Frequent freezes and restarts

Hi guys,

I've been having non-stop problems with one of my machines that runs on Windows 7. Certain applications, such as streamed content (skype video calls, hardware accelerated flash) or otherwise games seem to be able to cause the machine to crash, either freezing and stuttering, or automatically restarting.

The machine was built new less than a year ago and I've had the problems the entire time, however they are becoming more and more prevalent.

I don't seem to have any issues with my actual hardware (my memory is fine, and the machine is quite happy to run normally in XP/Vista). I do however require Windows 7 and a stable 64-bit environment for work purposes, so I can't switch to an older OS. All of my drivers are up to date.

Since there's no BSOD, it's quite hard to pin down. It's been suggested before that there might be a problem with Intel's SpeedStep tech and Windows 7 on certain configurations, and disabling SpeedStep did seem to mitigate the problem for a short period of time.

Anyone have any ideas?

System spec:

OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Mobo: Asus P7P55D Pro
Bios: ver 08.00.15 (default)
CPU: Intel Core i7 860
RAM: 8Gb Corsair Dominator
GPU: Palit 1Gb GeForce 9800 GT


Many thanks,

Luke

Check your bios for P7P55D PRO 1807 BIOS. This will give you increase stability.

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-

I've been hoping to avoid updating my BIOS (I'm on 0606). I'm assuming there's still no way of doing that without a floppy disk drive (something I do not own)?

You can use a usb.

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-

I've flashed my BIOS (per the instructions on the ASUS website) and am on the most up to date version. Now Windows won't stay running at all for more than about thirty seconds - I'm dropping straight into a restart, every time.

Edit: Disabling speedstep has gotten me back into Windows. I'm still having the same problems I was having before, except much more frequently and now with crashes for no apparent reason at all shortly after booting. This new BIOS revision has not helped at all - in fact the crashes are just more consistent, and I have new ones on top of that; I've had five crashes since updating my BIOS (less than an hour ago).

I hereby declare this machine bricked.

Word of advice for anyone considering upgrading to the latest BIOS - DON'T. You can't revert it afterwards, at all.