Fresh Win7 SP1 install randomly freezing, no error msg

Hi,

This week I built a new PC from scratch (done this a few times before so no newbie at it) and installed Win 7 Pro SP1 full retail version.

Everything was working fine but randomly - 3 or 4 times a day - the system froze. No real pattern to it, perhaps happening slightly more when launching an app but hard to tell, and no error message, just complete freeze requiring forced reboot. Not a mouse/keyboard issue as I tried swapping them, plus screen progress bars etc freeze as well. Left for 5-10 mins, no change.

Memtest and Prime95 return no errors. System Health Report all fine. To check for driver problems I formatted the HDD and started again - installed Win 7 Pro SP1 from scratch, didn't do any online updating, didn't install any drivers for GPU/soundcard etc, just kept a really minimal setup. But it happened again!

Nothing showing up in event log that I can see. Most recent item before freezing this time was "The Windows Update Service entered the running state".

Any ideas please? I'm completely stumped! :huh:

Thanks.

Hi,
Experiencing this exact issue myself, and absolutely feel your pain.
Built a new PC from scratch (6 weeks ago)
Everything works fine but then it randomly freezes
No error message, just complete freeze requiring reboot
And so on.....

Exhausted several days of research towards a solution, yet have found none.

Re-installed windows and every program, while closely monitoring every detail – found and saw no issues

Possibility by working together we can discovery what we seek.

There has to be something that's being missed!

Hi ohnolook, thanks for your response, and good to know I'm not alone.

I'd heard of issues with Flash Player and browsers (specifically Chrome) in Win 7 64-bit, but have eliminated them by completely uninstalling Flash, and since experiencing a freeze with no browsers in use.

I've also eliminated the Windows Update Service as a cause by making that manual only.

I've found that sometimes it happens twice in exactly the same spot eg.I'll be browsing, come across a heavy page with javascript etc, and it will freeze, then I'll force reboot, open up the browser, return to that page and it freezes again. If it were this simple, though, I'd have it sorted. Unfortunately as I say it happens even when I'm not doing anything at all.

CPU temp seems fine, all fans in operation, no signs of overheating.

Seems unlikely there's a RAM fail if Memtest and Prime95 run with no hiccups. Can't see what motherboard issues there could be.

Happened before I installed any custom drivers, so unlikely to be a driver conflict.

In summary - still stumped, but I'll let you know if I discover anything else.

Hey Mutt:
Sorry been on holiday...

You and I have performed the exact same steps and still receive the exact same results ... a random freeze from hell...

I had already looked into what zigzag suggested, but for kicks I did so again, and found nothing.

Which internet browser and version are you currently using?
I ask because my freezes sometimes come when a page is loading.
Also, a freeze seems to always occur when I’m playing my iTunes and browsing

This sucks!

have you checked your voltage settings on your cpu and memory? maybe you need to bump one of them up just alittle to get your system more stable.

scrooge

I did not try that ... I switched my DRAM to 1.8v (from auto) .. let's see what happens

ohnolook said:

I did not try that ... I switched my DRAM to 1.8v (from auto) .. let's see what happens

Click to expand...

Specifications

Patriot 4GB DDR3-1333MHz G2 Desktop Memory Module Memory Category: Desktop Memory Type: DDR3 Memory Speed: PC3-10666 Memory Speed MHz: 1333MHz Memory Size: 4096MB Total Memory Size: 4GB Memory Modules: 1 Memory Socket: DIMM Memory CAS Latency: 9-9-9-24 Pins: 240 Voltage: 1.5V
you may want to drop it down alittle. maybe to 1.55 or 1.60 and see if your system still crashes.

scrooge

Ok ... dropped it down to 1.65

glad it worked your welcome.

scrooge

Try removing update KB971033, worked 4 me, so far so good