very annoying lock ups

alcav · Jan 10, 2008, 15:42:38

Hi guys and gals,

for some time now I have had very annoying random lock ups on my pc.Everything just locks up,the mouse and k/board are completely inoperative

.The only way out is a switch off at the tower.

I thought I had found the fault a couple of days ago,the tower casing was getting very warm.and I found the the main cooling fan bearing had dried out intermittently stopping the fan.I lubricated the bearings and all was well again,but it did not cure the lock up fault.At first it was very random and I could live with it to some degree,but now it happens everytime I use the pc $:-\$

I have looked for conflicts etc ,but everything seems ok.I would be grateful for any ideas.

TIA.......Alan

Rik · Jan 10, 2008, 15:49:46

Is their anything in the event logs, Alan.

What happens if you boot to safe mode, does the problem continue?

Glenn · Jan 10, 2008, 16:54:36

Oi Rik, thats my line

If the system fan has dried out then there is every chance that the PSU fan has too, check that out.

Rik · Jan 10, 2008, 16:56:01

Sorry, Glenn.

alcav · Jan 10, 2008, 17:05:29

Thanks for the replies guys.

I did the psu fan bearings too whilst I was at it

Haven't tried it in safe mode,where do I find the events log

Alan

Ted · Jan 10, 2008, 17:13:50

Could be faulty Ram, I've had exactly the same problem in the past and that was the cause.
If you have 2 sticks, remove one and see what happens if still the same swap for the other and see how that goes.
If you only have 1 use memtest to check it out.

Glenn · Jan 10, 2008, 17:19:58

Quote from: alcav on Jan 10, 2008, 17:05:29

Haven't tried it in safe mode,where do I find the events log

Alan

Right click on My Computer, select Manage then Event viewer

scook94 · Jan 10, 2008, 17:20:28

If the outside of the case was "very warm" I wonder how hot the CPU got?

Ted · Jan 10, 2008, 17:25:58

Quote from: scook94 on Jan 10, 2008, 17:20:28
If the outside of the case was "very warm" I wonder how hot the CPU got?

Or you could have fried the CPU as above

alcav · Jan 10, 2008, 17:37:47

I think perhaps if the cpu had fried to that extent I would be looking at a continuous fault,this is not the case,sometimes the pc will run for several hours b4 locking.Then again I could be totally wrong in my sparse comp logic.

Will go and look at the events log...many thanks Alan

Glenn · Jan 10, 2008, 17:47:26

I would suspect the PSU, it can cause a lot of lockup faults. If it has overheated in the past, it may have damaged a capacitor or 2 with their insulation breaking done as the temp rises.

scook94 · Jan 10, 2008, 17:47:59

Certainly if you had broke the CPU outright, however if there is a "weakened" component then it may behave as you describe. I'm in the process of overclocking my PC and a program called Prime95 is used to stress/test at various speeds, but it would be a good way to test your CPU and mem.

Run "small FFT" to test the CPU and "Blend" to test the memory.
http://majorgeeks.com/Prime95_d4363.html

It may or may not help...

alcav · Jan 10, 2008, 17:53:38

Hi again guys.

I have looked in the events log and I see a fair number of warnings,some yellow ,some red with "HANG"
written by them(the red ones).this is in the applications part of e/log.Haven't got a clue what I am looking at though

Alan

scook94 · Jan 10, 2008, 17:57:57

Can you post a screen shot?

Rik · Jan 10, 2008, 17:58:32

Double click on them, Alan, and you'll get fuller information telling you what application hung, and a hyperlink to take you to the MS site for background information.

alcav · Jan 10, 2008, 18:08:43

Thanks Rik.I will have a go at that

screenshot as requested

[attachment deleted by admin]

Rik · Jan 10, 2008, 18:10:08

FlightSim would probably be quite demanding, Alan, so may have stressed any borderline component.

mrapoc · Jan 10, 2008, 22:55:10

Ok first download speedfan (google it) and check all your temps. If cpu is over 60c theres a good chance its throttling and locking up to save itself. Again...any component getting hot is bad - GPU is the only thing that shud be getting over 60c.

If you can check your psu rails in bios/setup. Look for some voltage readings for 3.3v, 5v and 12v

Post them up (speedfan can give the latter two). If possible use a multimeter on the psu.

Do a memtest overnight or as long as possible (full test) http://www.memtest.org/

Check your hdd for errors (scandisk) and also for actual hdd health (theres loads of tools out)

alcav · Jan 10, 2008, 23:35:54

thank you for your help mrapoc and every one else,over the next day or two I will endeavour to carry out all your suggestions.As you may have gathered I am a 70 yr old non-techie guy who is willing to have a go.Sadly though there is a limit to my expertise.

I will post any results I obtain for your perusal and subsequent advice. $:-\$

My comp is now over 4 yrs old, and I am thinking seriously about a new one,which hopefully I will have a go at a self build.The pc I want is mainly for flight simming (one of my retirement hobbies

) so it needs to be pretty formidable.To have one custom built would cost me an arm and a leg,so I am gonna have a go myself ::)I would like to still use my existing pc coupled to the new one for flight sim purposes,so I would like to get the problem with it sorted.

rgds to all Alan