My Computer Keeps Freezing/Crashing

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SO this is the deal, my computer keeps freezing on me and i don't know why. For the last couple of weeks it would just randomly freeze on start up, sometimes i wouldn't even be able to get to the desktop before i had to hit the restart button. other times, i would be able to use the internet but i wouldn't be able to run any applications, for example, i would be able to check my email but when i tried to open something in "my computer" it would just show a blank screen, or the icons would show up but i wouldn't be able to click on anything. first thing that i thought was a virus/spyware/trojan/worm, but i ran a scan on my computer using both McAfee and Housecall and both showed that I had no viruses or anything on the system. i brought my computer into a shop and got them to run a diag on it but it showed that nothing was wrong with the hardware apparently. i still suspect that it is a hardware issue because i reformatted my hard drive, reinstalled windows xp (although when reinstalling windows sometimes i would have to start over because it would freeze in the middle of installation...what causes that??), and there is nothing else on my computer but the same problem keeps happening, on start up it will just freeze, sometimes not even getting to the desktop, once it gets to the desktop, i can move the moust and use the keyboard but everytime i try to go into the desktop properties or my computer it keeps freezing, although i can run simple programs like solitaire. what does this mean, it's frustrating to know that there is nothing on the computer that could cause the randomness in freezing. im so confused.... what should I do???
-pure imagination-
 
Imagine the Wrong Timings in the BIOS...

Go into your BIOS setup and make sure all the timings for you CPU and memory are set according to the specifications for your CPU and memory. Depending on your motherboard, there could be jumpers that you need to set as well. If you don't know how to do these things, respond with what you need directions for. If your computer specs aren't posted in your profile, you need to post all the information including CPU, motherboard, and memory manufacture and model as well as your operating system.

Some other steps include running a memory test using Memtest

Make sure all your drivers are up to date for the chipset, video card, etc.
 
May sound stupid

hey,
thanks for the reply and whatnot...although, this may sound stupid to you, but i'm not exactly the most computer savvy person, so i was wondering what the BIOS is and stands for...thanks

-pure imagination-
 
Not Stupid at All...

Any good techie knows that non-techies don't, and shouldn't, understand our language, so don't ever worry about sounding stupid.

BIOS - Basic Input Output System

It's the software (firmware actually) that controls the PC, the boot process, and all the processes that happen during bootup before handing off control to Windows or whatever operating system is on the computer.

There's a handful of ways to enter the BIOS and which way depends on your computer. The most common way for any non-commercial PC is to hit the delete button when the bootup procedure prompts you to "hit delete to enter setup". For Dell, Gateway, HP, and others, it would be a function key like F4, F8, F10, etc.

So lets start by finding out what kind of computer you have?
 
so i took my computer to work and got my friend to look at the computer since he is one of the computer techs there, he checked the BIOS and said that everything was normal, he then suspected that it was a heat issue, and we noticed that the heatsink fan is a little loos, but when he checked the temperature it was normal...the other things that he suspect was that it was an IQ problem, or that the battery that funs the motherboard can be dying....iunno what's with this machine, we've ran pretty much every check that the computer techs have at work and nothing is turning up.
 
Battery problems? Doesn't sound like one. Plus a dead battery doesn't cause any problems other than to the system clock as far as I know.

Probably not a heat issue, CPUs don't heat up that fast from startup.

Also, we don't know what kind of system you are running, that will help in the diagnosis. Maybe your computer can't support WinXP (if it is that old)? Anyway, I've got no idea on whats wrong, but if you reformatted it and it still doesn't work, I'll bet it has either something to do with your hardware, or your BIOS. Try setting your BIOS to the most conservative settings. Also, have you just added a new piece of hardware (new graphics, LAN card, or maybe a casing fan)? Your power supply (PSU) might not be able to handle the extra need. The list probably can go on and on....
 
Not neccessarily true...i've had systems that refused to even post because of a dead CMOS battery. Matter of fact the last one was about 3 weeks ago.
But it sure makes the customer smile ! !

patio. ;)
 
Hey hello pure imaginatio and welcome to Techspot.

We really need your system specs.

Go HERE and read my post.

You will notice a link to the free Everest programme. You can download this, and it will give you lots of info about your system.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:
 
Hello everyone

Well i had the same problem and i found out it was my video card when i disable it my computer stopped freezing so i had to get another video card and now it's back working
pure imaginatio said:
SO this is the deal, my computer keeps freezing on me and i don't know why. For the last couple of weeks it would just randomly freeze on start up, sometimes i wouldn't even be able to get to the desktop before i had to hit the restart button. other times, i would be able to use the internet but i wouldn't be able to run any applications, for example, i would be able to check my email but when i tried to open something in "my computer" it would just show a blank screen, or the icons would show up but i wouldn't be able to click on anything. first thing that i thought was a virus/spyware/trojan/worm, but i ran a scan on my computer using both McAfee and Housecall and both showed that I had no viruses or anything on the system. i brought my computer into a shop and got them to run a diag on it but it showed that nothing was wrong with the hardware apparently. i still suspect that it is a hardware issue because i reformatted my hard drive, reinstalled windows xp (although when reinstalling windows sometimes i would have to start over because it would freeze in the middle of installation...what causes that??), and there is nothing else on my computer but the same problem keeps happening, on start up it will just freeze, sometimes not even getting to the desktop, once it gets to the desktop, i can move the moust and use the keyboard but everytime i try to go into the desktop properties or my computer it keeps freezing, although i can run simple programs like solitaire. what does this mean, it's frustrating to know that there is nothing on the computer that could cause the randomness in freezing. im so confused.... what should I do???
-pure imagination-
 
It's your video card my computer was doing the same thing then i disable the main video card and it stopped freezing. But to run programs that needs to run off DX you need to replace your video card. Your video card will also cause you computer to freez, when i replace my card it stop freezing
 
My PC freeze with a black screen

Hi Guys,

I have WinXP Pro, and my PC is new, I run tests to all the HW and it says that everything is fine, but my PC keep freezing. (I used checkIt from Symantec for testing)
I don't know if there is any relation with, but my problems started when I load certain SW (AOL chat).
I need to reboot my computer every time that it freeze, i just see a black screen and I know that is gone, how can I solve this issue?
 
if hard ware are ok then scan ur pc with kaspersky or a good anti virus
and see if ur pc has a virus or haked.
good luck
 
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