Computer Freezing - would really appreciate some help!

Javery

Javery

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My Dell Inspiron laptop (3+ years old) is freezing constantly and I am out of ideas. Usually any problems I have I solve using System Restore feature and go back to a previous point in time. No such luck. I've downloaded some registry repairers and done scans with McAfee and AVG but those haven't helped either.

I can boot up windows normally about 35% of the time and then after using whatever program (typically Firefox which I've removed and reinstalled several times thinking it might be part of the problem) the computer totally freezes and cannot be put to sleep or shut down without holding the power button down. It doesn't matter which program I'm in or none at all - it always freezes after 5 to 10 minutes of use. The other 65% of the time when it won't boot, I get an error message and it does a disc check... And then boots and freezes...

Is there anything I can do? I really don't want to have to buy another laptop so soon... Otherwise look for my new thread "recommend me a laptop" coming soon to CAG. Dammit.

Thanks in advance for fixing my laptop!!!
 
Are you willing to wipe and reinstall your OS? If you do so, I'd recommend avoiding the McAfee/AVG bullshit, they're slightly problematic at best. Using Firefox + noscript and downloading/running files of a known origin goes a lot further toward security than having processes running non-stop that effectively do nothing.

Other than a reinstall/wipe, you might also consider boosting the RAM if you can get it cheap.

That's about all I can think of. 3 years is usually when I start look to swap out my work laptop, so you're due. Especially if you've been plagued with problems and you've been using lots of system restore points.
 
Sounds like a hardware issue, I'm guessing the hard drive. I'd suggest replacing the hard drive, and investing in an external backup solution.
 
Ugh. OK thanks guys... I am willing at this point to try a complete wipe and reinstall of the OS. I was able to move all of my important files to an external hard drive (pics, music, etc.).

So how do I go about doing this? Typically all of the files are saved even when reinstalling windows, right? I would want to start completely fresh, right? Also, I don't think Dell sent windows install discs with my laptop but if I call them they should be able to provide me with the software... I hope.
 
I'm not one of those people who believes in replacing a PC/lappy so often. I'd try to fix it first before junking it. If it were a desktop the first 3 things I'd check would be the power supply, RAM, or drive. Do the disc checks come back clean (assuming they finish)? Try reseating the RAM and looking at the BIOS to see if it's reporting the correct amount of RAM installed. Are you running off the battery or testing things while it's plugged in?
 
[quote name='Javery']Ugh. OK thanks guys... I am willing at this point to try a complete wipe and reinstall of the OS. I was able to move all of my important files to an external hard drive (pics, music, etc.).

So how do I go about doing this? Typically all of the files are saved even when reinstalling windows, right? I would want to start completely fresh, right? Also, I don't think Dell sent windows install discs with my laptop but if I call them they should be able to provide me with the software... I hope.[/QUOTE]

There should be a partition on your hard drive that you can use to do a factory image restore of your computer. That's how my Dell laptop is. They started doing this when they stopped including the discs.
 
[quote name='DP2']I'm not one of those people who believes in replacing a PC/lappy so often. I'd try to fix it first before junking it. If it were a desktop the first 3 things I'd check would be the power supply, RAM, or drive. Do the disc checks come back clean (assuming they finish)? Try reseating the RAM and looking at the BIOS to see if it's reporting the correct amount of RAM installed. Are you running off the battery or testing things while it's plugged in?[/QUOTE]

This is interesting... For about 6 months ive been getting an error message on start up saying the battery needed to be replaced. It cannot run without being plugged in. Doesn't matter to me because a plug is always nearby but maybe this is a problem in general?

The disc checks come back clean. The registry scan found over 2000 errors that it supposedly fixed.

[quote name='m6oo']This is my standard rap for people who are having issues with their PC's that are tough to isolate:

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111152[/QUOTE]

Wow nice post. Thanks. Tons of stuff in there to check...

[quote name='pitfallharry219']There should be a partition on your hard drive that you can use to do a factory image restore of your computer. That's how my Dell laptop is. They started doing this when they stopped including the discs.[/QUOTE]

Awesome. I am going to try this tomorrow. I need another HD. I was able to transfer most of my stuff to my external but I forgot about the "public" folder which had almost 50GB of stuff... So I'm out of room. I'm excited to try this though...
 
