Vista - Help! Vista Freezing!

I have searched everywhere on google, I tried all whats said there, but it does not help! I asked on another forum if they knew the problem, but they didnt. Please help me!



Stuff in my computer:

OS: Vista 64bit

Motherboard: Asus P5n-T Deluxe 780i

Graphic card: Asus Nvidia 9800gtx+ (Currently running under GTX driver, cant seem to download the newest GTX+ drivers on the asus site! Freezing occured before updating driver!)

Edit: Already downloaded the latest driver from the nvidia site!

Cooler Processor: Cooler Master Processor cooler RR-CCH-L9U1-GP Hyper TX2 AMD & Intel

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz FSB1066

RAM: Kingston 2x2GB DDR2 SDRAM PC5300 CL5.0

Edit: its actually 4x2GB ram, forgot to add that.

The Power thing: (PSU?) OCZ Powersupply GameXStream 850W

Hard drive: Seagate 500GB SATA300 32MB, ST3500320NS

Tower: Thermaltake Big Tower Shark VA7000BWA ATX No PSU



Well, I did tried to overclock the processor, and it did work. But after a week I got a BSOD suddenly and I realised I already have enough power, so I put the setting back to auto / standard without changing the FSB back to normal! (Do I have to set that back?)



Please know that I do not know how to set anything in the BIOS! So if you do suggest something I have to do in the BIOS, please tell me in steps! Thank you!



Please post here if you know what might give the problem! I just have this computer for a month and it worked properly for some weeks.

If you don't want to fiddle around in your BIOS, then just open your PC case and remove the CMOS battery to reset your BIOS to default settings. It will reset all your OC that you've done, so your FSB, CPU, RAM will run at their stock speeds. I would explain in more depth about removing CMOS battery, but it's nearly 2am and I'm wanting to go to bed But I'm sure you can find something about it on this website, or just a Google search.

Also download your graphic card drivers off the actual Nvidia site, you might have more luck getting the GTX+ drivers and once you have downloaded them, uninstall your current ones and install these ones.

After doing some more research, I have found that the problem is not related to any programs I have installed.

I used MSconfig and turned off all services not related to windows, to see if the problems lays here. I did turn off the nvidia display driver service there too, but I accidently put it on. So there is still a small chance thats its the nvidia display driver service.



Why is this topic in the overclocking one? This is not related to overclocking, but windows vista freezing.



And about the BIOS:

I did check if the bios changed the value when I put it on auto, and it did... 1600.7 FSB it is. So I do not think it is BIOS related. And nothing is overclocked anymore.

I can take out the CMOS battery, but I will try that after 72 hours testing the nvidia display driver service, to make sure its not program related.


***

Programs used while testing if its not any of these services: AVG, Nvidia, Steam

Furcadia + furnarchy proxy. I tried not running furcadia before, and it did not change the problem.

Warcraft 3 + expansion. Used world editor and the game itself, the problem may be warcraft 3. I will not start anything related to warcraft 3 for 72 hours to test it.

Hamachi. A client that makes a virtual LAN network, so you can play games more easy without setting any ports by playing with someone over LAN.

Good guide here for overclocking Asus p5B deluxe. http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...Language=en-us
Settings for Q6600 should be the same. You probably need to ensure you set RAM manually, and Kingston 5300 aren't the best for overclocking so I'd keep them to manufacturers specs. Heat is a real BIGGIE if you go over 3ghz. Search this subforum, there are some really good threads on what to do and what not to do as overclocking is not just a matter of changing the FSB. Incorrect voltages, incorrect RAM settings can have a big effect causing overheating, system freeze and BSOD.

Well I do not want to overclock ( So I posted this topic in general but is somehow moved to the overclock catagory )

I want to know how to stop vista from freezing...

