Windows 7 PC freezes randomly (games, Internet, Skype)

[kunaguvarun]

I bought a custom PC recently and I'm facing this problem since then. The RAM which they provided gave BSODs. I replaced it with a new RAM module. The weird thing is that now there are no more BSODs but system freezes and hangs when I browse internet, play games, watch movies. I couldn't really identify a pattern. I've not yet tested the new RAM with Memtest. I also tried the same activities in a Linux environemnt (Linux Mint) and everything works fine out there. No freezes or lock ups.

During a freeze, Mouse and Keyboard won't work. CTRL + ALT + DEL won't help either The only way to get out of it is to hold down the power button or hitting the reset button.

The drivers that came with PC are not compatible with Windows 7. I tried Driver Genius and installed NVidia drivers.

Here is the detailed system information.

--------------------------------------
 Summary
--------------------------------------
Computer Brand Name:                                            Hewlett-Packard Napa
Operating System:                                               Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7601
Service Pack:                                                   Service Pack 1
Processor:                                                      Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 (2333.3 MHz)
Motherboard:                                                    FOXCONN Napa (nVidia nForce 7100 630i (MCP73PV))
Memory:                                                         2 GBytes ()
Hard Drive:                                                     Hitachi HCT721010SLA360 (953,869 MBytes (1000 GB))
Optical Drive:                                                  HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NSB0 (DVD+R DL)
Display Adapter:                                                nVIDIA GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i (MCP73PV) [Hewlett-Packard]
Audio Adapter:                                                  nVIDIA MCP73 - High Definition Audio Controller
Network Adapter:                                                nVIDIA MCP73 - LAN Controller
Monitor:                                                        LG 700B
--------------------------------------
Processor
--------------------------------------
CPU ID:                                                         000006FB
Code Name:                                                      Conroe-4M
CPU Stepping:                                                   G0
CPU Platform:                                                   LGA775 (FC-LGA6)
Microcode Update Revision:                                      B6
Core(s):                                                        2
Thread(s):                                                      2
Original Frequency:                                             2333.3 MHz
Current Frequency:                                              2316.3 MHz = 7.00 x 330.9 MHz @ 1.3500 V
CPU Core Temperature:                                           N/A
L1 Cache:                                                       Instruction: 32 KBytes, Data: 32 KBytes
L2 Cache:                                                       Integrated: 4 MBytes
CPU Thermal Design Power:                                       65 W
--------------------------------------
Motherboard
--------------------------------------
Model:                                                          FOXCONN Napa
Chipset:                                                        nVidia nForce 7100-630i (MCP73PV)
Slots:                                                          1xPCI, 2xPCI Express x1, 1xPCI     Express x16
PCI Express Version Supported:                                  v1.1
USB Version Supported:                                          v2.0
Super IO/LPC Chip:                                              ITE IT8718F
BIOS Manufacturer:                                              Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG, Hewlett-Packard
BIOS Date:                                                      05/08/09
BIOS Version:                                                   5.27
--------------------------------------
Memory
--------------------------------------
Module Number:                                                  0
Module Size:                                                    2048 MBytes
Memory Type:                                                    DDR2-SDRAM
Memory Speed:                                                   400.0 MHz (PC2-6400)
Module Manufacturer:                                            Unknown
Error Check/Correction:                                         None
Number Of Banks:                                                8
Number Of Ranks:                                                2
Supported CAS Latencies:                                        6.0, 5.0, 4.0
Min. RAS-to-CAS Delay:                                          15.00 ns
Min. Row Precharge Time:                                        15.00 ns
Min. RAS Pulse Width:                                           45 ns
Supported Module Timing at 400.0 MHz:                           6.0-6-6-18
Supported Module Timing at 333.3 MHz:                           5.0-5-5-15
Supported Module Timing at 266.7 MHz:                           4.0-4-4-12
Min. Row-Activate To Row-Activate Delay:                        7.50 ns
Write Recovery Time:                                            15.00 ns
Internal write to read command delay:                           7.50 ns
Internal read to precharge command delay:                       7.50 ns
Minimum Activate to Activate/Refresh Time:                      60.00 ns
Minimum Refresh to Activate/Refresh Command Period:             105.00 ns
Address and Command Setup Time Before Clock:                    0.10 ns
Address and Command Setup Time After Clock:                     0.17 ns
Data Input Setup Time Before Strobe:                            0.05 ns
Data Input Setup Time After Strobe:                             0.12 ns
--------------------------------------
Hard Drive
--------------------------------------
Drive Model:                                                    Hitachi HCT721010SLA360
Drive Controller:                                               Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Drive Serial Number:                                            STF6L7MS3RWLMK
Firmware Revision:                                              ST6OA31E
Drive Capacity:                                                 953,869 MBytes (1000 GB)
Media Rotation Rate:                                            7200 RPM
Temperature:                                                    N/A
Cache Buffer Size:                                              15001 KBytes
Number of Cylinders:                                            16383
Number of Heads:                                                16
Number of Sectors:                                              Unknown
Sectors Per Track:                                              63
Native Command Queuing:                                         Supported, Max. Depth: 32
TRIM Command:                                                   Not Supported
Write Cache:                                                    Present, Active
S.M.A.R.T. Feature:                                             Present, Active
Security Feature:                                               Present, Inactive
Removable Media Feature:                                        Not Present, Disabled
Power Management:                                               Present, Active
Advanced Power Management:                                      Present, Inactive
Packet Interface:                                               Not Present, Disabled
Look-Ahead Buffer:                                              Present, Active
Host Protected Area:                                            Present, Enabled
Power-Up In Standby:                                            Supported, Inactive
Automatic Acoustic Management:                                  Supported, Active
48-bit LBA:                                                     Supported, Active
--------------------------------------
Optical Drive
--------------------------------------
Drive Model:                                                    HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NSB0
Device Type:                                                    DVD+R DL
Drive Serial Number:                                            KKHDB794048
Firmware Revision:                                              LN00
Supported Disk Type (Read):                                     CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+R DL
Supported Disk Type (Write):                                    CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+R DL
--------------------------------------
Display Adapter
--------------------------------------
Video Card:                                                     nVIDIA GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i (MCP73PV) [Hewlett-Packard]
Video Chipset:                                                  nVIDIA GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i
Video Memory:                                                   128 MBytes of SDRAM
Bus Type:                                                       PCI
Video Chipset Revision:                                         A2
Memory Bus Width:                                               64-bit
GPU Temperature:                                                N/A
--------------------------------------
Audio Adapter
--------------------------------------
Audio Adapter:                                                  nVIDIA MCP73 - High Definition Audio Controller
High Definition Audio Codec:                                    RealTek ALC888
--------------------------------------
Network Adapter
--------------------------------------
Network Adapter:                                                nVIDIA MCP73 - LAN Controller
MAC Address:                                                    D0-27-88-63-23-41
Maximum Link Speed:                                             100 Mbps
--------------------------------------
Monitor
--------------------------------------
Monitor Name:                                                   LG 700B
Serial Number:                                                  1138
Date Of Manufacture:                                            Week: 2, Year: 2005
Max Vertical Size:                                              25 cm
Max Horizontal Size:                                            33 cm
Standby:                                                        Supported
Suspend:                                                        Supported
Standard Colour Space:                                          Not Supported
Preferred Timing Mode:                                          Supported
Default GTF Supported:                                          Not Supported
--------------------------------------
Time of this report: 2/4/2014 11:00:23 PM
HWiNFO32.dll: 4.1.7.0

