PC Hangs, unsure of cause, friend thinks it could be network drivers.

[Petrius]

PC Specs - https://www.dropbox.com/s/pk37si9w05dq7z4/DxDiag.txt

Network Card - Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter

Computer will randomly crash at random intervals, which will seem to affect my graphics drivers, cursor will randomly start freezing and changing (ie the cursor will start changing as if it is highlighting text, even though it isnt).

My computer very rarely recovers from a freeze, and when I try and force a shut down, it never fully does so (ie my monitor light will flash to indicate that it is receiving no signal, yet my computer power light will still be on and fans are still spinning etc), meaning I have to turn it off by removing power from the wall.

Have tried re-installing windows and re-installing network drivers to no avail

Sometimes all it takes to cause this crash is for me to highlight over a link.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

Any help appreciated

Thank you

 

[fireberd]

There is a better forum section for crashes. Consider reposting there. Just from the indications I wouldn't suspect the network adapter is the problem.

BSOD Help and Support - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[z3r010]

There is a better forum section for crashes. Consider reposting there. Just from the indications I wouldn't suspect the network adapter is the problem.

BSOD Help and Support - Windows 7 Help Forums

Nope, that section is only for bsods.

 

[Petrius]

There is a better forum section for crashes. Consider reposting there. Just from the indications I wouldn't suspect the network adapter is the problem.

BSOD Help and Support - Windows 7 Help Forums

Nope, that section is only for bsods.

Welp, it's like trying to get through to someone in a call centre here aparently. I have put a post in that section of the forums anyway linking to this thread.

 

[fireberd]

OK, just trying to help.

 

[Petrius]

So, other than discussing where this thread belongs, anyone got any ideas,suggestions?

 

[fireberd]

My first "guess" would be memory from the indications you are getting.

This may be a good place to start for a memory test program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

How did you arrive at "11" GB of RAM? That is an odd number.

 

[Petrius]

My first "guess" would be memory from the indications you are getting.

This may be a good place to start for a memory test program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

This has already been suggested by a friend and this method has been done, the problem does not lie within the memory

 

[fireberd]

As it is random or intermittent, running a test one time may not show anything, but running it multiple times may.

 

[JakeSanchard]

Friend of original poster here.

The reason I suggest the problem being the network adaptor's drivers is because there are a number of other threads describing the issue with the network card similar in nature to Petrius' problem.

Examples:

Atheros driving causing stuttering and BSOD - Geeks to Go Forums - Page 2

Atheros AR9285 Driver Issues & No Wireless - Drivers - Windows 7

Windows 7 crashing - issue with Atheros AR9285 Wireless Netw... - HP Support Forum - 289126

From what I can tell, most people are saying that the drivers of the Atheros AR9285 are not fully compatible with any 64-bit version of Windows 7, which is why I suggested he post here. I directed him to the site below to download the latest official Win 7 drivers but the problem still persisted.

Drivers for Atheros AR9285 and Windows 7

I have the same network card model as Petrius (the Atheros AR9285) and I experienced the same issue; system crashing/hangs seemingly randomly, won't shut down properly etc. I didn't solve the problem, but I found an alternative by simply by using a wired internet connection via ethernet, rather than wireless. Unfortunately, Petrius is not afforded the luxury of wired connections so I cannot be 100% certain that the network card is the problem, I'd say I'm about 75% sure.

I accept that I may be wrong but there are many forums posts regarding the Atheros AR9285 and it's problems.

 

[fireberd]

That sheds more light on it.

Has the wired NIC (or NIC's on some motherboards) been disabled? If they are enabled, there may be some type of conflict.

But, from the many posts, this is a problem device, it looks like the best option is to use a different wireless NIC. I don't like to "give in" but in this case it looks like the best option.

BTW, I'm using the wired Atheros NIC on my motherboard. Atheros AR8151.

 

[ascomputers]

are you showing any errors under device manager?
have you tried a different network card?

 

[Petrius]

update:

have just purcahsed a new network card, will update once it has arrived and tested, I guess this is the final and only way to determine if it really is my Network Adapter.

 

[ascomputers]

will certainly help to determine whether the network card is currently the cause of the issue.

hope it works out for you.

 

[Petrius]

I have also ran three memory tests since yesterday, absolutely no faults found, so i guess we can cross off the issue coming from RAM.

 

[fireberd]

I think the new NIC is the best option, especially given the many posts about problems with the model you are trying to use.

 

[Petrius]

Ok, update.

Bought a new NIC, and the problem still exists, so we can now rule the following out

RAM
NIC Driver issues