# Computer randomly freezing.



## fwLogCGI (Aug 11, 2009)

After getting a new motherboard, ram, processor, and power supply the computer has been freezing randomly.
I tried reinstalling Vista, that didn't work.
Updating the drivers for my video card has made it happen less but it still happens.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 11, 2009)

Elaborate on 'freezing'?  It just stops?  It blanks out?  BSOD?  It resets?  Does the mouse still move?


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 11, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> Elaborate on 'freezing'?  It just stops?  It blanks out?  BSOD?  It resets?  Does the mouse still move?


It just stops.


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## Runefox (Aug 11, 2009)

Complete specs, please.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 11, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Complete specs, please.


ASRock A780GXE/128M
3GB RAM
500GB IDE HDD
AMD Athlon 7850 Dual-Core 2.79 GHz
NVidia GeForce 8400 GS
LITE-ON DVDRW IDE
Floppy Drive
802.11g PCI Turbo Wireless
Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) Ethernet
Realtek High Definition Audio

DxDiag:
http://filesmelt.com/downloader/DxDiag.txt


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 11, 2009)

Could be a memory issue.  If something's wrong in the ram and it stops being connected by loose connector, weak connection point or even subtle fracture in the DIMM, the computer would stop outright.

If the mouse still goes but everything else stops, I've seen that often when the HDD stops responding.

Windows: "Need HDD access plz. :O"
HDD: "..."
Windows: "I'll just wait indefinately then and not do anything else except let the mouse move around."


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 11, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> Could be a memory issue.  If something's wrong in the ram and it stops being connected by loose connector, weak connection point or even subtle fracture in the DIMM, the computer would stop outright.
> 
> If the mouse still goes but everything else stops, I've seen that often when the HDD stops responding.
> 
> ...


Already tested the RAM before with Memtest86+, it said it was ok.
And the mouse doesn't move.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 11, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> Already tested the RAM before with Memtest86+, it said it was ok.


 
If the ram has a fault where it's losing it's connection, it's going to pass any memory tests while it's in it's nonfrozen state. 

Though there's still an array of other possiblities.


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## ArielMT (Aug 11, 2009)

I've seen this on one of my own systems (one that only once had a problem with XP) with Windows Vista Beta 2, RC1, and Gold.  I'll bet you if you set the mouse pointer to be an animated arrow, the animation would freeze as well and at the exact same time.

I wish I could offer advice, though.  I never did figure out the cause in my case.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 11, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> If the ram has a fault where it's losing it's connection, it's going to pass any memory tests while it's in it's nonfrozen state.


So, take out most of the RAM?


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## Martellian (Aug 11, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> So, take out most of the RAM?


 
From what I can tell, try taking out the RAM and sticking it back in.  Could be that the RAM isn't properly inserted.


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## Rel (Aug 11, 2009)

It could even be bad RAM that is causing this, in which you can easily by a new stick and throw it in. (tbh, it could be alot of things, it could be a program overloading the RAM, a virus (not likely), etc.)


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## Runefox (Aug 11, 2009)

Aside from the RAM bit:

Make sure the integrated graphics chip is disabled in the BIOS; This could be conflicting with your nVidia GeForce card. Also, remove the ATI *graphics* driver from your system, if it exists, and also remove your nVidia graphics driver. You'll want to reinstall it to be sure once the ATI driver is off your system.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

Martellian said:


> From what I can tell, try taking out the RAM and sticking it back in.  Could be that the RAM isn't properly inserted.


Ok, did that.



> Aside from the RAM bit:
> 
> Make sure the integrated graphics chip is disabled in the BIOS; This could be conflicting with your nVidia GeForce card. Also, remove the ATI *graphics* driver from your system, if it exists, and also remove your nVidia graphics driver. You'll want to reinstall it to be sure once the ATI driver is off your system.


Will try that later. Computer wont turn on right now (Its done this before, I just have to wait several hours).


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> So, take out most of the RAM?


 
At this point, unless there are error logs to check.

Yeah.

Start removing components you don't need and see if removing one of them fixes the problem.  Then you know which one was causing the problem.


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## Martellian (Aug 12, 2009)

Hmm... Might I suggest picking up a POST Card?  Those are really helpful with most hardware issues.  

