Computer Freezing Up

Discussion in 'Technical Support' started by Scruffy the Janitor, Oct 15, 2019.

  1. Scruffy the Janitor

    Scruffy the Janitor Well-Known Forum Member

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    So whenever I start up my computer it keeps freezing up in the first 5 minutes or so. This will happen 2 -3 times while I reboot before it starts acting normal. Any thoughts?
     
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  2. Dr. Thor

    Dr. Thor One hammer Two hammer Three hammer THOR!

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    Have you tried turning it off and back on again?

    Does windows boot or is it crashing during windows start?

    Sounds like a windows problem.... Also I know nothing about IT so I don't know why you are reading this. Since you are. Hi!
     
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  3. Scruffy the Janitor

    Scruffy the Janitor Well-Known Forum Member

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    Hi Thor!

    Yeah so basically I turn the computer on and it freezes five minutes later, I restart it, it freezes up again in another five minutes, and this cycle just kind of goes on and on until eventually it stops freezing up and runs like normal. Usually takes a couple of restarts before that happens.
     
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  4. PongQ

    PongQ Well-Known Forum Member

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    That's a tough one. Since it happens after five minutes, I am assuming you are successfully booting into your operating system and it is hanging while you are at the desktop or in an application.

    When it freezes, is it just the display (you press the power button and it shuts down) or does the whole machine lock up (you have to press and hold the power button until it turns off)?
     
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  5. Dr. Thor

    Dr. Thor One hammer Two hammer Three hammer THOR!

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    Unless it is getting really hot because of a stuck fan or something this sounds like a windows problem.... Try the repair utility first then when that does not work reinstall. Just make sure you back up your data :)
     
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  6. Donald Draper

    Donald Draper Well-Known Forum Member

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    This is critical. If your boot drive is failing you might be about to lose everything on it.
     
  7. Dstraktd

    Dstraktd Adminstigator Staff Member

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    boot to safe mode
    open command prompt
    type: sfc /scannow
    this will run a system file check and will validate your system files, repairing any that may need it.
     
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  8. PongQ

    PongQ Well-Known Forum Member

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    What is odd is that is freezes within a few minutes of booting, but eventually runs fine. If the problem was a bad fan or overheating, I would expect it to hang after it was warmed up. In addition to the previous suggestions:

    Since it is easy, I would first reinstall or upgrade your video driver.

    I'd probably pop the case and make sure everything is seated well in its slot.

    Check if Windows is creating a dump file in C:\windows\minidump or a memory.dmp file in C:\windows. You can use windbg to analyze the dump file and it is sometimes nice enough to tell you what went wrong. Just because you don't see the BSOD doesn't mean the file wasn't created. If there isn't a file, I start to suspect hardware because Windows really, really wants to create that dump file when software crashes the OS and something is preventing it.

    Check the event log. Errors in the log can help identify the problem.

    There are various tools to test hardware. If you have a brand name computer, there is almost certainly a hardware diagnostic program provided by the manufacturer.
     
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  9. alainreid

    alainreid Guest

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    It's not freezing, it's just being dramatic. Tell it to put on a sweater or just go outside and run around in the sun.
     
  10. alainreid

    alainreid Guest

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    P.S., clean your fans and heat syncs.
     
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  11. PongQ

    PongQ Well-Known Forum Member

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    The kid at college complained that his laptop's framerate was crashing to single digits in FPS games. I confirmed it was overheating (it throttles GPU clock speed at 78C) so I removed the bottom cover and back vent cover and put the canned air to work. It really did not seem like much dust blowing out of there (not like the cloud when I clean out the desktop PC), but its back to running full tilt at 72C.

     
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  12. Scruffy the Janitor

    Scruffy the Janitor Well-Known Forum Member

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    I can press the restart button and it restarts just fine.
     
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  13. Scruffy the Janitor

    Scruffy the Janitor Well-Known Forum Member

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    Now the fan will make a loud grinding noise for the first few minutes when it comes on, but settles down after a little bit. Do you think it's related?

    Edit: I have had to replace the fan before, but the last time it went bad the computer would shut itself off instead of freezing.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2019
  14. PongQ

    PongQ Well-Known Forum Member

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    It is possible the fan noise is related. If it is not spinning up to full speed when booting up, the computer could overheat; once it is able to spin up to full speed after a couple of reboots, you don't have the problem anymore.

    Since it sounds like just the video is freezing, check the fan on your video card; it should spin freely. If it does not turn smoothly or you feel resistance, try cleaning it out. A video card fan that is not spinning full speed until it has been running a while would explain your problem.
     
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  15. Donald Draper

    Donald Draper Well-Known Forum Member

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    Just download rivatuner or some other temperature monitoring program. Run it at boot, watch temps, see what happens.
     
  16. Dstraktd

    Dstraktd Adminstigator Staff Member

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    is the computer posting? any beeps, or alarms?
     
  17. Scruffy the Janitor

    Scruffy the Janitor Well-Known Forum Member

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    No beeps or alarms or anything. It just kind of stops.
     
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  18. Dstraktd

    Dstraktd Adminstigator Staff Member

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    What do you see when you turn it on? Does it recognize peripherals? any self-test data before windows tries to load?
     
  19. Scruffy the Janitor

    Scruffy the Janitor Well-Known Forum Member

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    No it just starts up like normal.
     
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  20. NutZ

    NutZ Founder

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