My PC randomly freezes and I can't figure it out.

[Loopah]

Hello! My PC randomly freezes and the only way to do anything is to restart. It happens 2-3 times a day and it is bugging me. I don't know what it could be. I don't think it is cooling because I have 3 fans. Here is a HJT log.

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 3:03:31 AM, on 8/27/2005
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\VIA\RAID\raid_tool.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\RUNDLL32.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgcc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgamsvr.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgupsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\MsPMSPSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\msiexec.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Alex\Desktop\hijackthis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = www.google.com
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = www.msn.com
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll (file missing)
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Ptipbmf] rundll32.exe ptipbmf.dll,SetWriteCacheMode
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NeroFilterCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\NeroCheck.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RaidTool] C:\Program Files\VIA\RAID\raid_tool.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TkBellExe] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\system32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nwiz] nwiz.exe /install
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\system32\NvMcTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgcc.exe /STARTUP
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: AIM - {AC9E2541-2814-11d5-BC6D-00B0D0A1DE45} - C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe
O16 - DPF: {04E214E5-63AF-4236-83C6-A7ADCBF9BD02} (HouseCall Control) - http://housecall60.trendmicro.com/housecall/xscan60.cab
O16 - DPF: {17492023-C23A-453E-A040-C7C580BBF700} (Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=39204
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) - http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/V5Controls/en/x86/client/wuweb_site.cab?1119725730578
O16 - DPF: {82F2D6B2-6C58-4404-A930-9DB0FD90D4B1} (Driver_Detective_v43_Non_Member.DD_v43) - http://www.drivershq.com/cab/prod/Driver_Detective_v43_Non_Member.CAB
O16 - DPF: {9A9307A0-7DA4-4DAF-B042-5009F29E09E1} (ActiveScan Installer Class) - http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/as5/asinst.cab
O23 - Service: AVG7 Alert Manager Server (Avg7Alrt) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgamsvr.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Update Service (Avg7UpdSvc) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgupsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (NVSvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\system32\nvsvc32.exe

*Edit* Reposted a log without a browser running.

[dlh6213]

I don't see anything in your HijackThis log that would cause this behavior. My first thoughts would be:

Note: Use appropriate precautions to prevent damage via static electricity when working inside your computer.

Overheating --
You mentioned having three fans, but are you sure they are all operating properly (the CPU fan in particular)?
Has the case interior been cleaned lately?

RAM problems --
Have you added any RAM recently? There could be an incompatibility issue.
Could be a bad RAM slot, try moving the RAM to other slots (if you have any available).
Or, your RAM could be going bad, in which case you would need to replace it.

[Loopah]

Overheating --
You mentioned having three fans, but are you sure they are all operating properly (the CPU fan in particular)?
Has the case interior been cleaned lately?

This isn't the problem. I checked all three fans and they all work fine. I dusted the inside with air tanks, and I even opened the case and put a floor fan in front of it. It still freezes.

RAM problems --
Have you added any RAM recently? There could be an incompatibility issue.
Could be a bad RAM slot, try moving the RAM to other slots (if you have any available).
Or, your RAM could be going bad, in which case you would need to replace it.

This can't be the problem. I've never messed with the RAM since I got it. It still shows I have a gig as well.

It just kicked me off my game twice in a row. It's happened when I'm not playing as well.

[dlh6213]

Make sure you have all the latest drivers for your hardware, especially the motherboard and graphics card.

Make sure you have the latest Windows Updates as well.

[Loopah]

Ok I just updated my graphics card driver to the newest one and now I am looking at my motherboard stuff. I am a little confused on exactly what to download and how to go about installing it. I think I need to upgrade my BIOS as well as my drivers for my mobo. I cant figure out which ones are which though so will you go here and let me know? These are the updates to my mobo.

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

1. Motherboard
2. Socket 939
3. A8V Deluxe

Thank you so much.

[dlh6213]

This isn't exactly my area of expertise and I wouldn't want to give you bum steer; I'll try to find you some better help :)

Did the graphic card updates help at all?

[Catweazle]

What graphic card have you got and where did you get the driver update from please?

It seems you have one of the NVidia based display cards, and I'd strongly advise against getting drivers from Windows Update!

I'll look at the motherboard drivers and BIOS update issues once we've determined what display drivers are being used.

[kc0arf]

Hello,

Windows Update for HARDWARE DRIVERS is not your friend. NVidia is unstable enough; you do not need Friend of Bill to make it any worse. I say that nVidia is unstable because in the CAD world, I have seen their drivers cause problems to our environment, and ATI wins all arguments in my book.

I am glad to see that you have AVG antivirus running, and am also noting that you have a spyware checker in there too.

You are running Windows XP, and while I am not good enough to tell if it is Home or not (guessing not!), you should have access to the system logs.

Right click on My Computer, and choose Manage. Then expand the little + symbols, and find the System Logs. Open up the Application logs and the System Logs. See if there is anything out of whack in the logs. You might be able to track errors that way.

You can also see if it is a device driver causing a problem. Boot the computer into Safe Mode, and let it run around for a while, and see if the lockup happens. If Safe Mode works for you for an extended period of time, you are looking at a driver issue.

You did leave a link to the motherboard, and it is a product of the ASUS corporation that I have not managed to successfully ever navigate for the right drivers for all the devices. You will need to look at the serial numbers of the board, and get the exact information for us to even try.

Let us know.

Christian

[Catweazle]

Definitely need to know what model Asus motherboard it is.

Edit: Whoops, didn't look. It's an A8V. I'll check it out a bit later when I'm not so busy and see if any of the BIOS updates are relevent.

[Loopah]

Wow. Thanks for all the replies. Let me sort through them one by one.

Ok first off, after updating the graphics card driver it seemed to be OK. But then I started playing WoW and it did it again. It has only done it once all day so me running in safe mode isn't going to help me any because it doesn't do it that much. It has only done it once while not in a PC game, so about 90% of the time its during that. But then again, 90% of the time I am on my PC I am playing WoW.

I have a Geforce 5200 FX and I got the newest driver from the nVidia site. I did the regular uninstall of the old drivers, boot in safe mode, cleaned the old driver out with Driver Cleaner, rebooted into normal mode and got the new driver installed.

As for the logs here are the logs at the time my PC crashed at 10:23PM.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/loopah/log2.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks so much. I'll keep checking in and answering anything else you need.

[Catweazle]

An FX5200 is way below the recommended specs for WoW, so perhaps you might need to reduce screen resolution and graphics detail further than you currently have it. An FX5700 is really the acceptable entry point for performance in games such as that.

Have you got the v1.5 patch installed for WoW? Heaps of people reported freeze problems with that so if you have uninstall the game and then reinstall it without the patch to see if that helps.

[Loopah]

I figured that the video card might be an issue until my PC froze while not playing any games. I will try to reinstall the game as well. Thanks and I'll let you know what happens.

[Loopah]

I came across today that I had the color settings on 16-bit quality instead of 32-bit quality. Would that have made this happen? I found out because I tried to play FFXI and it said it had to be in 32-bit to run. I haven't played WoW since but I am going to tonight for about 5 hours. I'll let you know if it happens during.

[Loopah]

Well it could be coincidence but I have't had my PC freeze since I changed the color back to 32-bit (stupid me). I'll give it a few days and you can make this solved. ^^