Another thing to check: Make sure your motherboard isn't fried.  I improperly mounted mine one time and it decided to fuse itself to my case. :/


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

Martellian said:


> Hmm... Might I suggest picking up a POST Card?  Those are really helpful with most hardware issues.
> 
> Another thing to check: Make sure your motherboard isn't fried.  I improperly mounted mine one time and it decided to fuse itself to my case. :/


http://www.amazon.com/Elston-System...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1250054519&sr=1-18 ?


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

Martellian said:


> Hmm... Might I suggest picking up a POST Card? Those are really helpful with most hardware issues.
> 
> Another thing to check: Make sure your motherboard isn't fried. I improperly mounted mine one time and it decided to fuse itself to my case. :/


 
If the thing will boot fine but freeze during operation, how is a device used for reading signals during POST to find out why a computer won't boot going to help?


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> If the thing will boot fine but freeze during operation, how is a device used for reading signals during POST to find out why a computer won't boot going to help?


This?


> Computer wont turn on right now (Its done this before, I just have to wait several hours).


But it will turn on later.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> This?
> But it will turn on later.


 
Assuming no one removed the PC Speaker, your computer should actually BEEP out various tones to tell you where it's failing during POST.  Similarly to how the computer beeps once when POST is successfully passed, it can beep out other tones and patterns to say things other than 'A-OK'.

More advanced motherboards offer vocal reports or a series of LEDs on one of the rear brackets which will show a pattern which can be looked up in the manual for where the machine is failing in post.

However this rules out an HDD, as the machine would boot without the HDD, it'd just say it couldn't find one and wait for you to install bootable media.

I think memory is the likely case here, but I'm not 100%.


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## ToeClaws (Aug 12, 2009)

Hold on here - computer won't turn on for a few hours?  Wonder if you might have a different issue then - heat related.  Are you sure the heatsink is firmly on the CPU, and is the case open enough to allow proper airflow so that the chipset's heatsink and video card are both able to get enough cool air across them?  Also, make sure your power supply fan is working.


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## Martellian (Aug 12, 2009)

ToeClaws said:


> Hold on here - computer won't turn on for a few hours? Wonder if you might have a different issue then - heat related. Are you sure the heatsink is firmly on the CPU, and is the case open enough to allow proper airflow so that the chipset's heatsink and video card are both able to get enough cool air across them? Also, make sure your power supply fan is working.


 
^Seconded^

What case are you using? If you're like me (who is cheap when it comes to computer parts) and have all your nice, shiny, new hardware in a 10-15 year old case, you are going to experience some major heat issues. Follow ToeClaw's advice, if that doesn't work, try taking a side or two off of your case, and consider adding a box fan (the kind you stick in a window) to the side of the case. Works for me.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

ToeClaws said:


> Hold on here - computer won't turn on for a few hours?  Wonder if you might have a different issue then - heat related.  Are you sure the heatsink is firmly on the CPU, and is the case open enough to allow proper airflow so that the chipset's heatsink and video card are both able to get enough cool air across them?  Also, make sure your power supply fan is working.


Its not hot.
Its because of the power supply.


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## ToeClaws (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> Its not hot.
> Its because of the power supply.



Good - easy fix then.


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## Irreverent (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> Its not hot.
> Its because of the power supply.



And if the power supply is suspect, so is the power its putting out.  An undervoltage on one of the buses might fit the freezing condition you describe.  Might explain the dropped interrupt that is causing the deadlock.


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## Runefox (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> Its not hot.


Are you going by touch or by readings in the BIOS? If you're going by touch, the heat sink not being warm/hot is very suspect.



> Its because of the power supply.


In that case, get a new power supply ASAP. Clearly if it's the case, _it's_ overheating, and causing a drop in power output, hence the freezing and the inability to boot. The power supply is one of the most important parts of the computer - Clean power can make the difference between a stable computer and an unstable one, and can extend the lifetime of all the parts. It's also the only component in the computer that has a direct influence over every other component.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

Runefox said:


> In that case, get a new power supply ASAP.


I put in an older one and now it is able to turn on.



> Are you going by touch or by readings in the BIOS? If you're going by touch, the heat sink not being warm/hot is very suspect.


CPUID Hardware Monitor.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> CPUID Hardware Monitor.


 
Exactly how 'hot' is the hot temperatures it's reporting?


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> Exactly how 'hot' is the hot temperatures it's reporting?


