New AMD Build Freezes Randomly

[millermusing]

Here are the specs:

 

CPU: AMD FX 6300

GPU: Gigabyte GTX 960

Mobo: ASRock 930m Pro3

PSU: Corsair C500M

RAM: 2x Ballistix 4GB DDR3

HDD: 1TB Seagate

SSD: 120GB Kingston

OS: Windows 7 Pro. 64 bit

 

I put this computer together last night for my wife as something of an early Valentine’s gift. The build went smooth with no issues. After we got Windows installed, I started pulling drivers for the hardware. I suspect this is where I messed something up.

 

The Problem: While making light use of her computer, (Chrome and Spotify running) it will freeze briefly for about 30 - 60 seconds. It comes back afterwards, but it’s an annoying problem to have. Possibly related: If any program ever needs to install .net framework, it fails. GeForce Experience and various Steam games have experienced this issue.

 

I suspect I messed the drivers up because we had a little hiccup while I installed them. I got what I believe were all the relevant drivers from ASRock’s website, including drivers for the NIC, USB 3.0, something called AMD all-in-one which I assumed were chipset drivers, and Audio. Then I went to Nvidia and started downloading the GeForce Experience to get drivers for her graphics card. While this was installing, we also ran Windows Easy Transfer to get her user profile and settings onto the new computer from our old shared computer.

The GeForce experience failed to install, citing a failure to install the .NET Framework as the issue. I pulled the standalone drivers for her GPU from Nvidia’s site and got them working, it’s installer also mentioned a failure to install the .NET Framework.

 

Am I missing an obvious driver here? Did Running Windows Easy Transfer mess up the graphics drivers? Is the .NET Framework issue indicative of a larger problem? I’m kind of an amatuer at this, so any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Troubleshooting attempted:

• Install .NET Framework separately (3.5, 3.0, 2.0 already installed)

• Update BIOS (From P1.00 to P1.40)

• Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool (no issues detected)

 

[fdwboy]

It sounds like the display driver is crashing/hanging, are you getting any messages saying that the display driver stopped responding and has recovered? If so, you should use the Display Driver Uninstaller to remove all traces of the current drivers, then reinstall the latest version after fixing the .NET Framework. While you're at it, you can use SlimDrivers to install the latest drivers for everything thing else, just make sure to decline the install of SlimCleaner and remove when you're done. 

 

As for the .NET Framework, have you installed version 4.5 or 4.6? That is what most programs require anymore. You can try running the . NET Framework Repair Tool and see if that fixes the problem. 

 

Also check the Reliability Monitor to see if there are any events that have happened to help figure out what is causing the problem. 

 

Good luck! 

 

EDIT:

When you mean the all-in-one drivers, do you mean the APU drivers? Is the Radeon Settings program installed? If so, you may have also installed AMD GPU drivers along with the chipset drivers. It shouldn't have happened, since it does hardware checks when it is installing. You will want to remove anything graphics related from AMD to eliminate that as a possible problem.

[glitchmaster0001]

what version of windows are you running? i built a computer similar to that using windows 7 as the OS and i ran into 0 problems with drivers or anything 

[millermusing]

@fdwboy The only error messages I've recieved have been about .net framework failing to install, and those were only on Steam (only for certain games) and GeForce Experience. The drivers for the gpu seem to be working, as her second monitor works fine. It wasn't working before I installed standalone graphics drivers. I'll go ahead and try clearing them out, installing the latest .net framework, and then reinstalling them, to be safe. I'll run the Repair Tool as well.

 

I don't think it was APU drivers, but I could be wrong. 

Edit: Her computer is shut down now, but I'll look to see if she has Radeon Settings installed in the morning

 

The All-in-one driver I installed is the first one on the list here: http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970M%20Pro3/?cat=Download&os=Win764

 

I also installed the audio, lan, and usb drivers from that link as well.

 

@glitchmaster0001 She's running Windows 7 Professional, 64 bit version. I don't think she has SP1 yet, as whenever I check for updates, it just spins and spins and never comes up with anything. That may be another symptom of the issue.

