Windows XP Keep Freezing

[Talynne]

Ok, I'm at my wit's end. I have to run a version of Windows, specifically something later than 98SE for the software I run and the things I need to do, but with every freakin' version of XP I've tried, I get the following problem.

About 2 - 3 days after I install XP, and get a few programs on it, it starts randomly locking up. C-A-D won't reboot, nothing. All I can do is hit the reset button to reboot.

Now, I used to have an Nvidia 3D graphics card. I thought that there might be a comflict, so I bought a new graphics card, a Radeon 9000 Pro.

After a few weeks, same problem.

Here's what I'm running:

AMD Duron 1 ghz Processor
VIA Motherboard with AGP slot and onboard modem/sound. The modem is disabled, using the sound.
Radeon 9000 Pro
512 mb RAM (good ram, too.)
Typical cheap NIC
Windows XP with the latest Service Packs/Updates

That's it. I don't have all the doo dads running, not a lot of programs or anything running int he background. I've even tried uninstalling all extraneous programs, still does it. Tried different versions of video and motherboard drivers, still does it.

It doesn't do it during any particular program execution. I can be running Everquest, or Notepad, and it'll happen.

Please, someone tell me there's a cure for this.

[Paladine]

Hardware conflict somewhere. Radeon may be the culprit. But it is hard to say. new drivers didn't fix anything. Hmm...

I would suggest Windows 2000.

[Talynne]

The thing is, it did this with TWO cards, so unless the AGP slot is funky, or some such, dunno what the problem might be.

It worked fine back in the day when I used 98SE...though now, I can't get it successfully installed, so...

My choices of OS are XP, and XP Pro. I don't have any other copies of Windows that I can run right now, or believe me, I'd try.

[Dani]

I've noticed frequent lockups as a combination of certain Nvidia and ATi video cards with AMD processors.

[TallCool1]

About 2 - 3 days after I install XP, and get a few programs on it, it starts randomly locking up. C-A-D won't reboot, nothing. All I can do is hit the reset button to reboot.

Here's what I'm running:

AMD Duron 1 ghz Processor
VIA Motherboard with AGP slot and onboard modem/sound. The modem is disabled, using the sound.
Radeon 9000 Pro
512 mb RAM (good ram, too.)
Typical cheap NIC
Windows XP with the latest Service Packs/Updates

Please, someone tell me there's a cure for this.

What model motherboard do you have? How old is it? What you probably have is a hardware problem: defective CPU bypass capacitors. See [thread]910[/thread] for a statement of the problem, and my response. Bad capacitors usually show signs, including bulging/split tops, goo spitting from the base, or lifting off the PC board. They are cylindrical aluminum, plastic-sheathed devices arrayed around the CPU socket.

[Talynne]

The motherboard is less than 1.5 years old. It appears to be in good condition, as does the chip, slots, etc.

The exact model, I'm still trying to figure out.

Here's the clicker for you guys, that I forgot to mention earlier.

For purposes of troubleshooting, I've installed and run FreeBSD and LINUX on the box with absolutely no problems.

I ran FreeBSD for about a month, just to make sure it wasn't a hardware type of issue. It ran beautiful. No crashes, no nothing.

(Unfortunately, there isn't enough music software for those platforms, to allow me to run it as an alternative to Windows.)

[Talynne]

It appears that the motherboard model number is: (drumroll, please)

VT8363

The more detailed information that I got, for the system, otherwise, is:

Processor
Model : AMD Duron(tm) processor
Speed : 1000MHz
Model Number : 1000 (estimated)
Performance Rating : PR1450 (estimated)
Type : Standard
L2 On-board Cache : 64kB ECC Synchronous Write-Back

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA AGP PCI USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support : No
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : Award Software International, Inc. 6.00 PG
Mainboard : TRANSCEND AKT4/A 8363A-686B
Total Memory : 511MB SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : VIA Technologies Inc VT8363/5 KT133/KM133 System Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 100MHz (200MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 512MB SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 1x 133MHz (133MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : RADEON 9000 Family

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : ST320011A
CD-ROM/DVD : MITSUMI CR-4802TE
CD-ROM/DVD : SAMSUNG CD-ROM SC-140B

Logical Storage Devices
1.44MB 3.5" (A:) : N/A
Hard Disk (C:) : 4.9GB (1.7GB, 35% Free) (NTFS)
Ladidah (D:) : 13.8GB (8.5GB, 62% Free) (NTFS)
180-g01415-100 (E:) : 658MB (0MB, 0% Free) (CDFS)
Hppp (F:) : 233MB (0MB, 0% Free) (CDFS)