Could be a driver problem as well. I have one that freezes my computer periodically, it's either a video driver or a network driver, to lazy to actually try to fix the problem heh. One point it was really bad, started to clear out what some potential problems were and fixed it to the point it is now, which is usually about 1 or 2 times a week.

If you want a real challange try to find out if it's something like that :D
 
Worst case scenario: Your Logic/Motherboard might be going south, but at only 3 years old, I highly doubt it. As my old A+ cert book taught me: assume software first, hardware last. If the HDD comes out clean, do an OS wipe/re-install (this sucks, I know), and if you're still coming across this problem, them move to more hardware stuff, like the RAM or the aforementioned Motherboard.
 
OK, I'm ready(I think) to do a factory image restore of my laptop. I transferred all of the files I can think of onto an external hard drive and I exported my Firefox bookmarks to an HTML file and emailed it to myself. Anything else anyone can think of? I don't play games on it so I'm not worried about losing saves...it's now or never!
 
[quote name='Javery']OK, I'm ready(I think) to do a factory image restore of my laptop. I transferred all of the files I can think of onto an external hard drive and I exported my Firefox bookmarks to an HTML file and emailed it to myself. Anything else anyone can think of? I don't play games on it so I'm not worried about losing saves...it's now or never![/QUOTE]

Times like these are when I upgrade my HDD. Then you can do your clean reinstall without risk of losing something you forgot to back up...assuming you can afford a new HDD...
 
[quote name='m6oo']Times like these are when I upgrade my HDD. Then you can do your clean reinstall without risk of losing something you forgot to back up...assuming you can afford a new HDD...[/QUOTE]

The prices they're sitting at now ... I wouldn't buy one unless it was manditory.
 
Of course now that I'm ready to pull the trigger my computer seems to be acting OK - it hasn't frozen and I've been on it for about a 1/2 hour. This is the first time since before Christmas that I've gotten this much time. Unreal. I still think a clean image restore is the way to go - there is too much junk on this thing after 3+ years...

[quote name='Draekon']Pull any keys you can?

http://nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

They just need to be pointed to your Windows Registry which can be pulled off as a file if needed. Usually gets the basic programs you need in most cases.


Otherwise, good luck.[/QUOTE]

Hmm... good idea. I don't have any programs on my computer other than the stuff it shipped with and free programs like iTunes, winrar, FireFox, etc. but if there is a key for my Vista license it's probably a good idea to have it.

[quote name='m6oo']Times like these are when I upgrade my HDD. Then you can do your clean reinstall without risk of losing something you forgot to back up...assuming you can afford a new HDD...[/QUOTE]

Do you mean actually upgrade my HDD on my laptop? I have a 500GB HD and it is plenty big... I transferred all of my files to an external but you are right that I might have forgotten something. As long as my pics and music are OK I don't really care about the rest even though in a month I'll think of something...

[quote name='strikeratt']The prices they're sitting at now ... I wouldn't buy one unless it was manditory.[/QUOTE]

Seriously - I paid $150 for a 1TB USB-powered external HDD. Crazy expensive compared to the middle of last year. Oh well...
 
[quote name='Javery']Hmm... good idea. I don't have any programs on my computer other than the stuff it shipped with and free programs like iTunes, winrar, FireFox, etc. but if there is a key for my Vista license it's probably a good idea to have it.[/QUOTE]

Windows license keys from Dell/HP don't work with any kind of Windows disk outside of official disks from the specific machine manufacturer. So that will do you little good keeping that key. Especially when you use their install media, I don't believe you actually need to enter a license key as it does it automatically. At least I've never seen you have to and I've done it on tons of machines. Could be wrong though.





I've seen you posting a bit today, so I guess it worked fine? Don't forget to uninstall pretty much all of the pre-installed shit that came with the factory restore.
 
