Windows 7 Prof. 64-bit Freezes/Programs Not Responding

[ljweller]

My computer has Windows 7 64-Bit installed (I have upgrade disk, but formatted hdd and did a custom/complete install rather than upgrade). It's been working wonderfully until the past week or so.

In the past week, Microsoft Outlook (2003) and Internet Explorer 8 started freezing and displaying "Program Not Responding" for about 2-3 minutes. It was happening mostly when I just started my machine, but now happens all the time, on most programs, and is now freezing in upwards of 5-10 minutes at a time.

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but noticed that my memory is not on EVGA's supported memory list for this motherboard. In addition, the BIOS is only autodetecting it at 1066mhz, rather than 1600. (I can manually set that and can set for overclocking, but not sure if I should)

Case: Thermaltake M9 ATX VI1450BWS
Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI LE ATX (model 141-BL-E757-TR)
CPU: Intel i7-920 (BX80601920)
Video Card: Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD5750 1gb GDDR5 (PCIE 2.0x16)
Memory: Corsair Cmx8gx3m4a1600c9 (4x2gb - 1600mhz DDR3)
Power Supply: BFG 550-Watt ATX (BFGR550WGXPSU)
Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit
Monitor: Dell 19" LCD (SE198WFP) x2
TV Card: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 TV Tuner (PCI)
Primary SATA HDD: Western Digital WCAV53007608 Caviar Green 500 GB
Secondary SATA HDD: Western Digital WD10000LSRTL Caviar Black 1 TB


Primary SATA DVD: LG-GH22LS40 Internal Double-Layer DVD +-RW/CD-RW Drive
Secondary SATA DVD: LG-WH08LS20K Internal Blu-Ray DVD (BD-R, BD-RE, DVD+R, DVD-RAM)

 

[richc46]

Start with a virus scan

Then download malwarebytes and take a scan
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

 

[Frostmourne]

My computer has Windows 7 64-Bit installed (I have upgrade disk, but formatted hdd and did a custom/complete install rather than upgrade). It's been working wonderfully until the past week or so.

In the past week, Microsoft Outlook (2003) and Internet Explorer 8 started freezing and displaying "Program Not Responding" for about 2-3 minutes. It was happening mostly when I just started my machine, but now happens all the time, on most programs, and is now freezing in upwards of 5-10 minutes at a time.

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but noticed that my memory is not on EVGA's supported memory list for this motherboard. In addition, the BIOS is only autodetecting it at 1066mhz, rather than 1600. (I can manually set that and can set for overclocking, but not sure if I should)

Case: Thermaltake M9 ATX VI1450BWS
Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI LE ATX (model 141-BL-E757-TR)
CPU: Intel i7-920 (BX80601920)
Video Card: Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD5750 1gb GDDR5 (PCIE 2.0x16)
Memory: Corsair Cmx8gx3m4a1600c9 (4x2gb - 1600mhz DDR3)
Power Supply: BFG 550-Watt ATX (BFGR550WGXPSU)
Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit
Monitor: Dell 19" LCD (SE198WFP) x2
TV Card: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 TV Tuner (PCI)
Primary SATA HDD: Western Digital WCAV53007608 Caviar Green 500 GB
Secondary SATA HDD: Western Digital WD10000LSRTL Caviar Black 1 TB


Primary SATA DVD: LG-GH22LS40 Internal Double-Layer DVD +-RW/CD-RW Drive
Secondary SATA DVD: LG-WH08LS20K Internal Blu-Ray DVD (BD-R, BD-RE, DVD+R, DVD-RAM)

Run Memtest86+ on the memory, then take out all but one stick. Why didn't you go for triple channel memory in a matched pair of 3 rather than 4 2GB sticks? That is one of the benefits of the i7 architecture. Is the memory detected properly?

 

[ljweller]

Rich46 - I wish running an anti-virus were actually the case, but considering this is a new build, less than 3 weeks old, that's not the case. I'd already run, and have firewall and antivirus running.

Frostmourne - thanks for the advice. Yeah, I really f'd up on the memory, and think that's totally the issue. I'd (accidentally) installed some cyberlink software that came with my blu-ray (I thought that there was some special driver that I might have needed and it installed that crap instead), and it's got like 5 apps that start with startup. I disabled them and wow, the machine runs much faster! My PC still isn't as fast as it was three weeks ago, so I'm going to run your memtest suggestion later. I'll keep you posted.

 

[StreetSpirit]

Rich46 - I wish running an anti-virus were actually the case, but considering this is a new build, less than 3 weeks old, that's not the case. I'd already run, and have firewall and antivirus running.

Frostmourne - thanks for the advice. Yeah, I really f'd up on the memory, and think that's totally the issue. I'd (accidentally) installed some cyberlink software that came with my blu-ray (I thought that there was some special driver that I might have needed and it installed that crap instead), and it's got like 5 apps that start with startup. I disabled them and wow, the machine runs much faster! My PC still isn't as fast as it was three weeks ago, so I'm going to run your memtest suggestion later. I'll keep you posted.

Welcome to my nightmare. I haven't experienced as many programs crashing in the past five years as I have in the last 5 weeks.

I also had massive problems with Cyberlink applications, especially Power DVD and the rest of that junk. Removing them helped regain a bit of stability during media playing, but overall, it seems that Windows 7 is just not ready for prime time... Perhaps after a service pack or two.

