Computer freeze and random reboot. HELP.

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kam22

New Member
My computer will freeze and sometimes reboot itself just randomly. I have a feeling it could be an overheating issue but am not quite sure. There are no '?' marks in the device manager and all drivers are updated. The CPU has an extra cooling fan mounted inside as well, so I am a little puzzled. It is an MSI motherboard NEO K8N MS-7030 with an ATI video card and some other good things. AMD Athlon Processor built for XP. The HD has been completely reformatted and now has Windows XP Pro installed with all current updates, and the only problem this computer has is the freeze or reboot. So, my question is, how can I troubleshoot and fix this problem?

Ps. CPU is free of dust/dirt and all fans are working properly. Also, could overclocking fix this? The motherboard is an archive so is it possible?
 
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PC Wizard 2008 is out and will show the temp seen on the video card as well as cpu cores, hard drives, and board temps. http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/PC-Wizard-Release-Download-7769.html

What model ATI card are you running there? And what version of the Catalyst drivers? On a new build here with a new DX10 compatible card the drivers/software from the cd as well as the 7.9 update where nothing but a major hassle. Remove, reinstall, update from one 7.9 on the disk to the one at the support sire, nothing worked. BSODs were common with the ati2dvag.dll error and even sudden restarts were being seen. BSODs on booting Windows as well.

The patch for the 7.9 and then the 7.10 came out that really cleaned everything up especially on XP here. The patch didn't do much of anything actually while the 7.10 saw all drivers removed from the headache 7.9 version. The problems that were seen here match what you are running into there.

This is why the question on the ATI model you have there. You may have to revert to an older catalyst version if drivers are the problem there. The System Info for Windows(SIW) http://www.gtopala.com/siw_on_pc_world.html is another freeware that provides a good breakdown on hardwares, softwares, and even provides temp readings from the board's sensors as one additional tool to try besides something like SpeedFan. http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
 
Thanks StrangleHold. I am downloading PC Wizard right now and hopefully it can tell me some things.

PC Eye, I am not sure what drivers I have due to the computer being off right now. HAHA. But I will look into all that as well. What you said makes a lot of sense. Thanks alot bro.
 
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Thanks but which brand and model card are you running there? Are you running an older X1xxx series model or backward further to a 9xxx series Radeon on the 754 board there?
 
PC eye, I have the Radeon 9550 series video card. I found an older driver for the 9550 series off the ATI driver site. Uninstalled all ATI software and reinstalled the older driver. Seems everything is OK. Computer has been on for about 30 minutes now with no problems whatsoever. I'm sure this fixed my problem. Thanks alot.
 
Well, for clear up reasons, the Radeon driver was not the main problem. It was in fact my Firewall settings that was causing my computer to freeze.

But, thanks anyway PC Eye for the help. I do believe with the older driver installed anyway, I will have less headaches with this computer. :-D
 
Alternatives it is... Everything I try seems to work fine, and then all issues come right back. I'm in need of some serious help.

First things first, I sat with my computer and tried to diagnose when, what, and why it was freezing. Got me no where of course, but I did find some valuable information out. Also, I have completely removed all hardware drivers, and then reinstalled but problem still remains.

What I found out, is that the computer only seems to freeze when I open up Internet Explorer (version 7). The mouse cursur completely disapears and the keyboard has no response. All I can do is restart. But on rare occasion, when I reboot, I get a Microsoft error with the files mini102907-09.dmp and sysdata.xml in the Temporary Files folder, then the computer will most likely restart itself when I start opening programs or folders.
So now, I am completely lost. Not sure of anything anymore. Please help.

These are the specs I could obtain while the computer was on for the short period of time before freeze up or reboot:
MSI Motherboard NVIDIA nForce3 MS-7030 Socket 754
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Processor
ATI Radeon 9550/X1050 Series

PC Eye, I am leaning more towards your opinion as it seems you know most about what trouble I am in. My video card driver is ati2dvag.dll version 6.14.10.6727

PS. CPU Core Temp is at 81 degrees F (27 degrees C) and HDD Temp is at 79 degrees F (26 degrees C). I dont think overheating is an issue.

Also, one more thing; how is my P/S tied into all of this? (11.85V via SIW)
 
With good temps being seen you can rule that out as a problem. The main trouble with blue screens, lockups, sudden restarts, etc. on the new build with the new model out was the drivers/software off of the cd that came with it and the 7.9 update at the ATI.AMD support site.

The patch they released didn't really do much to help while the 7.10 corrected all but one thing. The Start taskbar will start to wash out seeing the gold color for 3d objects in the appearance section of the display settings become either black or white in XP. For Vista the 7.10 cleaned everything up fast. But this is for a new model here.

There the support information mentions supporting the X1xxx series cards suggesting you try the last and latest found in the previous drivers and softwares window that comes up and then go for the next and earliest in the 7.x cataysts to see the next version cleanup all previous drivers that are probably seeing a clutter there.
 
There the support information mentions supporting the X1xxx series cards suggesting you try the last and latest found in the previous drivers and softwares window that comes up and then go for the next and earliest in the 7.x cataysts to see the next version cleanup all previous drivers that are probably seeing a clutter there.
Click to expand...

I don't think I fully understand what you are trying to say. I downloaded and installed the 7.10 version driver and catalyst software off the ati.amd support site. Am I missing a step?

After I installed the 7.10 version driver the computer still freezes when Internet Explorer is opened and running for just a few minutes. I am really starting to hate this computer and am almost tempted to replacing it. Seems the computer only freezes when IE is open. Any ideas on why this is?

Could you try explaining all this in a way for me to understand? (like an Idiot Guide to Computers, haha)
 
The thought there is that the latest catalyst may be simply too new for the model card you have there and trying an older version might clear things up if ivdeo drivers were at fault. Now you are pointing at IE alone which suggests something else like any firewall or antivirus or other program running in the background if no adwares/browser hijacker nonsense is going on.

The first thing to look at there would the processes in the taskmanager to see what is actually active under your user name not SYSTEM as seen in upper case there. That only points to the normal background services seen in Windows.
 
Okay, so what I've done now is opened the task manager and IE. I let IE run for a bit untill the computer froze. Then I looked at the task manager to see what process was loaded when the computer froze. No process was ever ran. Just froze as if nothing caused it. I'm at yet another road block. And the computer simply freezes only when IE is opened. I have no antivirus loaded and all firewall and security options are turned OFF. I know for a fact there is no adware or anything like that because I just reformatted the HD with a new version of XP.

What else could cause a lockup like this?
What other ways can I tell if my video card driver is too new?
 
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