Vista - Vista locks up frequently

Can anyone help solve this problem? Very short summary It locks up
frequently (mouse freezes, desktop is totally locked, then after a minute it
bluescereens.) This happens many times a day, but generally seems tied to
high hard drive utilization, such as installing an app or trying to back up
the hard drive. Not always, though.

More background:

I got a new Dell XPS 720 with Home Premium installed. I immediately upgraded
it to Ultimate via an Ultimate DVD, and as I installed apps, I noticed it
started locking up intermittently. I contacted Dell, who had me try some
hardware-based troubleshooting, and though we didn't find any causes, Dell
quickly decided to send me a new machine.

When the new machine came, I decided to leave Premium installed in case the
upgrade to Ultimate was somehow to blame. I started installing apps and
prepping it for use and, at some point, noticed it was locking up as well.
It continues to lock up on a frequent basis, making it borderline unusable.
For example I use Casper to clone my hard drives for backup. It is incapable
of making it all the way through a backup -- it locks up and reboots after
an hour or so, which leaves me without a backup of my system.

When I let the machine bluescreen and recover (as opposed to shutting it
down when it locks up), Windows Error Reporting tells me something
interesting:

"Problem caused by a hard disk drive error
Windows was temporarily unable to read your hard disk drive. This problem is
general in nature and we are unable to determine the specific cause of the
problem from the problem report. In most cases this problem is temporary and
can be ignored.
Common causes of this problem include:
Large file transfers from secondary media, such as an external hard drive,
to a local hard drive.
The loss of power to a hard disk drive that causes inconsistent data
sectors.
Problems entering Hibernation or Standby Mode.
Hard drive lag caused by filter drivers, such as virus scanners."

Here is the troubleshooting I've done to solve the problem:
I've disabled most of the services I've added to the machine that could be
a cause, including I turned off the Sidebar, so there are no gadgets
running.
Turned off TIVO Desktop
Uninstalled the free AVG Antivirus
I checked all the cable connections to make sure they're secure
I've run Dell's diagnostics that tests memory, hardware, and the hard drive,
including a series of SMART tests.

I can't imagine what else there might be. When the first machine was locking
up, I thought it was bad memory or a defective CPU. Now that both machines
are behaving the same way, I have to assume it's something software-ish. But
I am totally out of ideas. But the only alternative I can think of that I
have not yet tried is to install XP.

Help!!!???

Mine is doing the same thing.... I am running vista ultimate on a sony
VGN-FZ290 laptop (2.6, 4gb RAM, 200gb 7200RPM drive). I have yet to see
a blue screen and the hard drive isn't making any random noices.. I am
glad I saw your post I have also upgraded from home premium to ultimate
and was going to try to roll it back. Mine locks up randomly, when I am
like typing a word document or just listening to music... Nothing in
particular about it! Today it locked up while i was working on a
software design document. It is really getting annoying. I wish I could
find some help with it!


Travis


--
pattont
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