W7 freezez up

[john ranger]

I have installed W7 on a second HD that boots independently. two days ago it started freezing after about 4 to five minutes for no reason.

I then did a system restore but that did not work I also tried an image restore from W7 that I had made a week earlier, but that did not work. It seems to be ok in Safe mode but I can't find the problem. The only thing new I did was install windows update.

Can you help?

[Spawn]

Open windows update and look at the history.  See which updates were installed this last time, write them down, and then go into unistall programs and remove them.  Then, hit the Internet, and search for frreezing related to those updates to see if there is a solution.  Remember, in the unistall programs section, make sure you select "view installed updates" on the left hand side.

Spawn

[john ranger]

I removed all updates and Microsoft office as well but still it persists:(

[ChiefZeke]

Boot from the Win7 DVD and do a repair install - that MAY, repeat may, fix the problem but right now that's the only option I think you have.

The Microsoft Win7 forum: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/w7itpro  may have answers.

What build of Win7 and 32- or 64-bit?

And I'm leaving tomorrow morning, 18 October, for a driving trip here to Florida and back - should be gone for about 17 days - so don't expect a fast answer to a followup question. (my 50th high school reunion.)

[john ranger]

That sounds cool.. It's 64-bit

[Runaway1956]

Follow the advice above, and do a repair install.  But, you MAY BE looking at an overheating problem.  Invest in a can of compressed air or two. (Unless you have an air compressor). 

TURN THE MACHINE OFF AND UNPLUG IT!!

Remove the side of the computer, and CAREFULLY blow dust from around the CPU, and from any components that have a fan installed. Don't forget the Power Supply unit.  Note that allowing fans to spin freely while you are blowing can damage the bearings - use a toothpick, or a Q-tip, or similar to hold the fan.  Once you've blown all the heatsinks BENEATH the fans clean, go ahead and blow out any dust accumulated in the rest of the tower.

Got it clean?  Most of the time that I do this, I knock a cable loose - especially SATA cables.  Spend a minute making sure that all cables and plugs are properly routed and connected.  I like to turn the machine on before replacing the side, to make sure it boots, and that all my partitions are visible to windows.  If no problems are apparent, go ahead and replace the side panel on the machine.

[Spawn]

Random freezes could be anything, really.  You mentioned the only thing you had done since this began was to install windows updates...that seemed like a likely place to start.  It didn't pan out, however.  There are a few other things you can check as well.

Have you made sure your drivers are all up to date?  nVidia drivers and W7 haven't been playing nice by several accounts.  While the newest drivers have worked great for me, many users are having to go back to an earlier release for stability i.e. random freezing.

Also, why don't you go into msconfig and disable all of your startup programs.  Oh, and go into the services tab while there, and check the box to hide all Microsoft services.  This will ensure that just third-party services show, and then disable them.  Now, reboot and see if that helps.  If it does, then you know something in your software is causing the problem.  Even if you installed it way back it may only be surfacing now.

If that does help, then you can begin re-enabling those services until the freezing happens again, and you can eliminate the issue.

Quite honestly though, as quickly as W7 installs, I'd just do a fresh install.

Spawn

[john ranger]

Thanks a lot for advice I ended up doing a fresh install.

[Spawn]

Thanks a lot for advice I ended up doing a fresh install.

Did it fix the freezing?

[john ranger]

Yes it sure did. Must have been some file corrupted in W7

[Spawn]

Glad your up and running.

Spawn