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 2 COM / 0 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Printing Support
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : PS/2 Compatible Mouse

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : VIA AC'97 Audio Controller (WDM)

Printers and Faxes
Model : hp deskjet 656c series

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 5.01.2600 Service Pack 1

Network Adapter(s)
Network Drivers Enabled : Yes
Adapter : SMC EZ Card PCI 10 Adapter (SMC1208)

[caperjack]

get a good board
http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030721/index.html

[TallCool1]

Mainboard : TRANSCEND AKT4/A 8363A-686B
Total Memory : 511MB SDRAM

Chipset model : VIA Technologies Inc VT8363 (KT133) System Controller/686B Southbridge

The board itself may be 1.5 years old, but the design is about 3 years old. There is no obvious reason for it to freeze; it may still be a capacitor problem.

Test the memory. Download MemTest86 from http://www.memtest86.com, which creates either a bootable floppy or, if you download the .ISO file, a bootable CD. This is the best memory tester out there and may help diagnose the problem. BSD and Windows "look at" memory differently and one may crash where the other works fine.

[Garethr21]

I have a very Similar problem with My PC and I'm Currently looking for a fix thats How I came across this site. Anyway I think the problem is with your CD writer as that is what I pinned it to in my system, to confirm this I suggest you disable it through device manager and see if you PC keeps crashing. I tried to fix this a while ago by updating the firmware on the drive which is available from "http://www.mitsumi.com/enduser/1_drivers.html". I had no success with this last time and rolled back onto W2K Pro. I'm going to give it another go or see if I can find another fix some how, or just chuck it in the bin and get a new writer! PS if the firmware update works for you or you find another fix please let me know either by email or a post.

[BAMA]

I am getting a Blue Screen saying Hardware Malfunction. I am running Windows XP.

[jonmccurry]

I am having the exact same problem with my old Transcend TS-AKT4 motherboard running Windows XP. It has no problem at all running Win98SE. Locks up completely at random under Win XP. 800MHz AMD processor, 100 or 133MHz RAM (256 or 512MB at different times).

Interesting things I've found:
it doesn't lockup NEARLY as badly without any hotfixes or service packs for Win XP installed as it does after applying latest Win XP updates (but no SP1 nor SP2). I have narrowed down 2 hotfixes that greatly increase the frequency of lockups but they still happen without those hotfixes, just not nearly as often.

I also found that if I run Folding@home text-only client (not as a service, just from a command prompt window on the desktop) it NEVER EVER locks up while its running and I've been running it for months now all day every day with no lockups. I haven't tried any other distributed computing clients nor have I tried any other variations of how to run the Folding@home client nor ran it as a service. If I stop running Folding@home it will lockup as normal, which the frequency of varies from a few seconds of logging into XP to smooth running for a few days in a row (pesky little bugger).

I have used the hardware monitor app for Windows to see if the lockups had anything to do with overheating, but they certainly don't. However, I did notice that the voltages listed in hardware monitor app would change ever so slightly while not running Folding@Home client by about .01 Volt for core voltage & about +/- 0.1V for the other voltages (which is very little but still I wouldn't expect to see it fluctuating while no loads are changing unless some of the voltage regulation circuitry somewhere was cheezy), but while running Folding@Home client (which puts a noticeably higher electrical load on the system) the voltage stays perfectly stable as reported by hardware monitor utility & its logging capabilities. I have the settings set to refresh hardware monitor as quickly as possible BTW. Makes me wonder if there's something wrong with some caps or the voltage regulation circuitry on the mainboard or the power supply is of a very poor design (my guess would be for the powersupply).

I am currently experimenting with a BIOS setting that might be the cause of XP hanging randomly, which would certainly have nothing to do with the voltage issue, but it can take weeks of testing to see if the system will run properly after the setting has been altered.

[Cirrus Tech. Lt]

All you guys gave great post's but I would have to agree with most of you on the fact that it sounds like a hardware fail or some kind.

I would suggest if your going to be using windows, use the right verision which is Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Service Pack Two.

Just My Thoughts.

[jonmccurry]

Pretty certain its not a hardware failure as every single component works just fine when tested in other machines.

Pretty certain its something to do with software/driver issue with Win XP not being completely content w/ the motherboard and occasionally causes lockups - I have determined its explorer.exe that is causing the lockups, but there's not really anything anyone can do about that besides don't run XP at all.

