Solved My Vista freezes randomly

taz1009 · Feb 2, 2010

Hello....I need help. My PC freezes randomly. I notice that this happened after I installed the software of my motherboard. Below is the specs of my PC:

Motherboard: ECS GeForce6100PM-M2
Processor : AMD Phenom 8650 Triple Core 2.3 GHz
Memory : 1GB RAM
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT

I keep on searching the internet for answers but haven't found the right solution. Please help me....Thanks.

richc46 · Feb 2, 2010

Should be easy to solve. Boot in safe mode, if the problem is gone, use the clean boot, .

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

If not solved we can make other test, for memory etc.

Already I see a problem, you will not have too much success with 1gb of RAM. You will have to get rid of some of the less than necessary features of Vista.

ripbox · Feb 2, 2010

richc46 said:
Already I see a problem, you will not have too much success with 1gb of RAM. You will have to get rid of some of the less than necessary features of Vista.

This is very true, on a basic install of Vista Ultimate + Motherboard software Ect my RAM values a total of 1.6GB of Used RAM, i don't know how true this value will be to Basic, home or other i recognise that vista should be run with no less than 3GB to enable the system to run smoothly
I would safely say you would be suffice with only 2GB of RAM but will struggle immensely with only 1GB

stoneys-nutz · Feb 2, 2010

Hello taz1009,
Can you tell us what MB software you installed and where you got it from.
1 Gig of ram is not very much for Vista, but it will run it, albeit, very slowly.

Early PC's only had 1Gig of ram with Vista when it first came out, and they were very slow, so it could well be your memory, but as this only happened after you installed some software, i would un-install and re-install that software.

Also, just check that your system files are OK, follow this tutorial

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html

To make sure this is not Malware related, download this free app and run it.

Malwarebytes.org

And finally, use this system cleaner, it will clean out all the rubbish that accumulates over time. This is also free.

CCleaner - Download (Backup Registry When Prompted)

So, now we know that your system files are in good order, and that there is no Malware or rubbish files on your system.

Give this a go and post your results, good luck.

Dwarf · Feb 3, 2010

Hi taz1009 and welcome to Vista Forums :party:

Your motherboard uses the nForce 430 / GeForce 6100 chipset/graphics combination. Here are the motherboard drivers from NVidia. Note that there are 4 links, each to a different release. Start with the first link (the newest), and if that doesn't work, move down the list.

NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.49 WHQL
NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.26 WHQL
NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.24 WHQL
nForce 15.01

taz1009 · Feb 3, 2010

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who responded to my post. I guess I have to try all your suggestions one by one. I will post an update of what will happen if I tried one solution. On the memory side, I was actually thinking of adding more memory to my PC but I thought that I should try to resolve the problem first which might also have to do with my software before I buy additional memory. Anyway, I'll keep you all posted.

Thank you.

richc46 · Feb 3, 2010

I and the other posters will be looking for the results of your tests. We are all wishing you the best of luck. If you cannot remedy the situation with the help provided, you can return, post the results and you will receive further help. You are part of our family, now, and we will be here for you.

taz1009 · Feb 4, 2010

richc46 said:
Should be easy to solve. Boot in safe mode, if the problem is gone, use the clean boot, .

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

If not solved we can make other test, for memory etc.

Already I see a problem, you will not have too much success with 1gb of RAM. You will have to get rid of some of the less than necessary features of Vista.

Hello...I tried a clean boot as what is mentioned above. I followed the instructions in the link and Vista was running smoothly. I haven't enable the services yet because I was observing Vista's behavior. I opened my Windows Live Messenger and the freezing of my system came back. I haven't enable yet the services that was asked to be disabled in msconfig.exe. I guess it has something to do with the memory right?

taz1009 · Feb 4, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
Hello taz1009,
Can you tell us what MB software you installed and where you got it from.
1 Gig of ram is not very much for Vista, but it will run it, albeit, very slowly.

Early PC's only had 1Gig of ram with Vista when it first came out, and they were very slow, so it could well be your memory, but as this only happened after you installed some software, i would un-install and re-install that software.

Also, just check that your system files are OK, follow this tutorial

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html

To make sure this is not Malware related, download this free app and run it.

Malwarebytes.org

And finally, use this system cleaner, it will clean out all the rubbish that accumulates over time. This is also free.

CCleaner - Download (Backup Registry When Prompted)

So, now we know that your system files are in good order, and that there is no Malware or rubbish files on your system.

Give this a go and post your results, good luck.

Hello...I got the software from the package when I bought my MB. I tried to read the manual and have read in the last page that goes like this:
UTILITY SOFTWARE REFERENCE
"Please go to ECS website to download AMD Cool 'n' Quiet technology"
Do you think this has something to do with the freezing? Do I need to download and install this file?

I haven't tried checking the system files yet and would hope to do that within the week. I'll post an update when I do that. Thanks.

stoneys-nutz · Feb 4, 2010

You don't need the "AMD Cool 'n' Quiet technology" software, all that does is to reduce the cooling fan noise.

Try the file check when you have time.

Is your Ram one stick @ 1Gig, or two sticks @ 512Mb ?.

If you have two sticks, remove one and try it, it will take forever to load, and be very slow to respond, but if it does not lockup, then try the other stick and see what happens, this will eliminate the memory one way or the other.

taz1009 · Feb 4, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
You don't need the "AMD Cool 'n' Quiet technology" software, all that does is to reduce the cooling fan noise.

Try the file check when you have time.

Is your Ram one stick @ 1Gig, or two sticks @ 512Mb ?.

If you have two sticks, remove one and try it, it will take forever to load, and be very slow to respond, but if it does not lockup, then try the other stick and see what happens, this will eliminate the memory one way or the other.

