My Laptop is randomly freezing

Hi guys :)

I'm experiencing the exact same problem. System is randomly freezing. sometimes right on logon screen, sometimes a minute after logging in. Sometimes it doesnt freeze at all or after a few hours of doing different things, and another time it freezes while sufing the internet...
There is nothing that allows you to figure out what may cause the system to freeze. What i noticed is, that it doesnt happen in Safe mode. So i guess its a driver issue. Sometimes my GFx is crashing and the Kernel brings up a message, that the driver stopped working unexpectedly and has been restarted/recoverd or something. But that seems to be a different issue. Its so random, that you cant know, if it is solved by reinstalling the OS. Even if you dont change ANY settings on your system, it may happen that it will not freeze over days or even weeks.

What i noticed is, that the system never freezes if there is an active LAN connection. So i think its either the LAN Port itself or the drivers for it.
Example:
LAN cable NOT plugged in, system will freeze after logon, sometimes before logon, you can do that for a few times, same result. Then if you plug in the cable and reboot, it will boot up normal and be stable.
I noticed that because i unplugged the LAN cable by mistake on my switch, a few sec. after that, the system froze.

It does not seem to be a temp. problem, i have/had various monitors up running to see whats going on about temp. when it freezes gpu is around 40-50C sometimes (while gaming) at 70C.
The funny thing is, it doesnt give you a BSOD, it just freezes still showing the last frame... like a screenshot. thats it.

I tried to use boot logging function from process monitor (or process explorer? cant remember). the last events showing seem to be fine. the final task that causes the system to freeze is obviously not logged. there is no hint in the logs what may be the next step.

Hey ixi85

I have been running a clean startup the last week, and i have not had any freezes so far.. So it seems like it is an application or service that is causing the trouble, but i havn't found out what yet...

Hi Funkeeh,

what do you mean by "clean startup"? You reinstalled windows?

i tried the same a few months ago.
didnt help for long. i didnt update any drivers and it appeard after a few hours i think.

besides the two of us, there are a few ppl that have the same problem with that model. Most get told to replace ram, but thats not the problem because i am running on 8GB and also had the problem with the original 4GB that it came with.

ixi85: It may help to follow the thread from the beginning and follow each suggestion. The one that Funkeeh refers to is the suggestion I made in post #6 which includes a link to how to perform a clean startup.

Hello again

I had a BSOD again, and again, the laptop froze on the BSOD screen. But this time i wrote the error code down:

0x00000124 (0x0000000000000004, 0xFFFFFA8004BD1038, 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000)

Hi again :)

i think you have a totally different issue compared to my problems, it seems like that only the result of both the problems is the same. I do not get any BSOD or such error message. What i found about your problem is
A "0x00000124" Stop error message occurs when you use the "hot plugging" feature to add or to remove a PCI Express device on a Windows Server 2008-based computer or on a Windows Vista-based computer

Looks like some PCIe device is messing up in some way. If i got that right, it is an issue with hot plug compatible PCIe devices. Also: it would be interesting what message is thrown by the BSOD, should be at the top somewhere. Could say something like "WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR".


It looks like i got it fixed over here.
since the on board NIC is not WOL compatible by default i made it processing WOL Signals by using windows NIC Configuration. In extended Properties of the NIC i changed "WakeUp Properties" to "Magic Package & Pattern Match" instead of "none". since i did that, i could wake my notebook remotely while it was connected to my network. Obviously, windows is having a problem with this configuration when there is no LAN Link active with a card that does basically not support WOL. Besides that, WOL with this setting would only work if you power it on and shutting down while using LAN. Then the notebook keeps an active link to the router or switch it is connected to and WOL would work.
This is the only way i could get it to wake up. since i changed that, i didnt have any issues.

writhziden said:

ixi85: It may help to follow the thread from the beginning and follow each suggestion. The one that Funkeeh refers to is the suggestion I made in post #6 which includes a link to how to perform a clean startup.

Sorry, i didnt see that or didnt pay attention, not sure. I read the whole topic but somehow missed that, obviously

Anyways, thanks for the hint :)

Funkeeh said:

Hello again

I had a BSOD again, and again, the laptop froze on the BSOD screen. But this time i wrote the error code down:

0x00000124 (0x0000000000000004, 0xFFFFFA8004BD1038, 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000)

For your hardware stop 0x124 crash, read through Stop 0x124 - what it means and what to try and use the following hardware checks to supplement that link.

• If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
  
  
• Monitor temperatures during the following tests.
  
  Use the following programs to monitor the temperatures.
  • Real Temp is a good CPU temperature monitor.
  • Speccy - System Information - Free Download will monitor all hardware temperatures.
  • HWiNFO, HWiNFO32 & HWiNFO64 - Hardware Information and Analysis Tools can be inaccurate for CPU temperatures, but is a good program for GPU temperature monitoring.
  
  
  • Use FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net to test the graphics card GPU. Let it run until the GPU temperatures even out or until the GPU temperatures reach a dangerous level (you can find the max temperature for your card on either the nVidia or AMD sites; if you are not sure, ask us). The goal is to get a steady temperature, find out if the GPU is overheating, or to see if there are any artifacts present in the test itself: look for strange pixelated patterns on the screen or colors that do not look like they belong. Then use the |MG| Video Memory Stress Test 1.7.116 Download to test your graphics card memory. Let the memory test run for at least seven passes; the more the better.
    
    
  • Run Hardware - Stress Test With Prime95 to determine any hardware problems. Run all three tests for a few hours each. If you get errors, stop the test and post back here.
    
    
  • Follow the steps for doing CPU stress test using IntelBurnTest
  
  
• Run the boot version of Memtest86+ paying close attention to Parts 2 and 3 of the tutorial. Also, in case Memtest86+ misses anything and comes up with no errors, run the extended version of the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool for at least five passes. These you may want to run overnight since they take a long time to complete (run them an hour before bed each of the next two nights and check before going to sleep that they are still running).
  
  For Part 3: If You Have Errors: If you swap any memory components, follow these steps for ESD safety:
  
  1. Shut down and turn off your computer.
  2. Unplug all power supplies to the computer (AC Power then battery for laptops, AC power for desktops)
  3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and ensure all power drains from components.
  4. Make sure you are grounded by using proper grounding techniques, i.e. work on an anti-static workbench, anti-static desk, or an anti-static pad. Hold something metallic while touching it to the anti-static surface, or use an anti-static wristband to attach to the anti-static material while working.
  
  Once these steps have been followed, it is safe to remove and replace components within your computer.

Remember to read closely through Stop 0x124 - what it means and what to try for the crash.