Sorry Yaho, however it is possible your problems relate to your failed attempt to overclock the system. 2 possible causes now, if you have reset your system, are 1. Loose SATA connection on your hard drive, or 2. problems with a RAM module. The easiest way to check RAM is to take out 1 stick, run the system, see if there is a problem. Repeat with the other stick. If it occurs with a particular stick of RAM thats a good indicator you have faulty RAM. Faulty RAM is a common problem and can cause the sorts of problems you are having. How experienced are you with a computor. If you are inexperienced then make sure you search the internet for a guide on how to replace RAM. There are some does and don'ts.

One guide is here, although I am sure there are other better ones. Installing RAM replacement - Illustrated How to Install RAM Memory Replacement DIMM

So... I have to keep 1 RAM stick in it and then start up my computer to see if it works? And shut down the computer again and replace it with another ram stick?



Well, the website I have custom built it, tests the BIOS, RAM, CPU and graphic cards with some sort of program before they make the whole computer... And since I only have the computer for a month the chance is small there is problems with it suddenly... But I shall try it out after I checked if its not the nvidia display driver service (Or the game warcraft 3) and after I reset my BIOS and after I checked the cable of the SATA hard drive. Thank you for your help!



If there is anything wrong with the RAM, I will simply bring back the computer and let them replace it.





I just have one question: Does windows vista 64 bit install very slowly normally? It installed pretty slow on my computer. (The disk stopped sometimes for 5 minutes) If it isnt normally, it can be the vista disk too.





And no I am not experienced with computers, but I think you need to insert RAM sticks in pairs, right? ... Nevermind didnt see your other post.. Thanks

Yaho, I am not an expert, just a fiddler, but I do know RAM sticks can be faulty from new. The problem with doing anything inside a computor is static electricity and touching connectors with your bare hands. And don't "force" things out or into position. Make sure the RAM is firmly seated and the retaining clips locked. Make sure the system is powered off and the mains cord removed before you do anything. You mention resetting the BIOS, did you alter any voltages? Is the RAM voltage set to the manufacturers specs? And the problem with SATA drive connectors is that they can sometimes make an unstable connection. The drive drops out after the system has started. Vista will only run what is in memory, when it tries to access the disk it freezes.

Wow... I just pressed a bookmark and lost my whole quick reply...



Ok, I did not touch anything with my bare hands. I have opened the case about 4 times, but I have never touched a part, and the power was off.

The only thing I did in the BIOS, was changing the FSB from the CPU. Doing this I had to put the AI thing on manual so I could've change the FSB ... first I tried 4.2ghz, it did not work. I got a BSOD when vista was loading. So I tried 3.2ghz or 3.6ghz, not sure. I used a program called coretemps to check the temperature. It was around 38 centigrade degress when idle and around 55 centigrade degrees when stressed.

After a week or so I recieved problems. Vista wouldnt restart properly anymore, after the "Vista is now closing" I just got a black screen. And before the round vista icon it froze at the black screen.

After some days I restarted my computer, and I got a BSOD. At that moment I decided to stop overclocking my computer and I turned the AI thing on auto. I saved my settings and it worked fine.

But after a day or 2, my whole system froze. Nothing would froze, it just locks up. The only thing that helps is pressing the reset button.





At that moment I decided to use google to find my problem, I was lucky! There were some topics related to my problem, but... There was no solution.

So I decided to investigate further by checking if its program related. I did so by not starting some programs, installing new drivers. (Note: did not try to update BIOS yet.)

It failed and I reinstalled vista (As you cannot uninstall it, sigh) deleted all of the old stuff from my computer, did a defrag and all those stuff. I did install a driver from nvidia, and not from ASUS this time.



I searched again on google, and I found something that might help:

Vista Freeze Fix - TechNet Forums

So I did that, turned off all the services and it did not work. But as I said in a previous post, I turned on the nvidia display driver service on accident, so I still have to check that.



I will try to reset the bios and I will check the RAM when I finished checking it.



PS:

When My computer starts everytime I see:

Harddrive not found bla bla bla



and then it loads perfectly. They probably did not put it on slot 0? Can that be a big problem or not?