My PC keeps locking up

[Camul]

Firstly, I didn’t see a troubleshooting section on this forum, so I didn’t quite know where to put this. If I posted it in the wrong place then I’m sorry, I’ll ask a mod to move it to the appropriate forum.

Anyway, I decided to take a shot at building my first PC back in September. I really wanted to get into PC gaming and I didn’t want to shell out a ridiculous amount of money on a pre-built system.

Since day one of having this PC I’ve had a really annoying problem. When I’m using my PC sometimes it will just lock up and become completely unresponsive. When I was using Windows 7 it used to freeze and the only thing that I could do was hit the reset button on my case, but now that I’m using Windows 8 I actually manage to get a BSOD. The weird thing is that it never seems to happen when I do something demanding like play BF3 or The Witcher, or if I’m using Maya or UDK. It usually seems to happen when I’m browsing the internet. More specifically, when I’m browsing though Google Images, but it does happen frequently when I visit other sites too.

At first I thought that this problem may go away by itself, but it didn’t, and needless to say, I’m getting pretty sick of it. This problem can occur as little as once every couple of days, to a dozen or so times a day.

So far I have tried:

• Re-installing my OS
  
• Re-seating my RAM
  
• Un-plugging and re-connecting everything to my PSU, making sure that every connection was properly plugged in
  
• Removed all non-essential components from my PC (ODD, Graphics Card, Network Card, additional HDDs)
  
• Ran Memtest 86+ for over 18 hours (I read that it’s advised to run for at least 24 hours, but I cannot spare that much time in one go)
  
• Updated all of my drivers
  

So, I was wondering if you guys would be able to give me some suggestions on software that would allow me to stress test the rest of my system, or maybe throw suggestions as to why this problem is happening.

My Specs are:

• ASUS P8Z77-V LX
  
• Intel Core i5 3570k @ 3.4GHz (stock speeds)
  
• Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1x4), DDR3, 1600MHz, 1.5v
  
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
  
• Corsair GS 700w PSU
  
• XFX HD 7970 DD Black Edition
  

I Can post additional specs if needed.

[BCMods]

Try running Memtest (not +) for as long as you can. If that doesn't bring up any problems, try running Prime96 :)

See these 2 videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDl27PXVraM

[Camul]

Try running Memtest (not +) for as long as you can. If that doesn't bring up any problems' date=' try running Prime96 :) See these 2 videos: [url']

Thanks. I'll try Memtest tonight.

Will I be able to run Prime95 and use my PC at the same time? (Provided I do things that aren't likely to cause it to freeze)

[IdeaStormer]

I'm having a similar issue on a recent build and am also using an ASUS mobo (only thing in common other than an Intel CPU). What you are explaining (the lock up) is exactly as what I am getting. Have tried running Prime95 for a whole day and it passed just fine, have run with other RAM (borrowed from a working similar system of a friend while he used mine, he had no lock up and I still did). I have noticed that if I leave my system without logging on boot up for a few minutes (5 or so) it happens less. :confused: Again just like you while the system is under heavy load it does not happen but on just browsing and looking at LinusTechTips video's/stream (or any video/web page) it tends to lock up at random times but does happen more often within the first 10 minutes after boot up.

[liquidity]

What kind of drive is your OS installed on? Also you might want to try with another PSU that you know works for sure.

Might also try to reset your CMOS

Is your drive running in AHCI or IDE mode?

[Oby]

What browser do you use?

[Camul]

I'm having a similar issue on a recent build and am also using an ASUS mobo (only thing in common other than an Intel CPU). What you are explaining (the lock up) is exactly as what I am getting. Have tried running Prime95 for a whole day and it passed just fine' date=' have run with other RAM (borrowed from a working similar system of a friend while he used mine, he had no lock up and I still did). I have noticed that if I leave my system without logging on boot up for a few minutes (5 or so) it happens less. :confused: Again just like you while the system is under heavy load it does not happen but on just browsing and looking at LinusTechTips video's/stream (or any video/web page) it tends to lock up at random times but does happen more often within the first 10 minutes after boot up.[/quote']

I'm certain we have the same issue. I also had the problem where it would lock up if I was afk for too long when on the sign in screen. I just removed all other accounts so Windows would go straight to the desktop.

What kind of drive is your OS installed on? Also you might want to try with another PSU that you know works for sure. Might also try to reset your CMOS Is your drive running in AHCI or IDE mode?

My OS is running on a 640GB WD Blue 7200rpm that I pulled from my old PC. I suppose I'll see if I can borrow a friend's PSU if I can't get any errors to show up when using Memtest and Prime95.

What browser do you use?

Firefox, but this problem has happened in Chrome and IE9 too.

[Oby]

Is there any errors in Event Viewer (Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Event Viewer->Windows Logs->Applications/System) around the time when PC lock up?

[L.E.D]

I have a weird suggestion, Only because it helped me, I will say try another harddrive if you can, I bought and SSD and it turned out to be the problem with my computer freezing and I had BSOD once or twice, I went back to my 1TB harddrive and all is well,

Nathan

[liquidity]

I have a weird suggestion, Only because it helped me, I will say try another harddrive if you can, I bought and SSD and it turned out to be the problem with my computer freezing and I had BSOD once or twice, I went back to my 1TB harddrive and all is well,

Nathan

When you install an SSD. you need to make sure that you use AHCI mode and not IDE in the BIOS, before you install your OS.

[L.E.D]

I have a weird suggestion, Only because it helped me, I will say try another harddrive if you can, I bought and SSD and it turned out to be the problem with my computer freezing and I had BSOD once or twice, I went back to my 1TB harddrive and all is well,

Nathan

It was not a problem with my pc, the SSD was the problem I tired it in 2 other systems and it still did not work, but thanks for the tip,

[liquidity]

I have a weird suggestion, Only because it helped me, I will say try another harddrive if you can, I bought and SSD and it turned out to be the problem with my computer freezing and I had BSOD once or twice, I went back to my 1TB harddrive and all is well,

Nathan

Maybe because the other systems were not in AHCI neither. It's not a tip, it's a requirement. But seems like you found the problem.

[shady-elite]

I had a similar problem with my desktop, would randomly Freeze, BSOD or just turn off, turned out to be the 250w psu i pulled out of a pentium 4, i upgraded to a 500w, Now running fine :)