Persistent random freezing

[sammyc]

Hi all

Have been experiencing frequent random freezes this last week or so, with no apparent cause - ie I can't attribute it to anything I've done or any changes I've made. There are reasons why my system might run slow & crash (old age, insufficient memory, case full of dust ) - but I would expect a general decline, this is such a sudden issue.

I've restarted, done virus scans, run CCleaner, System Restore, & my drivers are up-to-date.

Any other diagnostic suggestions appreciated. My PC is an Advent 3218 with AMD Athlon XP 3000+ cpu, MSI motherboard KT400-8235 and GeForce FX 5600 graphics. Running Windows XP Pro, & freezing occurs whether using IE or Firefox.

[watercooled]

Does the motherboard have a separate SATA/IDE chip? Also does it crash when you open My Computer?

[sammyc]

Where can I check if I have a separate SATA/IDE chip?
No crashes when I open My Computer.

[watercooled]

It should be listed in the specs in the manual if you still have it, if not there might be an option for 'Onboard IDE device' or something in BIOS. The reason I ask is I was having problems with crashing/slowdowns, which often happened when I opened Computer and it turned out to be bad drivers for the onboard JMicron controller, I just disabled it in BIOS and everything was fine but different drivers probably would have sorted it too, I was using the stock ones from the CD. Windows Update might have updated some drivers on your PC so you could try rolling them back - check Windows Update history for any drivers installed recently.

[ehhhhhhh]

Have you checked the event viewer? it might give you some clues.

[sammyc]

I had this pc already fully set up, from a friend, so no discs or manual for it. I'm pretty much a stranger to the BIOS so bear with me.. would OnBoard IDE appear under Integrated Peripherals?

Windows has not installed any drivers within the time of the problem starting. Btw the freeze-ups can occur after a couple of hours or more of browsing, or within 10 minutes, & don't seem to have a pattern. Don't know if it would happen when not online, as I practically always am, so I'd have to switch on & have a couple hours tryout offline.

Have you checked the event viewer? it might give you some clues.

Thanks I will check, may be a bit beyond my tech level to interpret, but I will see if anything jumps out from there.

[watercooled]

Yeah it should be under Integrated Peripherals but it's probably not that if no new drivers have been installed, I've also just noticed you've tried system restore which should have sorted something like this.

[GoNz0]

try blowing all the crap out of it 1st.

[sammyc]

^I will do been waiting on getting some compressed air, will do so in the week.
May also try System Restore to a point slightly further back tomorrow, in case I've cut the first one a bit borderline to the start of the problem.

Thanks all for advice so far.

[mightymouse]

heat is one of the biggest but do try taking rams out and testing only one in different slots. Does seem to be a ram issue.

Cheers

[GoNz0]

system restore will make things worst, tackle the obvious and clean it up before you do anything else

[watercooled]

You might also want to check CPU temps, cleaning out the system should help but a friends system was crashing a lot and after a bit of messing about I found high CPU temps, caused by a thick layer of dried-up TIM; replacing it with some MX2 sorted that.

[sammyc]

^Temps are slightly on highish side, which is why 'clean out case' is definitely on the list - Gonzo, will do as you advise and get to it first.

@mightymouse, am thinking about adding some memory so testing my existing ram before I do is probably a good idea.

Thanks.

[sammyc]

Right, cleaned out the dust on Sat, but apart from running a little quieter, there's not really any improvement. Froze once on Sunday, ran ok for most of yesterday but it's hit & miss, sometimes it's fine, sometimes really sluggish - slow to close tabs & windows, & go between tabs, slow to open & load pages...