
Anyway, once I formatted it, I run Memtest86 install.bat then the message "Can't figure out how many sectors/track for this diskette." "Installation failed!".
Anyone can help with this problem?
... <i>WHAT?!</i>
@Andos: You weren't sure what caused your computer to freeze, so you got the hardware checked or did you already know it was something wrong with the RAM?
Well, when I defragged quite a bit of "red" parts weren't able to be defragged.
Is there any program that keep tracks of what program/process is using how much CPU in the last few hours or something like that?
When I try to shut off my computer have those random freezings occurred a few minutes ago, the computer fails to shutdown by itself. It locks up when the "Shutting down" message is displayed.
Is it possibly that I need to also "clean" my RAM not physically<i>(Like cleaning it for dust)</i> but with some sort of program? While googling for info, there were these programs that state they can clean or improve the performance of the RAM but doesn't the RAM do that<i>(erase unneeded data)</i> when the computer shuts off?
Also, the computer freezings/lock ups occur after an hour or few hours into using the computer and not right away when it turns on. (It seems like the problem is overheating now, I'll do some more checks with MBM5)
Though when the freezings occur restarting the computer doesn't help but if I keep the computer shut off for an hour or a few hours then turn it back on, the freezings do not happen for quite a while until an hour or a few hours.
Edit: I just configured Motherboard Monitor. Well Sensor 2 on the temp(Winbound 2) is at 114 C, which is seems to be high. So the lock ups appear to be because of overheating.
<img src="http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/2469/mbm5dashboard1jk2.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
I kinda figured it was the RAM as no software and no drivers were acting up. It also refused to boot up up at random (beeping and then powering off). Sometimes I had to turn on my computer 5 times before being able to get into windows. Then when in Windows it could run for a while before it either froze for a while and then working a bit again. But mostly it just beeped and turned itself off. I don't know if this is your problem as my computer didn't freeze as often as it just switched off. If Memtest went ok I don't think there is anything wrong with your ram.
Motherboard- ABIT
MEM- Kingstone
CPU- INTEL
VGA- 3dfx (since the beginning) ATI(Since 2002)
SND- SB
if shocked by something, run 'em over.
This set NEVER Freezes.
never. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Thanks everyone for your help though.
In a similar vein, what programs can I use to check the status of my physical hardware? Keep in mind I don't have a floppy drive so memtest will be a bit difficult.
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<a href="http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php" target="_blank">Speedfan</a> can check your health of your physical Harddrive health and check temperatures.
Memtest can be used with a CD too if you have a CD burner.
Edit: This is a terminal freeze, I might add. Nothing to do but restart the computer, and oftentimes it'll happen again immediately after I reboot into windows following the first freeze.
In a similar vein, what programs can I use to check the status of my physical hardware? Keep in mind I don't have a floppy drive so memtest will be a bit difficult.
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You can make a bootable CD with memtest on, just download the .iso from the memtest86 site and you're flying.
Most hard drive manufacturers offer some form of drive scanning/monitoring software that is better than standard scandisk.
Motherboard Monitor as already mentioned is good to keep an eye on temps and whatnot.
BurnInTest is generally used by overclockers to see if a 'clock is safe because it severely rags the crap out of your system for you but this has the double benefit of easily distinguishing what part of your PC is crapping out on you.
PartitionMagic recently found a problem with the boot record of one of my partitions that no other software had found previously so I guess thats pretty good too...
Basically, the lock ups did not occur for over 2 weeks at all, then they started happening again but only when my computer is on for a while though even then it sometimes do not happen.
After my computer is on for over 5+ hours, it <b>may happen</b> but not always.
When it does happen, it will freeze/lock up my computer for over 2-3 minutes and every 5-10 minutes until I shutoff my computer and not turn it on for a while.
Also, when turning it off, it may freeze during the Windows shutting down sequence, it locks down when it says "Windows is shutting down".
Edit: A freezing just occurred only 5-10 minutes after starup.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The ring buffer that stores incoming mouse data has overflowed (buffer size is configurable via the PS/2 mouse properties in device manager).
For more information, see Help and Support Center at <a href="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp" target="_blank">http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp</a>.
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Details
Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 12
Source: i8042prt
Version: 5.0
Component: System Event Log
Symbolic Name: I8042_MOU_BUFFER_OVERFLOW
Message: The ring buffer that stores incoming mouse data has overflowed (buffer size is configurable via the registry).
Explanation
This event record indicates that the buffer that stores mouse movements and clicks filled up before you stopped typing. It means you entered data faster than the application could process it. Some of the data was lost.
User Action
Wait until the application has processed the stored mouse input, and then enter more data. Be careful not to work ahead too far. If you get this message often, the buffer size should be increased by someone who is familiar with Regedit32 (Usually the person with administrative rights on your computer.).
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Is this the cause of the lock ups or just the error message that occurs because a lock up occured?