Member Avatar for blis102

The stroy goes:

I just bought an 80gb sata HD from western digital, a copy of win xp pro sp2 and installed the os, formatting for NTFS. Installed all drivers for video card (ATI Radeon x800) and audio (Soundblaster 24bit) from the web, of the most recent version. Also install printer driver (samsung ml-2010) and wifi adapter (netgear wpn111). I have a pentium D at 3 ghz and 1 gd ram (gonna get more soon...) with 4 case fans and an aftermarket, coolermaster fan (hes a huge SOB).

The problem is, my computer will freeze randomly every time i use it. It freezes when im on the net, when im talking on aim, when im listening to itunes.... it freezes all the damn time.... i even scanned for adware and viruses but got none.

ive asked many people and they all say: DRIVERS, OVERHEATING or HARDWARE... which i have checked and checked again.... This is a really frustrating problem as i am a web designer and work out of my office at home so i really need this to work again...

If anyone can help i would be very greatful, thanks alot!!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by philbobilbo
Member Avatar for trickykid

Best thing to do is do your troubleshooting in steps.

First, write down what applications you use, which one's are open during the freeze. One by one, take one away after the freeze, if it still freezes when you have just one application you use daily or regularly, then narrow down hardware and internet.

Try disabling internet, if you get no freezes, could be network related or the hardware used for network. Try unplugging any USB devices one by one.

Troubleshooting freeze and lock up is hard, since it usually doesn't log anything but probably in most instances, it's faulty hardware.

Member Avatar for philbobilbo

I realize everyone may have already told you this; but my guess is either one of three things:

1. Video card--Yes, you may have downloaded the latest drivers, but the latest ones may also have issues. Try installing older drivers. ATI drivers are known to be (at times) quite buggy.
2. Power supply--Quite possible that your power supply just ain't puttin' out enough juice. You've got a lot of hardware in that machine, and all the case fans take juice as well. I would try a stronger power supply (perhaps 550W or up) to see if that helps.
3. CPU overheating--Make sure that your heatsink is properly attached and that the fan is spinning in a regular fashion. This has been known to be one of the most likely causes of lockups in situations like yours.

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