[imalinni]

Hello

I'm usually able to fix PC issues myself, or at least find a fix online, but on this one I'm stuck.
My PC has been this way for some time now. When starting the PC up, Windows will load just fine,
but after a while (say within 30minutes, usually less) it will freeze for a period of 1 minute and upwards.
Sometimes, it won't unfreeze and I'll have to reboot.
If I press ctrl-alt-del fast enough when I notice the freeze, I seems it will come out of the freeze sooner.
When Windows freezes, the PC harddrive light will remain continously on, so I'll assume the freeze has something to do with
harddrive activity.
I do not experience any sort of lag prior to the freeze.
Autoindexing has been turned off on both my harddrives.
I run Windows 7 from an SSD.
I have avast! Internet Security installed.

The freeze disables all interaction by keyboard or mouse (although I can move the mouse pointer), but the screen
doesn't change, ie it shows what I was doing at the time of the freeze. No blue screen or the like and no error message.

Does anyone know what's going on with my computer? Is there any internal log that could point to what the problem is?

Thanks for reading, and even more so if posting to help me out!!!

[WishIKnu7]

I am new to WIndows 7 but If you click the START MENU icon lower left and then . . . Help & Support: Find an answer quickly: Browse Help Topics: Maintenance and Performance: TroubleShooting in Windows: Click to open Troubleshooting - you may find help there. Or instead of Troubleshooting in Windows you click What is Action Center: Click to open Action Center Maintenance: Check for Solutions - or Settings to have Windows check - or even View Reliability History. Or once you have openned Click to open Action Center you can even click Troubleshooting - to find and fix problems - hopefully. I know you want an indepth answer but I am new to Windows 7 so this is where I usally start looking. I hope this helps. You might also contact the manufacturer of your harddrive. I know WD has a download program for monitoring problems with its Harddrives. I installed it onto my old XP computer because I was worried about my seven year old harddrive. Best of luck.

[WishIKnu7]

Sorry, there should be a colon between CLick to open Action Center and Maintenance since Maintenance is in the next window after you click on Click to open Action Center.

[WishIKnu7]

If nothing else you may have to start up in Safe Mode and from there start things up one at a time until your computer freezes up. a long method but it should get you to where the problem is.

[imalinni]

Thanks for your suggestions WishIKnu!
Sadly though, I haven't been able to get any closer to a solution.. the annoying freezes persist.

Is there anything more you guys need to know to be able to help me a step further?

Thanks,
imalinni

[WishIKnu7]

You might try going to a website and download a small program to help you search for logs on your computer. Try going to : http://www.nirsoft.net
They have several progams which might help in searching for what is going on to cause the freeze. The programs can be downloaded for 32 bit or 64 bit OS. Some work in both 32 and 64 like 'BlueScreenView'. Look under the 'Freeware' listing on the website todownload them individually. Most of the 64 bit programs for Windows 7 can be downloaded at one time - Once you are on the website look to the left and you will see a list on the side one of which will be, '64-bit download'. Just plug in a USB thumb/flash drive and save there or to your desktop then run them. 'SysExporter' should help since it will allow you to view the 'Event log' in WIndows which should have info on what is happening when the 'freeze' occurs. Good luck with the search.

[culapo08]

I would suggest going to safe mode first and observe for a while if you are getting that same problem. If you are, then the most likely reason would be one of the services or startup items running on the background might be the culprit. In which case, disable all startup items and services except microsoft services from "system configuration" that is going to run and typing msconfig. Restart the computer to normal mode and observe if it still persists. If the problem went away it will simply be a process of elimination, find that one program or service that is causing the problem. Simply uncheck it or uninstall reinstall if it is a program. Try to disable your antivirus program as well or better yet uninstall it temporarily then observe again. You can also try going to the device manager and temporarily disable some drivers such as graphics card, network adapter, audio etc. but be careful though not disabling some import drivers there if you are not sure what they are for and whats gonna be the effect if you disable them. unplug external devices as well. Incompatible driver updates or corrupted drivers can give you that problem. Try to check the task manager for services or processes that might be eating up cpu or memory usage. If you find one uninstall it and check if it resolves the problem. Going to "event viewer" as mentioned above will be a big a help to find some information that will pin down what is causing the problem primarily under the "windows log" and if you find one that is relevant look for the eventid and source and you can go to eventid.net and search those. Many times it will have a lot of info and links related to the problem including fixes. Temporarily install malwarebytes on your computer and do a full scan of your computer. Often times, existing antivirus on your pc cannot detect some form of viruses. After running malwarebytes just uninstall it.

Hope this helps!

[CLARION53]

Hello guys,

Long time since requiring your help which is good for me at least. I got the same exact problem as Imalinni. Rebooting back into Safe mode or Safe + networking mode doesn't help. The only guarantied way is to reboot the router first (PC is completely off at this time) and then rebooting the desktop. I am sure it is a late software that reboots later, way after the big one. Which one? That's the catch. I know how to do the msconfig drill but it is long and tedious.

I have a Multi-socket USB plugged in, with its own AC power. Sometimes I start the PC without it (off) so maybe Windows is wasting time looking for it. A pure wild hunch. So I am pursuing that avenue (started today). No more clues since it is very hard to catch because communications with the PC are lost while the freeze is on going. Yes, if one is willing to wait it will come out of it on its own, if you haven't clicked the mouse to death everywhere.

STILL VERY MUCH SEARCHING FOR THE CAUSE OF THE MYSTERIOUS FREEZE.

Help is always welcome.

Cheers,

MAB

[CLARION53]

I found that MS Security Essentials was getting hung while updating the data base. I removed it. It cured the freezes. Not a single one afterwards. Not the solution that I was looking for.

CASE still wide OPEN, waiting for a fix. Do I need to go to another forum within The Tech Guy Forums?

Cheers,