Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2
AMD Sempron 1.40GHz
448 MB of RAM
ASRock K8Upgrade-VM800

Computer freezes, monitor displays white screen with columns of horizontal lines (colors of last display) and one square of vertical lines. This happens 5-15 minutes after the desktop is displayed as I open folders, browse internet, etc. The thing is when it is idle after desktop is displayed, it does not freeze or anything.

Monitor works fine because I tested it with other CPU.

Thanks in advance!:$

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

you may be having a graphics card error, as you navigate with windows you may not be dumping your cards cach, as a result after a while it fills up and crashes, try updating its driver, post if it still dosent work

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

Try updating your graphics driver to the latest version?

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

sorry for the late reply. Yes, I updated the graphics driver with tht latest version but it still freezes.

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

you processor or video card maybe overheating ,open the case and make sure all fans and heatsinc are free of dust/dirt .

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

yes i checked all fans and they are all working.

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

Hi there
Once you've cleaned your system inside check your fan's especially the one sitting on your cpu if its working properly.after doing the above do this:
with your tower case open(to monitor your fan continueselly to see if it bails on the.
system-cpu fan esp)start up your windows.
when logged in,immediately go to task manager end keep the window open to monitor processor activity.now, while monitoring cpu fan and processor performance you will be able to track if the problem lies with cpu,to rule it out as a possibility. before computer freezes see if the processor's performance went ski-rocketting and if fans stopped.
also post full system specs on next post
???

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

hi. thanks for the reply. the fans did not stop when computer freezes. it will not also freeze if it is in idle mode. unless i do some browsing, opening forlders or it's doing other processes like burning cd then that's the only time it shows white screen.

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

ohk...interesting.tell me can you remember the last activity before it all started to begin.
also do you use onboard graphics? what is the graphics specs

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

as far as i can remember, i just browse through the internet and watch movies on the computer, havn't installed anything new.

- Intergrated UniChrome Pro 3D Graphics in VIA® K8M800 chipset
- Shared Memory Max. 64MB

I'm sorry, I don't know anything about onboard graphics :D

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

ohk this can take a while but well get it done.not your fault.for starters install your standard graphics drivers the ones you got with your computer

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

I installed it already and still the same thing happens. I also tried installing the latest version of the driver but the computer still freezes and shows white screen.

The computer freezes after reboot, just after displaying welcome. This happened twice already.

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

ditso I need for you to open your box and see if you have an integrated graphics card or an graphics card thats in a slot.will you be able to do that??

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

yup sure. just tell me where to look. thanks!

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

before you open or unplug anything look @ the back of your computer box and see where your monitor cable plugs in(the one with the pins-thats your signal cable)now that you've seen where it plugs in open your box and see from the inside if the connector (where the cable is connected to )if its actually soldered to your motherboard or is it on a seperate card

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

it's soldered to the motherboard.

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

integrated =onboard

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

...so ill suggest you get a 'cheapie' of a graphics card install it and see how it behaves
dont buy one just find one for troubleshooting

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

good suggestion I also suggest a ram test program ,download iso and using a iso burning program burn iso to disk and boot computer to this program memtest 86.of course you will need to do this on andother computer because of your problems.
memtest86=http://memtest.org/#downiso
Image burn =http://www.imgburn.com/

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

ah ok. here is what is wrtten in the manual of my motherboard:

OnBoard VGA: Intergrated UniChrome PRO 3D/2D Graphics Controller
, supports DirectX 8.1

by the way, what should I copy here after the ram test?

ok i'll look or borrow graphics card.

thanks!

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

memtest86= http://memtest.org/#downiso

Image burn = http://www.imgburn.com/

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

you will need to run the test for at least 2hrs ,it will show RED if there is any errors in the ram .just post back to tell us if it shows the ram as being bad.


screen shot of memtest ,if the lower blue parts goes red and shows errors you have bad ram that will need to be replaced .
http://memtest.org/pics/i875-big.gif

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

hi. it passed memory test. it displayed: Pass complete, no errors, press Esc to exit.

I still have to buy graphics card, second hand. I might have it next week. Sorry for the delay! :D

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

no problem ,been here for 5 yrs now ,not going anywhere ,lol

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

Yey. Sorry for the long wait. Got a graphics card at last! After installing it, what should I do next?

Thank you so much! :D

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

first make sure you have drivers for the new card to install after windows picks up new hardware ,then turn on the computer see what happens !

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

Hello guys. It works after installing the graphics card. Yey. It doesn't freeze anymore. Thanks!

Re: Computer freezes, needs hard restart
 

weldone fella