Right now,
SYSTIN  35C (94F)
CPUTIN  39C (101F)
AUXTIN  39C (101F)

Core #0  19C (65F)
Core #1  18C (64F)

GPU Core 47C (116F)

HDD       38C (100F)


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## CaptainCool (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> Right now,
> SYSTIN  35C (94F)
> CPUTIN  39C (101F)
> AUXTIN  39C (101F)
> ...



those numbers usually dont say all that much if you got them with a windows tool. what are the temps if you check them with the BIOS?


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

CaptainCool said:


> those numbers usually dont say all that much if you got them with a windows tool. what are the temps if you check them with the BIOS?


CPU Temperature       : 39C/102F
M/B Temperature       : 35C/95F

CPU Fan Speed          : 3125 RPM
Chassis Fan Speed     : 2410 RPM

Vcore                      : 1.304 V
+ 3.30V                   : 3.296 V
+ 5.00V                   : 5.280 V
+ 12.00V                 : 12.355 V

CPU Quiet Fan          [Disabled]


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## CaptainCool (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> CPU Temperature       : 39C/102F
> M/B Temperature       : 35C/95F
> 
> CPU Fan Speed          : 3125 RPM
> ...



ok that didnt change all that much^^

anywho, im no expert but could it be that the readings from the power supply are a little bad? i mean +5V and +12V are off by abour 0.3V, i cant remember seeing something like that... until now ive only seen slight differences like 0.1V or 0.2V at the most.

but the temps are ok, so if you cant turn it on for some time after it switches itself off its definately the PSU.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

CaptainCool said:


> but the temps are ok, so if you cant turn it on for some time after it switches itself off its definately the PSU.


I already changed the PSU,


> I put in an older one and now it is able to turn on.


So that problem of it not turning on is gone.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

CaptainCool said:


> ok that didnt change all that much^^


 
You know that the windows tools just poll the exact same sensor telemetry as the BIOS does, right?


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## CaptainCool (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> You know that the windows tools just poll the exact same sensor telemetry as the BIOS does, right?



someone once told me that different tools get you different results. sure, they use the same sensors but using the BIOS itself to read date from them gives you the most precise results, at least thats my experience^^


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

CaptainCool said:


> someone once told me that different tools get you different results. sure, they use the same sensors but using the BIOS itself to read date from them gives you the most precise results, at least thats my experience^^


 
Think about that logically. The temperature sensor is nothing but a digital thermometer which is updating the integer in terms of temperature that it's detecting every second or so.

How could one application read those numbers different than another?

Not to mention, if you're only reading the temperatures while the computer is in the BIOS, you're computer is at a state where not even an operating system is loaded and there's almost work load on the CPU or GPU.  You arn't getting any temperature reports that tell you what temperatures are being generated while the computer is actually DOING stuff.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Make sure the integrated graphics chip is disabled in the BIOS; This could be conflicting with your nVidia GeForce card. Also, remove the ATI *graphics* driver from your system, if it exists, and also remove your nVidia graphics driver. You'll want to reinstall it to be sure once the ATI driver is off your system.


I dont see where to disable it. And the drivers (the ATI ones) were not installed.


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## CaptainCool (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> Think about that logically. The temperature sensor is nothing but a digital thermometer which is updating the integer in terms of temperature that it's detecting every second or so.
> 
> How could one application read those numbers different than another?
> 
> Not to mention, if you're only reading the temperatures while the computer is in the BIOS, you're computer is at a state where not even an operating system is loaded and there's almost work load on the CPU or GPU.  You arn't getting any temperature reports that tell you what temperatures are being generated while the computer is actually DOING stuff.



that is true. but in most cases every piece of software uses a different approach to use the sensors. the tools rivatuner and speedfan for example gave me very different results about the temperature of my old graphics card. and in rivetuner i was actually able to select different .dlls to use the sensor^^
you are right though, even if the results are slightly different, checking it while the OS is loaded might say a little more.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

Irreverent said:


> And if the power supply is suspect, so is the power its putting out.  An undervoltage on one of the buses might fit the freezing condition you describe.  Might explain the dropped interrupt that is causing the deadlock.


Even though I put in a different power supply it still happens.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> Even though I put in a different power supply it still happens.


 
You honestly suck at this thread.  I just gotta be honest.  You give minimal context so there's little for us to judge this on.

Firstly, when you start your computer, does just NOTHING happen, or do the fans and lights come on, the computer seems to be 'going' but you don't see anything come on the screen?  It just sorta 'hangs' there?

