Solved Random freezes - Seven Professional x64

[bigfeh]

Right so there's a good chance either one of my HDDs or my RAID controller is failing. If so, how do I test the RAID controller and prove the failure so I can get a replacement?

 

[gregrocker]

What indicates this failure? I thought the freezes have stopped since you got a decent install?

What do you use Adobe AIR for? Only install programs which you absolutely use. Do you know for sure you even use Java? Most of us dont' even install it because of problems and risks. I've never been prompted for it.

 

[bigfeh]

What indicates this failure? I thought the freezes have stopped since you got a decent install?

What do you use Adobe AIR for? Only install programs which you absolutely use. Do you know for sure you even use Java? Most of us dont' even install it because of problems and risks. I've never been prompted for it.

Yeah, the freezes seemed to stop but they came back. Couldn't this be happening more and more as the array fills more and more? This could explain why the freezes get worse over time.

And yeah, I kind of need Java because I'm trying to learn Java programming (and I didn't even install JDK yet). Either way, I'm inclined to think this is hardware, because the last clue we had was the driver and it's not even here.

 

[gregrocker]

I dont' remember you mentioning RAID. WIn7 doesnt' much like RAID and we see nothing but problems with it here. What is the exact benefit you're getting from using dated RAID? It is not only not redundant but you lose everything if you lose one HD, so it makes no sense to use it unless you're working with extremely large files like a video editor.

I would unRAID and install to only one HD in AHCI mode, with the other unplugged. Afterwards save your backups and storage to the other HD.

 

[bigfeh]

I dont' remember you mentioning RAID. WIn7 doesnt' much like RAID and we see nothing but problems with it here. What is the exact benefit you're getting from using dated RAID? It is not only not redundant but you lose everything if you lose one HD, so it makes no sense to use it unless you're working with extremely large files like a video editor.

I would unRAID and install to only one HD in AHCI mode, with the other unplugged. Afterwards save your backups and storage to the other HD.

I didn't? I could swear I mentioned it somewhere. Either way, I don't know how to do that. And as you have already probably guessed, it's RAID 0, so I'll probably have to format again, isn't it?

 

[bigfeh]

So here's what we did (while I don't find out how to de-RAID the HDDs), we changed the cables (and also the connectors, the motherboard has 4 "slots" for HDDs, instead of using the last 2 we're now using the first 2. Sorry if I couldn't explain that very well (which I probably couldn't) but no freezes so far. Will update.

EDIT: The RAID controller is the same, right?

EDIT 2: Computer froze again and when I shut it down, one of the HDDs made this horrific grinding mechanical noise which only makes me believe even more that it's the problem. I'll look for tools to check for errors and if I find any good ones I'll leave them running overnight.

EDIT 3: It might be just me but some programs seem to take longer to load/open and the boot times definitely increased, a lot (could be Bitdefender, though)

 

[gregrocker]

You confirmed earlier you had followed the step to set SATA controller to AHCI, but apparently it was set to RAID. Change it to AHCI, unplug one HD and install Win7 to it. See if you can actually follow the steps this time.

If this HD gives any problems test it with the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan, followed by Disk Check to confirm its condition. If it fails use the other HD.

 

[bigfeh]

Something really weird just happened. The computer froze but I didn't shut it down. Instead, I let it be, because, despite all its weird-ness, the sound was odd but not completely frozen. Around one minute later, the screen turned black, the sound came back to normal, and then when the video came back and the computer responded again, with the message: "Display driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 314.22 stopped responding and has successfully recovered." It's again working as it should and I'm not sure if it's the HDDs anymore (could be a GPU failure as well, this is new), despite all stress tests I ran on the GPU. This could also be the HDD failing because the driver is written there, after all. Not sure about what just happened, will look into it and update.

EDIT: No, not overheating - I had just booted the computer and the GPU is fairly cool right now.

 

[gregrocker]

The problem is the Nvidia Display driver. Where did it come from?

Go to the Dell SUpport Downloads webpage for your tag number and import the latest Display driver.