BTW, I have not been able to find XP drivers for this Transcend motherboard, only can find drivers for Win98/95, if there were XP drivers for it that might help XP be more stable.

I also just recently realized that even though the motherboard is AGP 4X and so is the NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX400 and I have all the correct drivers for everything (except the above noted absence of mobo drivers) a video card overclocking utility (that has other purposes as well) called PowerStrip says my video card is only running at AGP 2X and I cannot set it to 4X for some reason - says something about mobo & video card both support it but maybe drivers need to be loaded and/or updated to set it to 4X.

[Xtothel]

:cry: SOMEONE PLZ HELP ME...
my computer does the same RANDOM LOCK UP thing...could it be because of bad RAM?? i ran the memtest thing once and it got nothing..anyways my computer :

XP PRO
AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ s939
ASUS A8V DELUXE
ATI 9600XT 256MB
OCZ DDR 400 Priemier Dual Channel 512 x 2
MAXTOR 200GB SATA, 80GB ATA

[EverJack]

I have an Athlon 64, and I am having both lock up and shut down probs. It can happen on either a cold boot or after hours of service.

[jonmccurry]

At some point since 2005 I had found the problem and thought I'd share:

At one point I had taken this machine apart, was going to try a different processor or heatsink/fan as the one that was on there was quite loud and to troubleshoot more, and discovered the HSF was not seated properly. It was sitting on the part of the socket that houses the lever arm and has the writing on it as it was slid too far in that direction, causing only a small part of the heatsink to touch the core and on the corner. Kinda explains why it needed the 7000 RPM fan and large heatsink to stay at somewhat reasonable temps. This could also mean the temps were not correct, since they make the assumption the heatsink is actually in contact with the CPU. :( I'm surprised it worked at all and wasn't far worse off, especially when running Folding@Home at 100%.

I removed the HSF and then found that a corner of the chip, well the metal heat-spreading thing covering the actual chip, was chipped and seemed to be quite brittle. I decided this probably had something to do with the random lockups, as others had far worse experiences when these cracked, still hard to understand why it NEVER happened with Win98SE but ONLY WinXP and why adding certain hotfixes and service packs made it worse, and why Folding@Home made it go away, but at any rate I put it back together, did not try any new hardware, and problem was now that it switched between 700MHz and 900MHz each time I boot, rarely being at the correct 800MHz. This motherboard did not have any way to overclock or underclock with jumpers or BIOS settings, so this was quite unusual. As long as it was 700 or 900 MHz it would not lockup, when at the correct 800 MHz, which was a rare occasion, it would lockup as normal unless running Folding@Home 100%.

This was bought used, and it was a do-it-yourself computer, so it kinda figures. I found out about a pencil trace trick on the surface of these CPUs to try to get different speeds, and took it all apart to see if this had been done or attempted to be done and it had, I tried to erase the markings in hopes it would be more reliable and at the correct speeds as I'm not a big overclocker fan and more of a reliability fan, but each time the chipping and cracking of the core's heat flange got worse, so I decided to leave it alone, and this time it would not ever lock up but would switch between 700 and 900 MHz. The sound was also jittery and so was any video or motion. I tossed it and built another computer to replace it.

Anyway, just thought I'd pass along the experience to others. Luckily today most CPUs today have embedded temp sensors to more accurately and more quickly provide temp information of the actual core(s) so this sort of problem may have been detectable sooner.

Pretty certain its not a hardware failure as every single component works just fine when tested in other machines.

Pretty certain its something to do with software/driver issue with Win XP not being completely content w/ the motherboard and occasionally causes lockups - I have determined its explorer.exe that is causing the lockups, but there's not really anything anyone can do about that besides don't run XP at all.

BTW, I have not been able to find XP drivers for this Transcend motherboard, only can find drivers for Win98/95, if there were XP drivers for it that might help XP be more stable.

I also just recently realized that even though the motherboard is AGP 4X and so is the NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX400 and I have all the correct drivers for everything (except the above noted absence of mobo drivers) a video card overclocking utility (that has other purposes as well) called PowerStrip says my video card is only running at AGP 2X and I cannot set it to 4X for some reason - says something about mobo & video card both support it but maybe drivers need to be loaded and/or updated to set it to 4X.

[helloketty]

How much memory do you have installed on your computer??? It would be best if you have alteast 128 Megs of SDRAM 133 to run XP without any glitches. I generally feel that something is taking up too much memory in your computer, look at the startup folder and also the taskbar and clear out any programs not required like real player, jukebox etc..