Do you have your PC Speaker properly installed.  If not the motherboard or system manual SHOULD have some sorta POST diagnostic system by either beebs, other auditory signals or LEDs.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> You honestly suck at this thread.  I just gotta be honest.  You give minimal context so there's little for us to judge this on.
> 
> Firstly, when you start your computer, does just NOTHING happen, or do the fans and lights come on, the computer seems to be 'going' but you don't see anything come on the screen?  It just sorta 'hangs' there?
> 
> Do you have your PC Speaker properly installed.  If not the motherboard or system manual SHOULD have some sorta POST diagnostic system by either beebs, other auditory signals or LEDs.


I meant the freezing when I open Team Fortress 2.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> I meant the freezing when I open Team Fortress 2.


 
THAT'S THE FIRST FUCKING TIME IN THIS THREAD THAT YOU EVEN MENTIONED THAT IT WAS FREEZING WHEN YOU LAUNCHED ONE SPECIFIC APPLICATION.  WHAT IN THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

IT'S NOT LIKE YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE WE SHOULDN'T EXPECT ENGLISH TO BE YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE!

IF YOU HONESTLY WANT HELP, GIVE PEOPLE THOROUGH AND DETAILED INFORMATION FOR CHRISTS SAKE!!!


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> THAT'S THE FIRST FUCKING TIME IN THIS THREAD THAT YOU EVEN MENTIONED THAT IT WAS FREEZING WHEN YOU LAUNCHED ONE SPECIFIC APPLICATION.  WHAT IN THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?
> 
> IT'S NOT LIKE YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE WE SHOULDN'T EXPECT ENGLISH TO BE YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE!
> 
> IF YOU HONESTLY WANT HELP, GIVE PEOPLE THOROUGH AND DETAILED INFORMATION FOR CHRISTS SAKE!!!


Cut from my previous edit,


RAM, Unknown if its the problem
PSU, Problem fixed.
HDD/DVD/FDD, No problem.
Case, Not a problem.
Heat, Not a problem.
Voltage, Unknown if its a problem.
PCI Cards, Not a problem.
ATI Drivers, Not installed.
NVIDIA Drivers, Latest ones.
Vista, Service Pack 2 with all updates.
Bootable to BIOS, Yes. 
Load Windows, Yes.
Other OSs?, Last time I checked Ubuntu goes to a BusyBox.
See if it freezes anywhere other than TF2, Have not tried yet.
Works on Garrys Mod and Half-Life, Yes.
Works on Firefox, Have not tried yet.
Viruses, None Found.
CPU Test, OK.
RAM Test, OK.
PC Speaker, It has one.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

Your TF2 is broken.  End of thread.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> Your TF2 is broken.  End of thread.


I opened Appearance and Personalization and opened Display Settings and it froze.
Explain that then.


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 12, 2009)

fwLogCGI said:


> I opened Appearance and Personalization and opened Display Settings and it froze.
> Explain that then.


 
You didn't present that information untill now.  Which brings us back to the point that this thread has a huge problem of you not giving any relevent information.


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> You didn't present that information untill now.  Which brings us back to the point that this thread has a huge problem of you not giving any relevent information.


Do you expect me to say everything including stuff I dont know in one post?
And I just did that. I dont know of all the places where it happens.


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## Runefox (Aug 12, 2009)

Starting to sound very much like that driver conflict/issue I was talking about earlier. Completely remove (use Driver Sweeper to confirm that it's gone) your display driver and download the latest one from nVidia's website. In addition, completely remove any drivers that are still on the system that are related to your old motherboard - For example, if it had an Intel chipset, remove that. In fact, it might be prudent to remove every driver altogether and start fresh with a basically driverless system and run from there.

Also, what brand/model of power supply is it, and what is the wattage rating? Is it brand new, or used?


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 12, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Starting to sound very much like that driver conflict/issue I was talking about earlier. Completely remove (use Driver Sweeper to confirm that it's gone) your display driver and download the latest one from nVidia's website. In addition, completely remove any drivers that are still on the system that are related to your old motherboard - For example, if it had an Intel chipset, remove that. In fact, it might be prudent to remove every driver altogether and start fresh with a basically driverless system and run from there.
> 
> Also, what brand/model of power supply is it, and what is the wattage rating? Is it brand new, or used?