If you already have it go to the Nvidia Support Downloads webpage and try that latest driver for your GPU.

The replacement order you want to try is: 1) Win7 installer/Windows Update driver, 2) Dell driver, 3) Nvidia driver, 4) next oldest driver from Dell or Nvidia.

 

[essenbe]

If you have software raid, you should be able to hold the control key down and press "I" on startup and it will take you to the raid control. You should have the option to break the array. Be advised, as soon as you do this you will lose everything so backup what you need before trying this. After breaking the array, as GregRocker said, set your sata contrller to AHCI and with only 1 drive connected and the sata controller in ahci, do a clean install of windows, after formatting the disk. The disks in raid should be in a GPT format and need to be in MBR format(simple primary partition). That can be done from the installation disk.

 

[bigfeh]

The problem is the Nvidia Display driver. Where did it come from?

Go to the Dell SUpport Downloads webpage for your tag number and import the latest Display driver.

If you already have it go to the Nvidia Support Downloads webpage and try that latest driver for your GPU.

The replacement order you want to try is: 1) Win7 installer/Windows Update driver, 2) Dell driver, 3) Nvidia driver, 4) next oldest driver from Dell or Nvidia.

It came from Windows Update, just like you told me to, and it's the latest version. Time for a rollback?

If you have software raid, you should be able to hold the control key down and press "I" on startup and it will take you to the raid control. You should have the option to break the array. Be advised, as soon as you do this you will lose everything so backup what you need before trying this. After breaking the array, as GregRocker said, set your sata contrller to AHCI and with only 1 drive connected and the sata controller in ahci, do a clean install of windows, after formatting the disk. The disks in raid should be in a GPT format and need to be in MBR format(simple primary partition). That can be done from the installation disk.

OK, mate, thanks for your input! Will make sure to test this.

 

[gregrocker]

Well you can try it. I have one other case where Updates pushes through a buggy Nvidia driver, so I hid it. Win7 Updates errors are one in a million, though, so it's rare anomaly.

If that doesn't resolve your freezes then I'd follow Steve's procedure to unRAID and install to one HD. RAID0 is not even redundant which is supposedly the R in RAID.

 

[bigfeh]

Well you can try it. I have one other case where Updates pushes through a buggy Nvidia driver, so I hid it. Win7 Updates errors are one in a million, though, so it's rare anomaly.

If that doesn't resolve your freezes then I'd follow Steve's procedure to unRAID and install to one HD. RAID0 is not even redundant which is supposedly the R in RAID.

OK, will do. I'll probably try 291.xx driver which seems to be a good alternative for some people.

RAID0 is not even redundant which is supposedly the R in RAID.

This was... a pretty good argument. I don't even know how to contest that or if it's even possible.

 

[gregrocker]

Windows 7 does not like RAID. We see nothing but problems here with RAID from an installer's and performance point of view. You'd think we would see successes occasionally, but I can't remember any.

 

[bigfeh]

The Dell technician came in today and I'm getting a motherboard replacement. Turns out I/O is acting weird and when it gets to 5MB or over, the machine slows to a crawl it almost looks like it's crippled. It's scheduled for this Wednesday, two days from now. Will update.

 

[bigfeh]

The motherboard just got replaced and I'm already using the new one. Will update.

 

[essenbe]

Good. I hope it solves your problem.

 

[bigfeh]

Looks already solved. The I/O would refuse to go over 2MB and when it did, the computer slowed down to a crawl it seemed it was a Pentium II or something. Just tested, seems OK now, plus it's faster and I don't get the slowdowns I used to get. Programs start faster, load faster, I experience less FPS drops, they crash less, etc. etc.

Probably solved, will mark as so in a few days in case it doesn't freeze anymore

 

[bigfeh]

Now this was unexpected. It just froze with the new motherboard. I'm with Dell support on the phone.

 

[bigfeh]

Just wanted to update this so you guys know I didn't abandon this, I'm just trying to solve the final problems with Dell.