 

It's late here, and I need some sleep. I'll try this stuff out tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Thanks guys!

[fdwboy]

OK here are a few questions:

1. So it's only the first monitor that's having the problem?
2. What type of connection are you using?
3. I'm assuming you've reseated the cables?
4. Do you have any video cables you could swap in?
5. Are the monitors new?

Nevermind about the potential GPU drivers, ASRock just labels their drivers weirdly!

 

Looked up the requirements for the .NET Framework 4 and it does need SP1, so that's one issue kind of solved!

 

Here's a download link for Windows 7 SP1.

 

Windows Update takes FOREVER on a fresh Windows 7 install, be prepared to install several hundred updates in multiple batches.

 

Good luck!

[millermusing]

Here's a few answers:

1. Both monitors are affected by the freezes. When it freezes programs stop working and the cursor changes to the loading wheel.
2. Her computer is hard wired to a lan switch that is connected to the main modem/router combo. My computer is connected to the same switch, and doesn't experience any of these issues.
3. I hadn't reseated the cables yet. I'll do that now.
4. I have a spare HDMI cable I could try. Right now she's running dual DVI to her GPU. The motherboard doesn't have any video inputs, so I'm limited to what's on the graphics card. 2 DVI, 1 HDMI, 1 DP
5. Both monitors are brand new Asus VS228 21.5" models

I'll try getting SP1 installed, and see if that changes anything.

 

 

[LukaH]

i have experienced random freezes and stutters while doing audio-video related things like youtube, gaming, video playback, music.... a format did not solve it. Read a lot of forums, sites.... with no luck everybody pointing to the realtek and nvidia/amd hdmi drivers not playing well together so i gave up and i lived with it for about a month. Then i broke something in windows and did another fresh OS install and the problem went away by itself.

 

I would recommend downloading the latest drivers from the realtek site directly that is the only driver i would not recommend getting from the MoBo manufacturers site.

[millermusing]

@LukaH Do I need to uninstall current drivers before I grab them from Realtek? If so, how would I do that?

 

 

[glitchmaster0001]

i ran windows 7 pro 64 bit sp2 and there were 0 problems with drivers when i still had my gtx 950. then i sold it a bought a cheapo $5 amd card from weird stuff. if your running into a problem with net framework try installing the 4.0 version. it worked for me when i did that but i had to leave my computer on all night for it to install. 

[millermusing]

Update:

 

I tried to install SP1, but was informed that it was already installed. I'm currently running the .net framework 4.0 installer. It downloaded all the files just fine, and now it has moved on to the Install portion. So far the bar has not moved, but it hasn't thrown any errors either, so fingers crossed.

[millermusing]

Update: .net framework 4.0 has been successfully installed! I'm gonna try installing GeForce Experience now and see if it manages it. I'll let you guys know if it works.

[LukaH]

If you had no luck so far....

2 hours ago, millermusing said:

@LukaH Do I need to uninstall current drivers before I grab them from Realtek? If so, how would I do that?

 

 

 

it would be preferred you can uninstall them through control panel > programs and features > realtek high definition audio drivers. The latest drivers can be found on the realtek site I'd give a link but it is not loading for me right now.

[millermusing]

Alright, GeForce Experience finally installed correctly. 

 

I'm still running into the issue of Steam games trying to run initial setup, and getting stuck on the .NET Framework step. It doesn't happen to all of them, but a handful.

[millermusing]

Quick Update:

 

The problems with the .net framework seem to be solved. The Steam games that were having issues are running smoothly now, and as I mentioned previously, GeForce Experience installed just fine.

 

She is still experiencing some freezes while browsing on Chrome and listening to Spotify. I'm really not sure what the issue is there.

[millermusing]

Final update for anyone experiencing freezes with Chrome:

 

We finally nailed this issue down. Chrome does hardware acceleration, and it was interfering with her display drivers. Turning hardware acceleration off in Chrome settings fixed the issue.