Why does my computer freeze up? New post?

Question

Ok, round 2. My computer, gateway with windows xp home pentium 4 processor 1.5oghz 512mb ram, randomly freezes up whenever the heck it feels like it. When it does freeze up, there is nothing I can do except hold the power button in until it resets. there are no windows error messages, no blue screen of death, no start up in safe mode. Sometimes it freezes while booting, other times it freezes after being idle for some time. After I reset it and reboot, I can resume work normally. I have run spybot, avast!, ccleaner, and superantispyware. Yesterday, I took the leap and reinstalled windows, took the memory out and reinstalled in opposite slots, reinstalled all ms windows updates along with windows live one care, sp2, IE7 and a few misc other downloads. It was working great last night but then after is sat idle for a few hours it froze again. The 20 gb hdd is less than half full, and the memory appears like it is not being overloaded. Any ideas?

2001 model gateway, I only have windows live onecare installed now. I know that more than one anti-virus program will fight each other.

pulled the cover off, all the caps look normal, and both fans are working.

Answer 1

sounds like it may be a driver issue.
start by updating your video driver and then other drivers from there.

it could be hardware, but you have to eliminate software first.

EDIT: Gateway? how old is it? I serviced a LOT of 3 to 4 year old gateways with failing capacitors on the motherboard.
they displayed the same problems you are getting.

i linked to a Google search for bad caps, pull the cover off of your case and using a flashlight, look the caps on your motherboard.
if they are swollen and or leaking, like in the pictures, you found your problem.


EDIT2: look at your caps anyway, it's a gateway, and this was a really bad issue for them. they bailed on a lot of customers.

Answer 2

Windows Live One Care? Isn't that like getting the FOX to guard the Hen house? YIKES, you have One Care and AVAST, so you are using TWO anti-virus solutions? They compete against each other so PICK one and uninstall the other.

Just maybe your motherboard is WHACK.

Or maybe your Electrical outlet is providing bad power. Try a UPS system or so-called Power Conditioner. This might help. You might try a different circuit in the house... For an experiment, run a very long extension cord from that other unused circuit. Is your refrigerator, air conditioning or other motor source on that circuit?

I feel for you. Inconsistent failures are difficult to troubleshoot.

Good luck and Happy Computing!

Answer 3

Two things come to mind:
1. RAM overload
2. Fans might not be working efficiently. If PC get overheated, it cuts in and out.

As for RAM, you can check these:
1. Set wallpaper and screensavers to blank or none — they run continuously in the background and use memory.
2. Review your start menu – remove anything you don’t need on a daily basis — load games, etc. on an as-needed basis.
3. From Internet Explorer, Tools, Internet Options: delete cookies, delete files (offline), and clear history. (You can also set days to store history to 0.)
----- These actions will clear your computer’s cache. (For a description of cache, go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/ph/yahoo/mail/access/access-27210.html )
4. Run Disk Cleanup, Scandisk, Defrag at least every two weeks (the more frequently they are run, the less time they take).
5. Periodically, click Start, Programs, Run — they type ipconfig renew
(that’s ipconfig space renew).

These things should increase speed and free up memory as much as possible.
It will also help if you download two free programs: Ad-aware and Spybot .

Good web sites to visit: http://www.theonlinefamily.net/organize/spring_clean_computer/index.html
http://wehow.ehow.com/how_2007317_keep-computer-running-fast-smooth.html

***********************************

Spring Cleaning Help from Microsoft
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA100970121033.aspx?pid=CH011085921033

Answer 4

I have a Gateway also. Sometimes it would do the same thing.....freeze up. I added more RAM and it solved the problem for the most part.
You should also go to Gateway.com and download all the necessary drivers and fixes.
Good Luck,
Ed

Answer 5

Heat.

Are you generating too much heat? If it gets too hot, that will lock it up. Check to see if the fans are all running, especially the one that sits over the CPU.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

There must be a virus in a program you have installed earlier and then after reformatting your computer. Check that. If it worked good after reformatting then you must have accessed the internet then some virus might have got into your computer.

Answer 7

"Please not to label this as resolved till I say it's resolved." - Yahoo is who determines if the query is resolved. Once you get solutions and humans vote for the ones solutions, it's resolved (via Yahoo requirements). There is quite often a five day prohibit for answering and vote casting. Resolved doesn't suggest that the obstacle is constant.

Answer 8

You probably got a virus from all that porn you look at.