Vista - Computer keeps locking, freezing, etc

...and it's driving me absolutely insane.

Allow me to backtrack. A bit over a month ago, my video card started to show some pretty obvious signs of nearing demise. Graphical glitches in video games, random screen black-outs, and even more random total computer lock ups--but only when playing games. So, I replaced it. All was well.

Until a couple of weeks ago. Now, all I'm getting is the lock-ups. These stopped when I first replaced the card, and only recently started happening. These locks are...different, though. For starters, they happen whether I'm playing a game or not. I don't have to be doing anything even remotely graphically intensive. Just staring at my desktop after startup will occasionally freeze. That said, it happens most often while I am playing games--but a counter to that would be that most of the time I'm on my computer, I'm doing that. So it's not exactly a reliable conclusion.

Something else strange about these freezes is that...they usually come to a slow halt, rather than slamming on the breaks. It's most noticeable when I'm typing. Letters will show up a split second late and within a few seconds, the computer is a brick until I manually reboot it.

I've tried a few things. The video card is seated properly, the drivers are up to date. I cleaned out what little dust was in my computer. I defragmented. I tried to reinstall Vista...

Tried to. I pop the disk in and it does its thing for what feels like forever, only to give me an error message and revert my system back to before it started. Honestly, I didn't write the error down though I know I should have. It was dawn, and I was too busy slamming my head against my desk.

I have no idea what the problem is, but it doesn't feel like its the new card. Help?

This could be any number of things. My guess would be:

o Bad video card (I realize its new)
o Bad power supply (this can nuke any of your peripherals ie: video card, HD, etc.)
o Malware/Spyware, etc.
o Bad HD

I'd start by suspecting the power supply if you are on your second video card. Check the system and application logs for clues.

Others may chime in but your symptoms could be all sorts of things to be honest.

Good luck!

Seems more like a hardware issue. do a clean install and see if the problem persists. Or you may have to replace the faulty hardware, especially RAM or video card.

Alright, by now, the more it happens, the more I'm convinced it's my power supply. I did some research on this computer, and while I can't find an exact match on the site I bought it from, looking the most current and most similar models from the same company... well, I'm almost certain mine shipped with a pretty wimpy power supply.

Think a 600W would comfortably power an Nvidia 9500GT? :P

That would depend on the pwer requirements of your system. The two ways to do this would be to either add up all the watts your peripherals consume or search for some kind of online calculator to do this. I wish I had a link to such but unfortunately, I do not have such a link.

Barring that, look in your case at the old one, add more wattage, say 200w, and purchase one at that level. Or, just buy the most expensive you can afford. Do buy a good quality one that you can find some reviews on. I'd suggest newegg to get good user feedback before you make your purchase.

@cptnhammer,

To eliminate the guesswork it would help if your system specs were listed. How to ask for help

As far as determining what size power supply you need, you could use this to calculate your power requirements - eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5, but, depending on your system specs, I think a 600w is plenty for that card.

How to Buy a Power Supply: 7 steps - wikiHow

Thanks for the link sygnus21! Great link!

Nice link indeed, thanks for that. And yeah, 600W is plenty for my system, heh :P Thanks for the help, all.

Okay, so...new power supply, plenty to power my system. New 4 gigs of RAM, too, cause well, who doesn't like more RAM? Computer's been running like a freakin' monster.

And it's still doing it.

I was fairly certain it was the PSU, too. Or the RAM. So unless they're both faulty within 24 hours and giving me the same exact problem I've been having... Sigh. The video card? That's past its 30 day replacement warranty, too, heh. I can't keep spending this kind of money.

I guess I'll try a fresh reinstall of Vista in the morning. But like I said before, it stopped about 70% through with an error and reverted back to before it started.

You should fill out your system specs so we can help you better