Laptop hangs constantly and requires manual shutdown.

Okay, try scanning with MSE now

I ran MSE and it froze about 30 mins in. Any other thoughts?

Hard drive test both short and long with:
→ SeaTools for Windows

Also the DOS version of:
→ SeaTools for DOS

I ran MSE again and it completed with no threats detected. I'll try this next.

I ran generic short, no issues. I'm running long generic and it appears to have locked up. Says long generic - 4:30. Nothing is appearing in test status. Bar isn't appearing at all.

Came back that long test Failed.

Doesn't sound good. Download this tool and post a snip of it

• CrystalDiskInfo - Software - Crystal Dew World

Ran it. Copy and paste of results below

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskInfo 5.0.5 (C) 2008-2012 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

OS : Windows 7 Home Premium Edition SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)
Date : 2012/10/17 9:57:52

-- Controller Map ----------------------------------------------------------
+ Intel(R) Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller [ATA]
- ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
- MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ8A7AS

-- Disk List ---------------------------------------------------------------
(1) ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB : 1000.2 GB [0/0/0, pd1] - st

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model : ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB
Firmware : 2AR10001
Serial Number :
Disk Size : 1000.2 GB (8.4/137.4/1000.2)
Buffer Size : 8192 KB
Queue Depth : 32
# of Sectors : 1953525168
Rotation Rate : 5400 RPM
Interface : Serial ATA
Major Version : ATA8-ACS
Minor Version : ATA8-ACS version 6
Transfer Mode : SATA/300
Power On Hours : 3603 hours
Power On Count : 204 count
Temparature : 30 C (86 F)
Health Status : Good
Features : S.M.A.R.T., APM, AAM, 48bit LBA, NCQ
APM Level : 0080h [OFF]
AAM Level : FE80h [ON]

-- S.M.A.R.T. --------------------------------------------------------------
ID Cur Wor Thr RawValues(6) Attribute Name
01 100 100 _51 000000000337 Read Error Rate
02 252 252 __0 000000000000 Throughput Performance
03 _89 _89 _25 000000000D89 Spin-Up Time
04 100 100 __0 0000000000D2 Start/Stop Count
05 252 252 _10 000000000000 Reallocated Sectors Count
07 252 252 _51 000000000000 Seek Error Rate
08 252 252 _15 000000000000 Seek Time Performance
09 100 100 __0 000000000E13 Power-On Hours
0A 252 252 _51 000000000000 Spin Retry Count
0B 100 100 __0 00000000027A Recalibration Retries
0C 100 100 __0 0000000000CC Power Cycle Count
BF 100 100 __0 0000000005FD G-Sense Error Rate
C0 252 252 __0 000000000000 Power-off Retract Count
C2 _64 _59 __0 00290013001E Temperature
C3 100 100 __0 000000000000 Hardware ECC recovered
C4 252 252 __0 000000000000 Reallocation Event Count
C5 252 100 __0 000000000000 Current Pending Sector Count
C6 252 252 __0 000000000000 Uncorrectable Sector Count
C7 200 200 __0 000000000000 UltraDMA CRC Error Count
C8 100 100 __0 00000000005E Write Error Rate
DF 100 100 __0 00000000027A Load/Unload Retry Count
E1 100 100 __0 000000000BF0 Load/Unload Cycle Count

Screenshots please

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

Screenshot attached. Thanks!

Please upload your msinfo32.nfo file. To get this:

• Click on the Start rb:
• Type msinfo32 into the Search programs and files box
• When it opens, go to File, Save
• Save as msinfo32.nfo and save in a place you will remember
• Let it finish the process of gathering and saving the system info
• Right click the .nfo file, click send to compressed (zipped) folder
• Upload the .zip file here.

View attachment msinfo32.zip

msinfo32.nfo file attached in zip file.

Okay. Can you tell us during what tasks the laptop hangs?

Something similar to this happened on my girlfriend's Toshiba laptop. In the end, it turned out to be the Windows Update folders having something corrupted.

Could this be what's going on here?

Normally, it happens most when I walk away from computer and come back an hour later. It will have gone black screen and frozen. Then, I have to reboot to get it working again.

Other times, it hangs when using Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, ITunes. Pretty much anything.

Well, one thing I notice from your msinfo file is that your graphics card drivers are out dated.

Get the latest ones, but first uninstall the old.
Click on the Start rb: > Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program and uninstall all the ATI stuff you have > Reboot
Download and install fresh copy from the link below:

• Download AMD Catalyst Drivers 12.8 Vista 64 - FileHippo.com

Avoid CCC - Catalyst Control Center during installation.

Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/100356-video-card-stress-test-furmark.html

Monitor your temps with Speccy during these tests

• Speccy - System Information - Free Download

Download fresh/latest copies of your browsers and latest version of flash player.

Let us know how it goes.

Ok. Will try that. This am, I reran the Seagate test you requested that failed previously, the long generic. It just finished and passed. Screenshot attached.

I did everything you wrote. I uninstalled the ATI stuff, rebooted and installed the AMD Catalyst from your link (minus the CCC), rebooted and then the Furmark and Speccy, along with new versions of Chrome. Adobe Flash was updated with the Chrome, and IE said I had the most recent version.

I ran into an issue when I tried the Furmark as apparently it doesn't recognize that I have a video card any longer. Error message below. When I uninstalled the ATI, my screen changed resolution and now I only have two choices, even after installing the AMD.

Any suggestions?

I guess I'm on a standard VGA driver because I"m getting an error with the AMD driver. See attached screenshot.

Thanks,
Dave

Is this a laptop? And were you aware that the device is not recognized all this while?
What's the age of this laptop/desktop hardware?

Yes, it's a laptop, less than a year old, Samsung 7 series running Windows 7 64-bit (700Z). The device was running until I uninstalled it and reinstalled the ADM per your link.

Last night, I went to Samsung website and entered my exact Laptop model and downloaded that Radeon driver from April 2012. It installed the Radeon HD 6490M instead of the 7400M that was installed by the ADM Filehippo link. I think our laptop wasn't compatible with the 7400 because when I reinstalled the 6490, the graphic controller works now.

So I think THAT issue is resolved and I updated the graphic card driver per your request to most recent one I could find. Anything else I should try? Thanks!