Computer lock ups. Help please

[Traxan]

My computer is going wacky on me. It freezes apps and does not respond when I try to run Task Manager or ctrl-alt-del. I have to hard reboot it. When it restarts, it hangs for a minute or two on startup. When I try to launch apps, it will hang for up to a minute before finally letting the app launch. I'm not talking something complex, I'm talking a browser.

When I launch a game, it takes 10 seconds to respond, then the screen goes black for 5-7 seconds, and finally I get that prompt to allow disk access. That should be an instantaneous response.

I've done virus scans with Eset and Spy Sweeper, all drivers are up to date, done disk checks, all the usual stuff. Next step is a Win7 reinstall and see if that does it. If not, then I know it's hardware.

I suspect hardware. I've noticed the drive has some insane stalls. It takes forever for StarCraft 2 to load and this thing should be fast as hell. It's a Seagate Momentus XT, with the 4GB of flash cache.

The setup:

Win7-64 bit
Intel Core i7-860, no overclocking.
8GB DDR3
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 mobo
ATI Radeon 5870
Momentus XT 500GB drive

Update: I checked my voltages, since I recently added a new Power Supply. OCZ 700 watt Modxtreme. Here's what Speedfan reports for voltages:

Vcore1: 0.85V
Vcore2: 1.57
+3.3V: 3.39
+5: 5.03
+12V: 0.51
-12V: -1.01
-5V: 8.78
+5V: 3.63
Vbat: 3.30

However, it's not fully accurate. THe BIOS reports:

Vcore: 1.20
DDR315V: 1.568
+5: 5.02
+12: 12.30

 

[Traxan]

So, anyone?

 

[Texashiker]

I've done virus scans with Eset and Spy Sweeper,

Run a scan with malware bytes and combo fix.

malware bytes can be found at download.com

combo fix can be found at bleepingcomputer.com

ctrl-alt-del and no task manager is a sign of malware infection.

 

[AKA]

When did this start happening, was there any changes to the computer before this started?

Can also try it in safe mode, see if you still have the same delay.

When it does this, try to listen or see if there is any difference in how the computer sounds, for example does the hard drive sound likes its running hard or at all.

 

[Traxan]

When did this start happening, was there any changes to the computer before this started?

Can also try it in safe mode, see if you still have the same delay.

When it does this, try to listen or see if there is any difference in how the computer sounds, for example does the hard drive sound likes its running hard or at all.

It has started happening recently. I can't point to any system configuration changes.

I can't hear the drive. It's silent. There is tons of drive activity, though. The red light is on constantly.

Drive access is real slow. One example: when StarCraft 2 loads a level, the progress bar stops for almost a minute on load. It used to load right up on a slower WD Green drive, and here I am using a Momentus XT, which is supposed to be faster, and it's sluggish.

the same applies to exiting the game. It used to exit immediately. Now it hangs for 5-8 seconds on exit.

I am beginning to suspect it's the Momentus XT. Damn thing is only 2 months old.

 

[Athadeus]

I play a ton of SC2 on a couple different systems, so I know well how it behaves. Level loading should regularly be quick on any decent system, so yes, you do have a problem there. However, it generally takes longer to close the game depending on how much you have played that session.

I have not read enough about that drive, but it definitely could be the problem. Check what support the seatools diagnostic software has for that drive, and maybe run some third party benchmarks and see if they cause similarly odd behavior.

I actually installed Win7 on my HDD in my desktop first, and still have it on there and updated (and important apps updated), because I was unsure how reliable my SF based SSD would be, and I wanted to have the other system drive as backup.

 

[Traxan]

Well I disconnected the Momentus and tried installing Windows 7 on a WD Green 1.5TB drive. Same problem. It should NOT take 20 minutes to install Intel INF driver on a fresh install of Windows. SP1 should not lock up for 30 minutes.

So it's not the hard drives. That means it's the board, unless somehow my new power supply is to blame, which I kinda doubt.

 

[mlc]

most likely the RAM if the HDD has been ruled out....

Try downloading a copy of memtest86 and run it for around 5 to 10 passes to see if any errors show up...

If that is clean, then i would clear/reset CMOS on the board.. to see if that helps

 

[Traxan]

most likely the RAM if the HDD has been ruled out....

Try downloading a copy of memtest86 and run it for around 5 to 10 passes to see if any errors show up...

If that is clean, then i would clear/reset CMOS on the board.. to see if that helps

Memtest 3.4 runs fine, no problems

Memtest 3.5 gets to 5% of the first test (0% completed) and hangs. Completely.

 

[Mugenx]

get new sets of RAM! next....

 

[Traxan]

get new sets of RAM! next....

Well that seems to have been it. It froze when I had all 4 DIMMs in the computer, so I yanked out 2 of the 4 DIMMs and MemTest86 3.50 ran flawlessly for 8 hours. So one of the two I pulled out are defective. Hasn't been a single lock-up or long delay since even though I've gone from 8GB to 4GB. Time to get an RMA.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Traxan]

Well that seems to have been it. It froze when I had all 4 DIMMs in the computer, so I yanked out 2 of the 4 DIMMs and MemTest86 3.50 ran flawlessly for 8 hours. So one of the two I pulled out are defective. Hasn't been a single lock-up or long delay since even though I've gone from 8GB to 4GB. Time to get an RMA.

Thanks everyone.

Spoke too soon.

I took two DIMMs out and returned them to Kingston (which was convenient, as I live in Orange County). They sent me replacements today. Put them in the PC, boot a CD with MemTest and... 3.50 locks up at the 5% mark on the first test, just like before. Yet this didn't happen with the 4GB of memory.

Frustrating. I'm hoping it's a bug in the 3.50 beta.

 

[mlc]

so what r u saying.. it only freezes with 4 sticks installed and runs fine with any 2 sticks?

If that's the case, then its either the version of the bios you're running, or a setting within the bios..

You may need to tune down some of the settings (relax timings), lower the speed , or adjust the MCH voltage a notch or two to accommodate the 4 sticks in that setup...