(It just froze when I clicked on Computer after putting in a flashdrive that has the program on it)

The powersupply,
Brand/Model, It says WT550i on it. and WPO-5505D-24
Wattage, 550W

Now its running Driver Sweeper, chose everything.
(Program stopped responding and the computer froze again.)
Restarted, it looks like it doesn't have the video ones anymore.
Now its running Driver Sweeper, chose everything. And it asked if I want to restart it. Clicked Yes.
Now installing NVIDIA Drivers 190.38 and downloading Realtek high definition audio driver ver:R2.08 from the ASRock site at 120 KB/sec
NVIDIA setup asked if I want to restart it, clicked Yes.
Audio Driver still downloading on my laptop
Copied Realtek_Vista64_Vista(R208 ).zip to a flash drive
Extracting the zip file.
Now installing Realtek High Definition Audio Driver R2.08
It says Uninstall Complete and asks if I want to restart it, chose Yes.
Windows tries to automatically install them.
I Run the setup again, "InstallShield Wizard Complete" and Yes to restart.
Right Click Computer, open Properties, open Device Manager and see if everything has drivers installed, They do.
Right click Desktop and click Personalize and open Display Settings and change it to 1600 by 1200
Froze after I clicked Apply. Looks like this:
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




Restart, res is back to 1024x768

Any other ideas?


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## hollowx64 (Aug 13, 2009)

I had the exact problem with my pc.

freezing, overheating, bios corruption, problems starting up the pc, etc.

changed the Power supply for a Corsair 650w and my problem was gone.

I have a 125w cpu athlon64 x2 6400+ BE and an Gecube ATI HD 3850 OC

it draws a lot of power, so make sure your PSU is energy efficient @ 80% at least

you could also download the video driver from nvidia instead from asus, 

that helped me in my case, I hope this solve your problem. ^^ bye!


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 13, 2009)

hollowx64 said:


> I had the exact problem with my pc.
> 
> freezing, overheating, bios corruption, problems starting up the pc, etc.
> 
> ...


 
I'm pretty sure that you wern't experiencing BIOS corruption.


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## Rel (Aug 13, 2009)

Easy solution to see if its a software problem.

Try system restore.

It it still doesn't work, then its a hardware problem, either the PSU or the Monitor


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## AshleyAshes (Aug 13, 2009)

Rel said:


> It it still doesn't work, then its a hardware problem, either the PSU or the Monitor


 
Yes, the MONITOR is making the computer freeze. :/


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## Rel (Aug 13, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> Yes, the MONITOR is making the computer freeze. :/


Lol tbh, im just tossing around ideas, its not like i know everything. srsly, just an idea, so dont be bitchy about it lol

and besides, the monitor can freeze, and it doesn't mean the computer is messed up.

If the computer was working before, and you use system restore, it will most likely work again, unless you added some hardware to it, the hardware broke, etc.


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## hollowx64 (Aug 13, 2009)

AshleyAshes said:


> I'm pretty sure that you wern't experiencing BIOS corruption.




XD oops is cmos data corruption, sorry,  my bad 

=P kids, dont drink and write at the same time ok.

thnx for the correction ^^


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## fwLogCGI (Aug 14, 2009)

hollowx64 said:


> changed the Power supply for a Corsair 650w and my problem was gone.
> 
> I have a 125w cpu athlon64 x2 6400+ BE and an Gecube ATI HD 3850 OC
> 
> it draws a lot of power, so make sure your PSU is energy efficient @ 80% at least


The power supply it currently has, [Link]
The newer one that had problems starting was a Logisys 575W.


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## hollowx64 (Aug 14, 2009)

you need a PSU that has PCIe power connection built in

It says  "high quality P4 PSU", D: that's not enough if you are using a dualcore processor and a mid-high end video card.

need more amperage in the +12v rail at least 38a and you only have 25a T_T

you need another one, a better one ^^! hehe (try corsair 650w XD)

hope it works for you =3


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## fwLogCGI (Sep 19, 2009)

hollowx64 said:


> you need a PSU that has PCIe power connection built in
> 
> It says  "high quality P4 PSU", D: that's not enough if you are using a dualcore processor and a mid-high end video card.
> 
> ...


The new PSU came in the mail today,
 but it still has the problem.

Is it the RAM?
It currently has: 3 of Kingston KVR667D2N5/1G 1024MB 667MHz Non-ECC CL5 DDR II ValueRAM Memory.
The motherboard is a ASRock A780GXE/128M.


Edit:
Got new RAM, it still has the problem. I'll try installing Ubuntu.

Edit:
So far its working fine with Ubuntu. It only froze once (which was when I was using the USB port on the front of the computer, but the ones on the back work fine.)


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