Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 random lockup

I am in the process of trying to diagnose an issue with my new system. I recently purchased a new system to play host to multiple VMs that I require for development. I decided to go with 8GB of memory and therefore chose Vista x64 for the OS, which I installed from my MSDN disk. This computer also moonlights as my wife's gaming computer (Sims 2) and does see the occasional game of Crysis.

Everything was running perfectly until after I installed VMWare Workstation 6.0.3. Initially, the computer would seemingly lockup at random during periods of disk I/O while installing programs on the VMs. When the lockup occurs, the harddrive light goes out as well as the lights on the keyboard and mouse, though the monitor stays on; i.e. no blue-screen. The only way to continue is to reset.

When this problem started, I figured it might be a hardware issue so I ran MemTest86 which, three hours later, passed. Then I ran Prime95 SMP for 2 hours to stress the CPU/memory in combination. No issues at all. Note: the system is not overclocked and temperatures are well within operating limits (confirmed with RealTemp).

At first the issue seemed confined to VMWare, so I updated to the latest version (6.0.4). Today the computer locked up while my wife was playing The Sims 2, which is the first time this has happened. She tried playing again and the same issue occurred. I'm starting to think there is a driver issue somewhere but I can't seem to narrow it down. The EventLog does not show anything out of the ordinary. The lockup seems to be very intermittent as well.



The new machine is as follows:

• Q9450 2.66GHz
• ASUS P5E3 Premium Wifi mobo w/0401 BIOS (updated from 0151)
• 8GB DDR3 Patriot "Viper" memory
  (running manufacturer recommended timings/voltage 7-7-7-20 @ 1.7v)
• Antec P182 case w/OCZ ModXstream 780W PS.
• 2, Seagate 500GB 7200.11 drives
  (connected on SATA port 1 & 2 - not configured for RAID)
• Pioneer DVR-215 SATA DVD-RW
  (connected on SATA port 4)
• BFG 9800GTX OC2 512MB
  (running latest nVIDIA drivers)
• Using integrated HDAudio device.
• Disabled WLAN and 2nd LAN port.
• Logitech G5 laser mouse
  (using default Windows HID compliant device drivers)
• Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 (MSDN disk/license)
• APC BackUPS 1500 RS (with data port connected via USB)

Tests performed:

MemTest86 - PASSED
Prime95 SMP (2 hours) - PASSED
Disabled unnecessary devices in BIOS (2nd LAN, WLAN, JMicron controller, etc).
Disabled auto-overclocking, running "standard" values for Q9450.
Updated all drivers to the latest (video, mobo drivers, chipset, etc).
Updated Windows via Windows Update.
Update BIOS from 0151 to 0401.
Move DVD-RW from SATA port 3 to 4.
Uninstalled VMWare Workstation 6.0.4; testing in progress.

Has anyone else experienced this in Vista x64 and does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can try?

Personally, I'm starting to wonder if there is an issue with the JMicron controller drivers, maybe the nVIDIA drivers, or possibly something to do with the SATA DVD-RW.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I also experience random lockups, my computer can run fine for an entire day then out of no where it can lockup like yours but my harddrive lights still flicker or the screen freezes for 30 or so seconds. I've been using vistax64 for about 2 months with no problems until 2 weeks ago when my UPS failed so a power surge may have messed up some hardware. I also reinstalled vista but the problems still occur. Read somewhere that turning off aero would help, tried that, seemed fine for a few hours then happened all over again.

Seems to often happen when:

-Playing WoW (even when not doing anything in the game)
-Playing LotRO
-Playing Sims2
-Starting up any program from Illustrator/Photoshop/Firefox and even Win Live Messenger.
-Or when computer has been idle for a while.

Graphic/bios/vista drivers are all updated, memtest was fine, did check disk, no idea about any other tests ! I've also tried this http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/157100-vista-freeze.html but didn't stop the problems for me.

So far I think it is my hard disk that I've installed vista on that is the problem, will have to go get a new one to try as all my other ones are quite full. Sorry wasn't any help since I'm quite inept with computers.

I've been doing a lot of reading over on the ASUS forums and it appears that the issue might actually have to do with the P5E3 Premium Wifi and the Q9450. Many people are reporting issues running that board together with that CPU. It seems strange to me, but the evidence is there. I just updated to BIOS version 0402. I doubt this will fix my problem, but hey, I'm desparate as the system is still hanging even with one hard drive in it (which I thought might be the issue...sigh).

Hey Digitalfiend,

Yeah I have noticed lockups with the wifi chip on that chip too, Check and make sure you didnt download a driver update from WIndows Update for the device...

A good way to check if thats the exact problem is uninstalling the driver software and deleting it completely to see if its still occurring.

Steven

I did a harddrive check with Seagate Seatools in case and it passed so (well I got someone else to do it for me).

Found this on a blog at http://blog.tfanshteyn.com/2007/09/system-freeze-and-sata-command-queuing.html saying that disabling command queuing stopped the freezing, so I'm going to try and test that.

dmex said:

Hey Digitalfiend,

Yeah I have noticed lockups with the wifi chip on that chip too, Check and make sure you didnt download a driver update from WIndows Update for the device...

A good way to check if thats the exact problem is uninstalling the driver software and deleting it completely to see if its still occurring.

Steven

Click to expand...

I had the WLAN port disabled in the BIOS and it was still crashing. I went back to the shop where I bought the board and they gave me another one to try, just in case. I'll let you know.