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Can a bad voltage stabilizer crash computer?
OK, this is what is happening. I have this client with a 6 years old Dell desktop (Pentium dual core with 4GB RAM under an old no SP W7). The computer started to freeze and give BSOD. Sometimes it was BSOD other times it just froze completely including the mouse pointer with no BSOD.
I brought it to my workbench and made a fresh install of Windows 7 SP1. I didn't use the more updated Dell drivers and just relied on the Windows embedded drivers since there were no warnings in the hardware list. I usually do that for mostly of computers (including mine) and never had problems before. Beside that I installed ZoneAlarm, Avast, Java, Office 2010, configured Outlook, and sent computer back to client as everything seemed to be fine after to run the computer for hours. The only thing that I left for client do himself was to install the proprietary navigator of his bank (don't ask!).
The day after the client called saying that computer was freezing and sometimes when it was idle. I picked computer again, put it over my workbench and ran either MemTest86 as well checkdisk/r for a total of 16 hours and didn't find any bad sector or RAM error.
I was a bit suspicious of Office 2010 because it was using KMS activator and ZoneAlarm wasn't liking it. So I uninstalled it and downgraded to Office 2007, deactivated several useless services (software updaters, etc). After that I ran the computer for THREE DAYS and it didn't freeze one single time.
So I sent computer back again to the client and again the day after he called saying that it was freezing. Yesterday I went to client home and right at the doorstep he said to me that it froze a bit before I arrive but along one hour I stayed there the computer didn't freeze.
I will pick his PC again today and I am about to make a whole new fresh install. This time I will put it on a SSD of mine that I will lend to show him how faster the computer can become and at the same time completely discard the possibility of a bad HDD. Also this time I will connect to Dell and download the most updated drivers and also tweak the sleep/wake BIOS features. I know that I should think of update the BIOS itself but I am not too much happy with the idea.
What still bugs me more is that the computer works finely on my workbench but not in client's home so I am not too much hopeful that the actions above will sanitize the problem. Yesterday I noticed that he uses a cheapo voltage stabilizer. Personally I don't rely on them. I use UPS for my own computer but in my workbench I have straight outlets (I actually feel better plugging a computer directly into an outlet than on a cheap voltage stabilizer).
Question is: there is a chance of a bad stabilizer be generating fast peaks or dropouts or whatever able to freeze the computer? Or this is a crazy idea of my imagination?
Thanks!