Hard freeze on VAIO

[Gipfeli]

Hey all,

I have a VAIO VGN-FS940 and upgraded it to 2GB RAM a long time ago. The laptop freezes at absolutely random times, no matter what the CPU is doing and what the RAM load is... for this reason, I dont get the bluescreen and don't have any logs for the "crash"...when restarting, win7 doesn't show me the error code or anything...
it happens about once, if not twice a week... not too annoying, but i'd like to get that fixed should I ever work on something important...

What's there to do if I don't have logs attached?

 

[Lordbob75]

Gipfeli, go to C:/Windows/Minidumps
Are there any dumps in there? If so, please post them.

Also, can you boot into BIOS and check your temperatures and fans please?

~Lordbob

 

[Gipfeli]

i've tried that when i read the stickies... but i dont seem to have that minidump folder... even if all of my operating system folders are showing... i've never had the bluescreen btw...

concerning the bios, i've never seen that info... is there a certain nickname i need to look for to find that info?

 

[Lordbob75]

Its when you start up your computer, you press a certain F-key that it shows, and it will take you to BIOS.

~Lordbob

 

[Gipfeli]

yeah I know, it's F2 to get to the BIOS.. but what indicates the temperatures?

 

[Lordbob75]

It is different in every BIOS, but it is fairly easy to find if you look around a little.

~Lordbob

 

[Gipfeli]

I've checked the BIOS (also updated it) but there's nothing where it'd show me the temperatures... as far as i know, if the temps are high, the laptop should shutdown and not freeze, right? I need help, because this is starting to become more of a frequent problem even if the laptop is not hot!

 

[Lordbob75]

It could be that the CPU fan is not working, in which case it will do just that, and freeze up.

There should be something like CPU settings in the BIOS that show CPU voltages and temperatures.

~Lordbob

 

[Gipfeli]

you're saying that there's a slight surge in the hardware rather than software?? i'll try to look again, i can't restart it at the moment...

 

[Lordbob75]

you're saying that there's a slight surge in the hardware rather than software?? i'll try to look again, i can't restart it at the moment...

No, I mean that will tell you what the temperatures are. Perhaps the settings are wrong for that CPU, and it is too hot, or the fan is not running.

~Lordbob

 

[Gipfeli]

i am unable to find an temperatures in the bios... this is all i have:

1) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2453623/IMG00003-20100124-2342.jpg
2) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2453623/IMG00004-20100124-2342.jpg
3) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2453623/IMG00005-20100124-2342.jpg
4) http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2453623/IMG00006-20100124-2342.jpg

this is slowly getting frustrating and i absolutely don't know what to do to cure this........

 

[Gipfeli]

Anybody?

 

[Gipfeli]

please?

 

[Lordbob75]

please?

Hey, I am sorry, I am just dead out of ideas. Will call in some help

Sorry it has taken so long.

~Lordbob

 

[Jonathan_King]

Hello Gipfeli,

LordBob has asked us for some more help. Let's see if someone can come up with something.

As I was reading through this thread, I immediately thought "Hardware Issue". It may be bad RAM, but I suspect a bad hard drive.

What brand hard drive are you using? Each drive manufacturer has their own special software for diagnostics. For example, for Western Digital drives, you can use the Western Digital Tools.

I would strongly suggest checking your hard drive and RAM. Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn a copy to a CD.

 

[Gipfeli]

please?

Hey, I am sorry, I am just dead out of ideas. Will call in some help

Sorry it has taken so long.

~Lordbob

haha no worries... you've done the most and was wondering why others wouldn't jump in this thread at all... maybe my title was already too shocking for others to even click on :devil::devil::devil: thanks for calling in some backup

Hello Gipfeli,

LordBob has asked us for some more help. Let's see if someone can come up with something.

As I was reading through this thread, I immediately thought "Hardware Issue". It may be bad RAM, but I suspect a bad hard drive.

What brand hard drive are you using? Each drive manufacturer has their own special software for diagnostics. For example, for Western Digital drives, you can use the Western Digital Tools.

I would strongly suggest checking your hard drive and RAM. Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn a copy to a CD.

hello sir!

the brand of my hard drive is a Fujitsu (MHV2100AT PL ATA) with a 100GB capacity... it's been installed since i bought the laptop (either 2006 or 2007), somewhat out-dated, however, the laptop still has the "vista compatible" sticker on... i have no problems with Windows 7 at all... it runs perfectly on the laptop (aside from graphics issues that limits me to use basic themes)...
as for the RAM, i have 2GBs installed... how would I go about checking the RAM?

I will get the memtest86 burned as soon as possible and will post the log/results...

appreciato!

 

[Gipfeli]

ok, i haven't run the memtest86 yet, but i've run the fujitsu HDD diagnostics tool and everything seems to be fine:

Model Name : FUJITSU MHV2100AT PL
Serial No. : NS96T6227N5W
Firmware : 000000A0
Total LBA : BA52230 h

Test Name : Extended Test
Result : PASS
Test Time : 00:30:07, February 01, 2010

The drive passed the Extended Test.


guess i'll have to wait till tomorrow to get the memtest burned on a cd...

 

[Gipfeli]

i can't find a CD-R, but will buy a few soon for the iso file...

 

[Gipfeli]

I would strongly suggest checking your hard drive and RAM. Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn a copy to a CD.

i downloaded a copy of 3.5 first and burned the image, and then put it back in... i only see 4 files (one zip and rar, readme.txt, and isolinux folder) but no .exe file... they said it's a standalone program, that's why i'm looking for an .exe file...

am i doing something? it was an image burnt file onto a dvd-rw (out of cd-r)... but i doubt that's the problem...

 

[Jonathan_King]

Here, try this link: http://www.memtest86.com/memtest86-3.5.iso.zip

Burn the ISO file to a CD using ImgBurn.