Vista Freezing after Varied Times

J

jbear555

Member
HP m8120n Quad running Vista Home Premium. Purchased new and lightly used. I only use this for photography and only go online for updates and occasionally to upload to my site. Not much on it other than what it came with, a Printer, and Photoshop. I do have some USB HD's connected but...always have.

So...flawless until about a month ago. Now it freezes every time I use it, and I have to do a hard restart. When does this happen?

  • Sometimes during start up
  • Sometimes at the password prompt
  • Sometimes after a few minutes of use
  • Sometimes after 20 or so minutes of use (PS and Bridge)
  • Always soon after I open a web browser (IE and Firefox)
Other observations:

  • All processes are very slow (well...most...Photoshop seems to be running fairly well...until it freezes).
  • Sometimes trouble connecting to the network
  • HD spins more than usual at times
  • Seemed to coincide with an update for the NVIDIA card, but...rollback to earliest restore point has not changed anything.
  • No yellow triangles in Device Manager
  • Symantec 360 has always been on it and now the One Click support doesn't work.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know a little bit about computer hardware, but...by no means an expert.
So...what do you suggest? I don't really have anything I'm worried about losing. Should I just use the recovery discs? Repair disc?
 

My Computer

System One

Hi jbear555,

Let’s try few troubleshooting steps to check if issue gets resolved:

1. Try a clean boot to check if it would work, providing the link to do a clean boot for reference: How to perform a clean boot to troubleshoot a problem in Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
2. Go to safe mode and check if you get same error message. Please use the following link for detailed instructions to go safe mode: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/123496-safe-mode.html
3. Run Microsoft fix-it for slow performance issue and check if the performance improves, here is the link for fix-it: Fix Windows system performance problems on slow Windows computers
4. Try to perform SFC scannow and check if it fixes any corruption, please use the following link for detailed instructions: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html

If issue persists, run the built-in diagnostics provided by the manufacturer on the computer to check if the hardware is working fine.

Please perform the steps mentioned above and post the results.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD FX-4100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI 5450
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
Welcome
and Happy Holidays
Sounds like it could very well be a hard drive problem. Use this software to test the drive.
CrystalDiskInfo - Software - Crystal Dew World
Run a full anti virus scan.
Download and run a full scan with malwarebytes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Hello,
Thank you all for the quick responses.
I will try these and report back...may take a while though...I have a ton of stuff I need to do. Good thing I have more than one computer!
 

My Computer

System One

Well...I did a clean re-boot, started IE and...frozen after about two minutes.
Thoughts?
BTW...it was idle for about two hours after the last start-up. Restarted...ran a disc check...all was fine.
Then...did the clean reboot. Crash!
 

My Computer

System One

Nothing in the file for the SFC scan.
Still running in safe...no crash.
I wonder if Norton 360 has anything to do with it.
I could restart and just not start Norton.
Thoughts?
Thanks again!
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD FX-4100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI 5450
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
Okay...I unchecked Norton but it started anyway.
Also froze two minutes after starting normally and opening IE.
So...runs fine SAFE...crashes in NORMAL.
I am calling it quits for this evening.
Thank you all...and Happy and Safe holidays to you!
 

My Computer

System One

Hi Madhur,
I don't have a Norton disc...it's a subscription, and it's the only AV I have installed on this computer...knowingly.
Really appreciate your help!
 

My Computer

System One

Hi jbear555,

Since the performance of the computer is fine in safe mode, the issue could be due to any software conflict. As you have rightly pointed out, it could be with Norton or any other software.

We could try to uninstalling Norton I would like to know if Norton subscription was provided by your Internet Service Provider or if you have purchased it online?

If purchased online, do you remember the login credentials for the Norton account?

Please let me know the information to assist you better.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD FX-4100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI 5450
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
I purchased it on-line a couple of years ago. It's been fine on my XP machine and this Vista until a couple of months ago. I just have been too busy to do much photography until recently and that's when the problem became more pronounced. I am going to be away from that computer for about a week, but as soon as I get back to it...I'll be back to talk to you.
Thanks so much for your help thus far!
 

My Computer

System One

Hi jbear555,

Sure, you can get back to us; we would be able to help you further.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD FX-4100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI 5450
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
Hey There,
I am back.
Since we last left our hero...Vista was freezing up and...guess what...still is.
-I did update Norton 360 to the latest version.
-Also, left the computer up and running for two days with out using it to see if it would freeze on it's own. It did not.
- When I went to use it, it wanted to update Itunes, Quicktime. and Cloud. I let it and it froze at the conclusion with the dialogue box up showing the completed install. Not sure if that's pertinent, but..what the heck.
Not sure if I should do an uninstall of Norton, or use the Vista repair disc or recovery discs.
What do you think?
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD FX-4100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI 5450
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
Hi Again,
I'll give that a try this evening...if I can get it to start at all. Last night on one particular start up it made a beeping sound and wouldn't start (intervals of three or four beeps). I hard restarted after that, but...froze up again.
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD FX-4100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI 5450
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900
    Internet Speed
    10Mbps
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