Sadly, many of us spent good money for this mess. Honestly, I have less stability problems with Vista, running almost identical hardware.

--
Regards
Dave

 

[richc46]

Rich46 - I wish running an anti-virus were actually the case, but considering this is a new build, less than 3 weeks old, that's not the case. I'd already run, and have firewall and antivirus running.

Frostmourne - thanks for the advice. Yeah, I really f'd up on the memory, and think that's totally the issue. I'd (accidentally) installed some cyberlink software that came with my blu-ray (I thought that there was some special driver that I might have needed and it installed that crap instead), and it's got like 5 apps that start with startup. I disabled them and wow, the machine runs much faster! My PC still isn't as fast as it was three weeks ago, so I'm going to run your memtest suggestion later. I'll keep you posted.

Welcome to my nightmare. I haven't experienced as many programs crashing in the past five years as I have in the last 5 weeks.

I also had massive problems with Cyberlink applications, especially Power DVD and the rest of that junk. Removing them helped regain a bit of stability during media playing, but overall, it seems that Windows 7 is just not ready for prime time... Perhaps after a service pack or two.

Sadly, many of us spent good money for this mess. Honestly, I have less stability problems with Vista, running almost identical hardware.

--
Regards
Dave

Dave post your problems in a separate thread, you will be helped. You are having problems, but it is due to your installation not the OS. The member of the Forum will be very happy to try to help.

 

[ljweller]

So I did as Frostmourne told me and ran the memtest86+, everything passed. I also ran the Windows 7 memory test and everything is fine, all memory is detected with no errors.

I received a response from EVGA tech support, who told me to manually configure the memory settings in BIOS as per the manufacturer's specifications for frequency, voltage and memory timings. I changed the frequency manually to 1600mhz, and change the DIMM voltage to 1.65 (it was previously about .09 higher, letting BIOS autodetect the memory settings).

I wasn't sure where in the BIOS to change the memory timings/latency, so I didn't change. Below are the manuaracturer's specs from their website.

I did not enable XMP since I haven't overclocked.

So, after I made these changes (minus the latency), my computer is worse.

If I can confirm that it is actually the memory, I may just do as Frostmourne suggest and replace the memory with triple channel.

Manufacturer specs for Current Memory (from Corsair's website):


CMX8GX3M4A1600C9
Speed Rating
PC3-12800
Tested Speed
1600Mhz
Size
8GB Kit (4 x 2GB)
Tested Latency
9-9-9-24
Tested Voltage
1.65
Performance Profile
XMP
SPD Speed
1333Mhz
SPD Latency
9-9-9-24
Package
240pin DIMM
Fan Included
No

 

[Frostmourne]

So I did as Frostmourne told me and ran the memtest86+, everything passed. I also ran the Windows 7 memory test and everything is fine, all memory is detected with no errors.

I received a response from EVGA tech support, who told me to manually configure the memory settings in BIOS as per the manufacturer's specifications for frequency, voltage and memory timings. I changed the frequency manually to 1600mhz, and change the DIMM voltage to 1.65 (it was previously about .09 higher, letting BIOS autodetect the memory settings).

I wasn't sure where in the BIOS to change the memory timings/latency, so I didn't change. Below are the manuaracturer's specs from their website.

I did not enable XMP since I haven't overclocked.

So, after I made these changes (minus the latency), my computer is worse.

If I can confirm that it is actually the memory, I may just do as Frostmourne suggest and replace the memory with triple channel.

Manufacturer specs for Current Memory (from Corsair's website):


CMX8GX3M4A1600C9
Speed Rating
PC3-12800
Tested Speed
1600Mhz
Size
8GB Kit (4 x 2GB)
Tested Latency
9-9-9-24
Tested Voltage
1.65
Performance Profile
XMP
SPD Speed
1333Mhz
SPD Latency
9-9-9-24
Package
240pin DIMM
Fan Included
No

Have you tried new memory modules?

 

[ljweller]

I haven't tried new memory, but as it turns out, I found out the problem was not the memory (I think). Turns out, it was as I initially thought - Microsoft Outlook 2003. It's supposed to be compatible with Windows 7, which it is. But there was a problem with one of the updates. It somehow turned off all of my important security updates (for Microsoft Office only), so I wasn't getting the updates. It also corrupted by .pst file. For some reason, this threw my whole computer out of whack.

I decided on my own to go to the office download site (and noticed that none of the recent security updates were installed), so manually downloaded the updates, ran scanpst.exe to fix the .pst file, and now everything seems to be fine. It even fixed it so I'm now getting automatic updates.

My computer is lightening fast again! I hope it stays that way!

 

[Frostmourne]

I haven't tried new memory, but as it turns out, I found out the problem was not the memory (I think). Turns out, it was as I initially thought - Microsoft Outlook 2003. It's supposed to be compatible with Windows 7, which it is. But there was a problem with one of the updates. It somehow turned off all of my important security updates (for Microsoft Office only), so I wasn't getting the updates. It also corrupted by .pst file. For some reason, this threw my whole computer out of whack.

I decided on my own to go to the office download site (and noticed that none of the recent security updates were installed), so manually downloaded the updates, ran scanpst.exe to fix the .pst file, and now everything seems to be fine. It even fixed it so I'm now getting automatic updates.

My computer is lightening fast again! I hope it stays that way!

Well if it isn't hardware, its software.