Ah ok....thanks. I only have 1 stick at 1gb.

taz1009 · Feb 5, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
You don't need the "AMD Cool 'n' Quiet technology" software, all that does is to reduce the cooling fan noise.

Try the file check when you have time.

Is your Ram one stick @ 1Gig, or two sticks @ 512Mb ?.

If you have two sticks, remove one and try it, it will take forever to load, and be very slow to respond, but if it does not lockup, then try the other stick and see what happens, this will eliminate the memory one way or the other.

Just a question, if I will buy 2gb RAM DDR2 800, is it necessary the same brand as I got now? My system is currently installed with a Kingston 1gb DDR2 800 RAM....will it be okay to have an Apacer brand or any other brand? What is the best brand for a RAM?

stoneys-nutz · Feb 5, 2010

Most ram will do the job, but if you want to be sure, go to your Makers site and check the QVL, (Qualified Vendors List), this will tell you what ram is suitable for your system.
Please be aware that replacing the ram may not fix the problem, it could still be something like a driver.
If it was my PC, i think i would save all my data and do a re-install first, just to eliminate the software side if things first, it will be a lot cheaper.

ripbox · Feb 5, 2010

If you go the new ram road be sure that if you buy 2Gb of ram you get it on 2x 1GB sticks.... this can help speed things up as the 2 sticks can work independently

taz1009 · Feb 6, 2010

ripbox said:
If you go the new ram road be sure that if you buy 2Gb of ram you get it on 2x 1GB sticks.... this can help speed things up as the 2 sticks can work independently

So does it mean that if I got 1GB of RAM as of now, it would be wiser to buy another 1GB rather than a 2GB? Is it not advisable to combine 2 sticks with 1GB and the other 2GB?

taz1009 · Feb 6, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
Most ram will do the job, but if you want to be sure, go to your Makers site and check the QVL, (Qualified Vendors List), this will tell you what ram is suitable for your system.
Please be aware that replacing the ram may not fix the problem, it could still be something like a driver.
If it was my PC, i think i would save all my data and do a re-install first, just to eliminate the software side if things first, it will be a lot cheaper.

I will not actually replace my RAM. I will just add another stick because according to the previous posts, this might also be one problem because I only had 1GB of RAM with Vista running in my system. But I am also checking on the software side of it. Thanks for the help.

taz1009 · Feb 6, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
Hello taz1009,
Can you tell us what MB software you installed and where you got it from.
1 Gig of ram is not very much for Vista, but it will run it, albeit, very slowly.

Early PC's only had 1Gig of ram with Vista when it first came out, and they were very slow, so it could well be your memory, but as this only happened after you installed some software, i would un-install and re-install that software.

Also, just check that your system files are OK, follow this tutorial

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html

To make sure this is not Malware related, download this free app and run it.

Malwarebytes.org

And finally, use this system cleaner, it will clean out all the rubbish that accumulates over time. This is also free.

CCleaner - Download (Backup Registry When Prompted)

So, now we know that your system files are in good order, and that there is no Malware or rubbish files on your system.

Give this a go and post your results, good luck.

I tried to check my system files by running the suggested applications above and it does not show any problem at all.

taz1009 · Feb 6, 2010

stoneys-nutz said:
Most ram will do the job, but if you want to be sure, go to your Makers site and check the QVL, (Qualified Vendors List), this will tell you what ram is suitable for your system.
Please be aware that replacing the ram may not fix the problem, it could still be something like a driver.
If it was my PC, i think i would save all my data and do a re-install first, just to eliminate the software side if things first, it will be a lot cheaper.

I checked on the QVL of my MB and it shows that for DDR2 800 type of memory, the vendors are only Apacer, Infinity and UMAX with 1GB as the size. My current RAM is Kingston. Do you think this also creates problem with my MB and probably the reason for the freezing?

taz1009 · Feb 6, 2010

Dwarf said:
Hi taz1009 and welcome to Vista Forums

Your motherboard uses the nForce 430 / GeForce 6100 chipset/graphics combination. Here are the motherboard drivers from NVidia. Note that there are 4 links, each to a different release. Start with the first link (the newest), and if that doesn't work, move down the list.

NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.49 WHQL
NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.26 WHQL
NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.24 WHQL
nForce 15.01

I tried to install the first driver in the list and as of now I am observing the system if freezing will still occur. Just keep you posted.

taz1009 · Feb 7, 2010

taz1009 said:
Dwarf said:

Hi taz1009 and welcome to Vista Forums

Your motherboard uses the nForce 430 / GeForce 6100 chipset/graphics combination. Here are the motherboard drivers from NVidia. Note that there are 4 links, each to a different release. Start with the first link (the newest), and if that doesn't work, move down the list.

NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.49 WHQL
NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.26 WHQL
NVIDIA DRIVERS 15.24 WHQL
nForce 15.01

Click to expand...

I tried to install the first driver in the list and as of now I am observing the system if freezing will still occur. Just keep you posted.

As of now, my Vista isn't freezing anymore. I am still observing it but after I install the updated Nvidia driver, I haven't experience freezing. Thanks a lot to all you guys. But I am still planning to adding one more stick of RAM so that my system would have 2GB RAM. By the way, is it advisable to follow what is in my motherboard's QVL? I notice that my current memory (Kingston 1GB) is not in the list for DDR2 800, does that affect the performance of my system?

Solved My Vista freezes randomly

My Computer

My Computer

Nerd

My Computer

Gamerholic

My Computer

The Contemplator

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

Gamerholic

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

Gamerholic

My Computer

Nerd

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer

My Computer