 

[gregrocker]

Win7 is a driver-complete OS for the most part. Driver finders are only necessary in rare cases where no driver can be found by search of Hardware Identification.

Enable Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3) and then run all rounds of Important and Optional Updates, with reboots, until no more are offered when you Check for Updates. There may also be important performance patches which affect your issues.

Then work through the Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7, reporting back as you go. Include the hardware tests.

 

[kunaguvarun]

Thank you for the suggestion. I took my PC to the shop and they replaced motherboard, now no freezes!!! Anyway great advice on windows update. I'm doing it step by step.

 

[gregrocker]

Glad to hear you found the cause of problem.

Here are other tips to get and keep a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
and are the same for retail Win7.

 

[kunaguvarun]

@gregrocker,
I am really disappointed with my PC. The new motherboard didn't gave any freezes for two days but the problem started again. PC freezes when I use browser to watch youtube. I guess the problem is with Graphics driver. I'm going to do a clean re-install tonight and will post the results.

Thank you for your support.

EDIT:
This time, I'm not going to install drivers from any 3rd party driver management softwares like Driver Genius etc..

 

[gregrocker]

If you'll stick with the steps in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 there's a lot less chance that the problem will recur. Pay close attention to how it says to handle drivers.

I would do a diagnostics install where you start by testing the hardware from Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7

Then wipe the HD with Diskpart Clean Command from the booted installer's Command line in System Recovery Options.

Then close Command Box, X out of Repair console, click Install Now, use the Drive Options in Steps 7/8 of illustrated steps for Clean Install Windows 7 to create new Partition, click Next.

After install, if necessary install your LAN ddriver which you've put in backup to get online, enable Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3) then run all Important and Optional Windows Updates with reboots until no more are offered when you Check for Updates.

Now install any drivers missing in Device Manager with time in between each to test for performance.

Then install programs one at a time with enough time in between each to check performance to see if problem returns.

By taking enough time between install, installing missing drivers, then installing each program, you may be able to isolate what exactly is causing problem.

 

[kunaguvarun]

I did a clean install by following the links given by you. After installation, I went straight to web to download Adobe Reader. PC froze. I had a USB drive with Linux Mint installed on it. I tried to install it, but couldn't even start, PC froze again.

So the problem is clearly not with having an updated Windows OS. I thinks SMPS gets heated up. Also there is no external fan to cool CPU.

 

[gregrocker]

Work through the Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 starting with the hardware tests, then check for overheating to remedy that by cleaning out the case, adding a case fan if applicable, if necessary repasting the processor if you study it out and feel confident doing it since it is a very precise and somewhat risky operation.