[quote name='Draekon']I've seen you posting a bit today, so I guess it worked fine? Don't forget to uninstall pretty much all of the pre-installed shit that came with the factory restore.[/QUOTE]

I haven't tried it yet... I cannot believe after three weeks of freezing up after 5 minutes and countless reboots, system restores, scans, etc. my computer is seemingly working OK now. I can't explain it but it is going on 24+ hours now with no problems. I think I'm still going to do the restore because I'd like to start fresh but it is such a pain because of all the stuff I'll have to reinstall (and that I can't think of right now).

What should I uninstall? I didn't remove anything from the computer when I bought it but anything to remove the clutter is fine by me.
 
When your moving items are you moving them off the hard drive or copy and place the copy on the external?

It might of been something you removed off the main machine if you completely move them.
 
Javery, I'm sad to say that this is most definitely a hard drive issue. I had the exact same problem with my Toshiba from 2007. I used to leave it on while I slept to download large amounts of data, then I'd wake up and move the data to an external hard drive. Sometime last summer, I woke up and tried using it only to have it freeze completely. I could only move the mouse around. Nothing started up when I clicked on it, and my context menu didn't work either. I could click on Shut Down, but it wouldn't do anything, and I had to hold down the power button to turn it off. When I restarted it, it would try system repair, reboot, then BSOD and reboot in a continuous cycle. I was able to (barely) use it like this for about a month, until not even System Recovery would start without a CD.

Since I couldn't get to any files, I had to load up Ubuntu Live and force the directories to back up my data. Use this guide to find out how.

If a complete reinstall works for you, that's great. But I know your hard drive's days are numbered. It wasn't from malware because I had Microsoft's professional business anti-malware program installed. I can't format or do anything with the old HDD. I had to buy a 500GB Western Digital Scorpio from Best Buy for $58 to solve my problem. I installed it on my laptop, and I haven't had any problems since.
 
[quote name='Javery']I haven't tried it yet... I cannot believe after three weeks of freezing up after 5 minutes and countless reboots, system restores, scans, etc. my computer is seemingly working OK now. I can't explain it but it is going on 24+ hours now with no problems. I think I'm still going to do the restore because I'd like to start fresh but it is such a pain because of all the stuff I'll have to reinstall (and that I can't think of right now).

What should I uninstall? I didn't remove anything from the computer when I bought it but anything to remove the clutter is fine by me.[/QUOTE]

I would uninstall that crap because it's bloated. Poorly programmed and use up a lot of resources and run on boot. If you have no desire to use it, uninstall it. Also remove any trials they pre-install on your laptop too as they like to load those on there too.

If you need alternatives to premium apps, you can find them pretty easily and a few people here can tell you them without much issue. I usually use ninite when I reinstall shit as it's insanely useful and a time saver for me. Their website is http://www.ninite.com/


[quote name='Blade']Javery, I'm sad to say that this is most definitely a hard drive issue. I had the exact same problem with my Toshiba from 2007. I used to leave it on while I slept to download large amounts of data, then I'd wake up and move the data to an external hard drive. Sometime last summer, I woke up and tried using it only to have it freeze completely. I could only move the mouse around. Nothing started up when I clicked on it, and my context menu didn't work either. I could click on Shut Down, but it wouldn't do anything, and I had to hold down the power button to turn it off. When I restarted it, it would try system repair, reboot, then BSOD and reboot in a continuous cycle. I was able to (barely) use it like this for about a month, until not even System Recovery would start without a CD.

Since I couldn't get to any files, I had to load up Ubuntu Live and force the directories to back up my data. Use this guide to find out how.

If a complete reinstall works for you, that's great. But I know your hard drive's days are numbered. It wasn't from malware because I had Microsoft's professional business anti-malware program installed. I can't format or do anything with the old HDD. I had to buy a 500GB Western Digital Scorpio from Best Buy for $58 to solve my problem. I installed it on my laptop, and I haven't had any problems since.[/QUOTE]

It's not necessarily a bad hard drive. It would really be beneficial if he could run some hard drive diagnostic utilities from his HDD manufacturer before we conclude one way or the other. Though Laptop HDDs will last shorter amounts of times due to movement even though they have their movement sensative tools built in to stop the R/W Head to prevent any damage to the platters.
 
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