Laptop hanging sporadically

[Flumple]

Hi,

I'm using an Acer 5920 with Windows 7 32-Bit Professional. Through general use my laptop seems to hang for around 30 seconds before resuming. Any inputs I made during that time (e.g. if I continue typing) pop up when the system un-freezes. I'm not aware of any other symptoms.

• I thought this could be a problem with Google Chrome and Flash but it has happened a few times when I'm not using a browser
• I'm also pretty sure it's not a hardware problem as I've only experienced this issue since I formatted my laptop and reinstalled Windows recently. It could be a driver issue.

If someone could guide me through how to approach this I'd be really grateful.

Thanks

 

[Tmagic650]

What antivirus program are you using?

 

[Flumple]

I don't actually have an anti-virus software installed at the moment. In the past I've used Avast and AVG; would you recommend installing one of those?
I've got Malwarebytes and Spybot installed and do fairly regular sweeps with those two.

 

[Tmagic650]

Install and run MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials):
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials

Is the laptop overheating?

 

[Flumple]

I don't think the laptop is overheating, but I might try cleaning it out this weekend. I've run an MSE test but no threats were detected.

 

[Flumple]

I'm still experiencing this problem. Does anyone have any suggestions? Are there any pieces of software which make a log which might help?

 

[Tmagic650]

You recently re-installed Windows fresh after formatting? Did you clean out any dust from the laptop?

 

[Flumple]

Yes I did using a can of compressed air. I've done it a couple of times since but to no avail. The fan seems to be working okay, and it has hung when recently switched on (I.e. quite cool)

 

[Tmagic650]

How old is the laptop? You may have to take it in for service

 

[Flumple]

The laptop is around 5 years old. Is there any way of running diagnostics to determine whether this is a software or hardware fault?

 

[Tmagic650]

The CPU/GPU thermal paste and/or pads have dried out from heat over time, and they can be replaced by a technician... that's it

 

[Flumple]

I've replaced the thermal paste on the CPU and GPU but it hung on me last night. A friend suggested it could be something to do with my RAM?

 

[Tmagic650]

Test the Ram using Memtest86 v4.20:
http://www.memtest.org/
Let it run for 7 passes. Any errors mean memory trouble

 

[Flumple]

No errors from Memtest. My computer has only hung that one time since the thermal paste was replaced and the fan was cleaned out.

 

[Tmagic650]

Okay, keep us posted on whether the freezing continues...