PC Freezes Up - How to diagnose problem?

[GSCaupling]

Using HP box with Windows XP Media Edition, SP 3, 1GB memory:

Twice in the last week the PC has locked up so completely I could not even bring up the task manager to end programs. I used the on/off "eight-count" to turn off the computer. Upon restart, things seem normal.

Each time it happened I had Firefox 3.5.5 running with four tabs open. Outlook was also open. I've had all these open simultaneously many times without problem.

My guess is a memory problem, but my diagnostic skills are weak.

Can anyone recommend a good way to check the memory (or the HD, or whatever)? I would certainly prefer a freebie than to buy a product.

Thanks to all,
GS

[Green]******^*******
[small]I[/small] [small]Hate[/small] [♥] [small]Ambiguity.[/small][/green]

 

[danomac]

Look into the Ultimate Boot CD (ubcd.sf.net), it has all sorts of motherboard and memory tests (even hard drives and stuff.)

 

[goombawaho]

Yep ^^^^^ That is a great tool. Test the memory first, then reboot back into UBCD. Identify your hard drive manufacturer (from the BIOS) and run the appropriate HD test from the CD.

After that, assuming no errors on either test, install and run MBAM (Malware Byte's Anti-Malware - Google MBAM-SETUP.EXE). Allow it to install, update and run a full scan to see if any nasties are on your machine.

Reboot if anything is found/removed and try using your PC. If it still locks up, it's got to be something running on the PC. Then we start to look at what's running.

 

[kjv1611]

I'm sorta guessing that it could be a simple matter of not enough memory. For Firefox, it depends upon the website. You can have some sites that will max out your CPU and RAM, usually due to bad programming. And with having Outlook and 4 tabs (4 websites) open at the same time, you're greatly increasing the chances that everything is just flat running out of resources. If it were 4 sites like Google.com, it'd not matter, but it's amazing how much RAM some websites will eat up, regardless of the browser.

Another possibility could be too many temp files on your system, such as temporary internet files - particularly if your hard drive is less than 80GB or if you have a lot of other files and/or programs on your computer.

Next guess would be a problem with your hard drive. If the drive gets messed up, the whole system can freeze up sometimes, with nothing you can do to unfreeze except hard reboot the way you did.

Besides RAM/Hard drives scans with Ultimate Boot CD there are a couple other things you can try as well.

Here are a couple of cleanup programs that might very well help without buying anything:
[ul][li]CCleaner[/li]
[li]Glary Utilities[/li]
[li]Advanced System Care[/li]
[li](If you're running Windows XP, which it sounds like you are)RegScrubXP would be good.[/li][/ul]

The first 3 programs you can download from

http://www.download.com.

The forth program is harder to find. You can find it at

http://www.majorgeeks.com.

Matter of fact, here's a direct link (direct to the file page, not the actual download. You'll need to click a link to download):

http://majorgeeks.com/Lexun_RegScrubXP_d2048.html

And other than all of that, it could simply be you've got some sort of malware lurking on your system eating up CPU cycles and RAM on its/their own. For that:

If you've got a typical Norton/McAfee antivirus, try uninstalling that, and install Avira Antivir instead.

For your firewall, install Online Armor.

Otherwise, also install Malwarebytes Antimalware. As soon as you get Malwarebytes installed, run a quick scan, and remove anything it finds... then reboot - whether asked or not... then do another scan if it found anything the first time.

Also, these would be good to put on your system:
1. Windows Defender
2. SuperAntiSpyware
3. SpywareBlaster

Somewhere in all that time, I'd suggest scanning with Avira Antivir as well.

Anyhow, the RAM upgrade would still be recommended - software is using up more resources, generally speaking, as they add new features, get prettier, etc.
I'd suggest at least 2GB as a minimum for Windows XP if at all possible.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[goombawaho]

Start with what the first two replies suggested, then move on.

Establishing that a problem is A) NOT hardware-related and B) NOT malware-related are key to moving on in the troubleshooting flowchart in my mind.

 

[kjv1611]

Sorry, I missed your original post, goomb. I'd of not repeated the Malwarebytes portion. 'Course doesn't surprise me, today is turning out to be one clumsy day in more ways than one.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[GSCaupling]

Thanks to all for the good advice. I just bought QuickBooks Pro and would like the machine stable before I burden it further.

Some other details I neglected: the HD is 200 GB with about a quarter of that used; the machine is about four years old; I'm using Avast!; and the PC is part of a wireless home network using "DSL lite." (please, try not to laugh )

KJV- I kind of suspect it is a matter of not having enough resources. However, my guess would have been a minimum of 4GB these days. Then the question is whether to spend $130 upgrading the memory or just buy a new machine that has enough.

Thanks again. I'll try a few things and come back as needed.

GS

[Green]******^*******
[small]I[/small] [small]Hate[/small] [♥] [small]Ambiguity.[/small][/green]

 

[Sympology]

Update to latest version of FF 3.5.6.Lots of stabilty issues fixed in this release.
Is you Outlook up to date?

I run and old Laptop with 1gb ram and have seen FF take this down many times (and i.e 8 sometimes)

As for RAM, more likely about $30 - $40 and just stick to 3gb, that will be fine.

Unless 64 bit it won't support more than 4gb and even over 3gb is hit and miss if it will make any difference(many threads on this)




Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

 

[goombawaho]

Computers don't freeze solid due to lack or resources - they slow WAY down. Make sure your existing hardware is functioning properly and you're sure there is no malware before adding any additional RAM.

Generally speaking, XP is very happy with 1 to 2 GB of RAM if you keep your startup items under control especially it will be more than snappy.

 

[Sympology]

Computers don't freeze solid due to lack or resources.

No but bad coding can easily crash on.

Also seen A/V hit 100% cpu for close on 15 minutes, yes Symantec, looking at you!

Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

 

[BadBigBen]

I have found that two things cause the PC to totally freeze up:

1. overheating RAM, and yes these can pass memtests (had one stick do that on me last week at work)...

2. HDD crashes, either through bad or loose cabling or drive failure (e.g. over heating)...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"