*HELP* FREEZES & SOMETIMES RESTARTS ALONE!!

Hi,

Well, I have a computer that has been giving me some small problems... The PC works fine but only while I am using it. If I leave it on by itself for about 15 minutes, sometimes more, sometimes less... it freezes and I have to click the reset button to restart! I don't know why it's doing this.

Another problem is, sometimes I can be doing anything on the PC and the screen turns black and restarts on its own for no reason.. well, there's is one but that's why Im posting this.. I believe the problem has to be related to the freezing but I don't know what! .. Can it be the HDD, OS, or is it Power Failure? Please help!

Thanks in advance,
JD2003

Specs:

[939-pin] AMD® Athlon-64 X2 3800+ CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology

Asus A8N5X nForce4 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 PCI-E Motherboard

Memory 1024 MB [512MB X2] DDR-400 PC3200

[PCI-Express 16x] Nvidia Geforce 6200 with TurboCache Supporting 256MB w/DVI + TV Out Video

200 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache]

With 450w power supply..


Edit:

After the PC shuts off and turns on itself, when Windows loads this comes up:



I click on "CLICK HERE" to see more details and this pops up:

Hello and welcome to Techspot.

Your error code 9C means you have some sort of hardware failure, see below.

0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

This is a hardware issue: an unrecoverable hardware error has occurred. The parameters have different meanings depending on what type of CPU you have but, while diagnostic, rarely lead to a clear solution. Most commonly it results from overheating, from failed hardware (RAM, CPU, hardware bus, power supply, etc.), or from pushing hardware beyond its capabilities (e.g., overclocking a CPU).

Go HERE and follow the instructions.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:

Hey thanks for your help! .. I downloaded Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostics and ran a Diagnostics: It passed. I also did the memtest and it passed!? I also changed the page file from 768mb to 1536 on both initial and maximum page file. Is there anything else I can try? Thanks! How do I reset an overclocked system to default settings?

To reset an overclock, go into your bios and select the default settings, then save and exit bios.

Let us know if that helps.

Regards Howard

I would also like to add that sometimes instead of the computer freezing while it's left alone, the screen turns black EVEN though the HD looks to still be active, I move the mouse and press keys and.. nothing. The computer looks to be on.........so I don't think it's the power....

do you have the standby settings on?? (control panel -> power options)
if it is on then it sounds like you and i have the same problem - standby not working properly. try turning standby off if its on and see if it helps, that how i survive :lol:

I've already turned standby on! Believe me, If wouldn't be posting for help unless I've tried everything possible from me.... but I would also like to add that I turned off the automatically restart when an error has occurred and it still reboots on me! Should I just reformat and reinstall Windows? I mean, if 9c is a Hardware Error.. then might it be the Hard Drive? or the SATA Power Cable? (Cause it also has the regular HD power jumper outlet) (Should I try removing SATA power cable and plug in the regular one?


Thanks everyone

Update: I think I fixed the problem! Just like I said, I took the SATA Power and added the original power I think its called the miracle power? I aint sure! But I also removed a jumper that was in the HD because it said on the drive that you do not need a jumper for Master\Slave option.. and I also removed the Memory Sticks cleaned them and removed dust from inside the PC and put them back on in dif slots. It seems to work because I left the PC on for 5 hours and it hasn't rebooted or frozen. I think its fixed. Thanks for the help!

Glad your problem appears to be solved.

Thanks for letting us know.

Regards Howard

I've been reading this thread and it got really interesting, good job Howard and nice thinking JD2003

LOL! I guess I was wrong! I worked fine for the first 10 hours lol. I left it on while I went to sleep to see if it really was fixed but woke up to a frozen PC. I restarted and the monitor wouldn't respond... so I had to restart the PC like 5 times so the screen would respond.. I really don't understand this! When I right click on My Computer - Properties, under the RAM is says Physical Address Extension. I never seen that before... When I opened my PC, it was REALLY dusty. Can this be the problem?

Yes it can, because it can cause overheating.

Regards Howard

I cant wait to move from here, there's dust everywhere.. lol But everytime it freezes and I restart, the Monitor doesn't respond.. and I have to flip the switch in the back of the PC (the kill switch) and then turn it back on for it to respond.. this is really getting me aggravated. (It's a new PC too!)


When I open SpeedFan, this comes up:



When I do the online analysis of the HD, this comes up:

Looking at your last post. 54 degrees is way too hot, for your hard drive.

I suggest you try and get your important data off asap.

Then try a different hard drive.

Regards Howard

first clean out the dust, then run a SMART analysis on your hd. the manufacturers website should have a tool. if you have a SMART failure, most likely you will have to replace it. if youve got warrenty then that shouldnt be a problem.

Hey, I think that's the problem! But, is there away I can back up all my settings? I dont want to try to "Backup" feature because it's more than 4gigs and it wont fit on a DVD. Can I use the Files and Settings transfer wizard, save it to a folder, and burn? Thanks! Why would my HD be that hot anyways?

what exactly is the problem, the heat or a SMART failure??

the best thing to do is to backup your system settings using file and settings transfer wizard, get hold of a second hd, backup your most important documents, files,etc, make a list of programs you have installed (or maybe a screenie of your start menu), wait until the hd is replaced, and copy the stuff back.

OR

use acronis true image to make a clone of your current hd on another.

btw, this is from experiance of TWO SMART failures :blackeye: :blackeye:

Well, I just did a S.M.A.R.T analysis and it came ou with no errors!!! I don't understand this!!!

If your hard drive is running at 54C, then that is too hot and is likely to cause problems.

Download the free Everest programme from HERE. Check your temps with that and see if they agree with Speedfan.

Regards Howard

01 Raw Read Error Rate 51 200 200 0 OK: Value is normal
03 Spin Up Time 21 198 189 5075 OK: Value is normal
04 Start/Stop Count 0 100 100 115 OK: Always passing
05 Reallocated Sector Count 140 200 200 0 OK: Value is normal
07 Seek Error Rate 51 200 200 0 OK: Value is normal
09 Power-On Time Count 0 100 100 227 OK: Always passing
0A Spin Retry Count 51 100 100 0 OK: Value is normal
0B Calibration Retry Count 51 100 100 0 OK: Value is normal
0C Power Cycle Count 0 100 100 110 OK: Always passing
BE <vendor-specific> 45 46 26 54 OK: Value is normal
C2 Temperature 0 96 76 54 OK: Always passing
C4 Reallocation Event Count 0 200 200 0 OK: Always passing
C5 Current Pending Sector Count 0 200 200 0 OK: Always passing
C6 Off-Line Uncorrectable Sector Count 0 200 200 0 OK: Always passing
C7 Ultra ATA CRC Error Rate 0 200 200 0 OK: Always passing
C8 Write Error Rate 51 200 200 0 OK: Value is normal



This is the report I received...it's the same. I think I'm getting the Mobo, HD, and Video Card replaced! (Thanks to the Warranty). Hopefully this will solve the problem .