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PC Keeps Freezing

  • 11-09-2014 10:41pm
    #1
    Jaegermeister
    Registered Users Posts: 33 ✭


    Hi,

    I have a problem in that my PC keeps freezing and needs to be rebooted. Usually the PC keeps running and the image on screen stays the same. Sometimes however it switches off altogther and restarts but the power switch light is then yellow instead of the usual white and it beeps 4 times. It actually sounds like the PC is still booting up when it does this.

    At first it only seemed to happen when I was playing WoW so I assumed that maybe the graphics card was overheating or drawing too much power. Or that the PSU itself was faulty.

    However I cleaned the fans on the GPU, the CPU and the tower and the problem still persists and there was only minimal dust anyway. I ran speedfan and the entire PC seems to be running pretty cool. It tends to idle with everything around 35-45 C. Even when playing WoW it didn't go much higher than 50s or 60s C

    I updated the GPU drivers, defragmented hard drive and ran virus scans but the problem is persisting.

    I even took out the GPU and used onboard graphics and it would also hang then, however I noticed with this it would sometimes hang even while just browsing or just after booting up.

    I have noticed that the amber light on the motherboard stays on even when the PC is frozen.

    Has anyone any advice to resolve this or is it simply time to get a new PC? IT would be a shame to do this as it has been working just fine and very stable up to now.

    The PC itself is a Dell XPS 8300 which I bought in January 2012. The specs are:
    Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) Build 7601
    Service Pack: Service Pack 1
    UEFI Boot: Not Present
    CPU Brand Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz
    Motherboard Model: DELL 0Y2MRG
    Memory: 12GB
    Video Chipset (onboard): Intel HD Graphics 2000
    GPU: Sapphire 5850 Xtreme (this is a 2nd hand card that I installed October 2012 and has always run just fine up to now)
    Monitor Name: LG E2211 (Analog)
    Drive Model: Seagate ST3500413AS (500GB)
    Drive Model: Seagate ST31000524AS (1TB)
    Network Card: Broadcom BCM57788 NetLink PCI-E Network Adapter

    (if anyone needs to know anything else about the spec just let me know)

    Thanks in advance

    J


Comments

  • #2
    degsie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,749 ✭✭✭degsie


    A faulty/failing PSU can cause all kinds of weird problems. Can you swap out the PSU to test?


  • #3
    Jaegermeister
    Registered Users Posts: 33 ✭Jaegermeister


    degsie wrote: »
    A faulty/failing PSU can cause all kinds of weird problems. Can you swap out the PSU to test?

    I'll have to ask around and see if I can borrow one. Is there anything else I can do in the meantime?


  • #4
    Bongalongherb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,766 ✭✭✭Bongalongherb


    Just start with the ram first. Take out all of the ram and try it for a time with one ram module and see how it goes. If it still crashes take out that single ram module and try another one and try again.

    I would try this first before messing with the psu imo.


    PS: have you by any chance manually overclocked your system CPU and memory timings in the bios? just wondering.


  • #5
    Jaegermeister
    Registered Users Posts: 33 ✭Jaegermeister


    Bongalongherb wrote: »
    PS: have you by any chance manually overclocked your system CPU and memory timings in the bios? just wondering.

    I haven't done any overclocking at all. It's possible the GPU was overclocked before I got it but I never did.


  • #6
    Bongalongherb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,766 ✭✭✭Bongalongherb


    Jaegermeister wrote: »
    I haven't done any overclocking at all. It's possible the GPU was overclocked before I got it but I never did.

    If the GPU was pre-overclocked by the manufacturer then it should be fine.

    There are a lot more things that can cause this problem you have than just the PSU so I would start at the basics like removing all the ram and trying one ram/memory module at a time to rule that out.

    I'd also click on my computer and right click the C drive and click on properties at the bottom, then click 'tools' and 'Click' Check Now (this option will check the drive for errors) It will do a check on the next restart of your system when you restart it.

    Once you get the basic fix-attempts out of the way, and if it still crashes, then go forward on the next troubleshooter. It's best to rule out the main basic fix-attempts first just incase it is a corrupt boot-sector problem or ram problem.

    A master boot record corruption can cause this as well, so try these before removing the PSU, just to be absolutely sure.

    Oh, one more thing, go into control panel and click on - 'Programs and Features' have a look in there for anything bogey, like toolbars you know shouldn't be there and any other odd stuff that shouldn't be there. Some dodgy toolbars and program software can and do cause immediate lock-ups and crashes and anti-virus and malwarebytes if you use this can sometimes bypass these dodgy toolbars.

    If you know a software program or toolbar shouldn't be there remove it, and if you are not sure just write it down and type into google to see what it is to be sure before removing anything else.


    @DELL Regarding The 4 Beeps On most systems, four beeps is a memory problem. Try reseating each memory module. If that doesn't help remove all except one module and then see what happens. If that doesn't help, try each one, individually.

    Make sure that all memory modules are seated tightly, you should see that the clips on each end are closed tight to the module on each end. If any memory module lock-clips are lowered from the sides then they are not seated correctly.


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  • #7
    Jaegermeister
    Registered Users Posts: 33 ✭Jaegermeister


    Thanks for the reply. I'll follow all the steps you listed and see if I any of them solve the problem. I'll post here when I have it done.


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