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Random lockups when computer is idle

bcrew1375

New member
I've been experiencing random lockups with the AMD 3800+ I bought recently. These lockups only occur when the computer is idle. I've put the computer under full load and it hasn't happened once. They usually occur when the computer is left on overnight. Has anyone had any problems like this with this CPU? I'm beginning to suspect it's AVG causing problems because it's set on a schedule to run early in the morning. I'll have to run some tests with AVG later.
 

BoggyB

New member
Try disabling Suspend and/or Hibernate. Go to Power options in Control Panel, and set the timeouts for those to Never.
 

smcd

Active member
I've got an amd64 3800 and no problems yet. i'll put on avg and see if anything happens
 
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bcrew1375

New member
BoggyB said:
Try disabling Suspend and/or Hibernate. Go to Power options in Control Panel, and set the timeouts for those to Never.

I suspected that at first as well, but they're both disabled. Also forgot to mention my 3800 is a dual core, if that matters.
 
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ScottJC

At your service, dood!
Hrm, ever considered you might have an electrical glitch at night which screws your pc up? thats has happened to me before - i leave it on and its crashed when I wake up or turned off and like you I wonder why it happens but i'm pretty sure thats the reason mine does it.

I've sat and watched mine be idle before from my couch over there, with the tv and glancing of course and it seemed fine - how odd :p - If your PC gets even a tiny glitch or spike (too much power) it can have severe side-effects like crashing, rebooting... etc.
 

BoggyB

New member
ScottJC said:
Hrm, ever considered you might have an electrical glitch at night which screws your pc up? thats has happened to me before - i leave it on and its crashed when I wake up or turned off and like you I wonder why it happens but i'm pretty sure thats the reason mine does it.

I've sat and watched mine be idle before from my couch over there, with the tv and glancing of course and it seemed fine - how odd :p - If your PC gets even a tiny glitch or spike (too much power) it can have severe side-effects like crashing, rebooting... etc.
Heh, back when my grandfather had a Win3.1 machine, there would be the occassional power glitch. The lights would flicker for a fraction of a second, which was unfortuantly just longer than what the power supply in the computer could compensate for.
 
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bcrew1375

New member
I can't believe it -_-. I think I've finally found my problem after almost 3 weeks. I'd neglected to search for spyware. After using Ad-Aware, it found a file called TZL136.TMP-00FC3AC7.pf in the Windows\Prefetch folder. This is a file apparently associated with an application called Zango. It is an installation required to play their free online games, which I do not remember installing. I am not 100% certain yet that this is the problem. I will have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if it has frozen yet again.

Here is a piece of the FAQ from their site:
Is Zango Spyware?

Absolutely not! Spyware invades your privacy … Zango respects it! The purpose of spyware is to secretly gather information about your computer usage and the sites that you visit so it can be sold to advertisers and others. Usually, spyware is hidden inside another program and downloaded without the user’s informed consent. Zango does not collect or share any information about you with anyone. Caution: Spyware has the ability to record your keystrokes, passwords and credit card numbers, scan your hard drive, eavesdrop while you chat, collect your cookies, change your toolbars and default settings, and continuously transmit your information back to its database.

I have one thing to say to that. Bull. ****.
 
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smcd

Active member
Ah yes, to update you on my situation - I have had AVG on here since my last post, no problems yet :)
 
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bcrew1375

New member
Yeah, I noticed that AVG wasn't on during most of the crashes :). Just a little bit longer and I'll be satisfied that Zango caused it.
 
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bcrew1375

New member
Argh! Removed Zango. My computer is now spyware free, and yet it still freezes. So, I've strained the CPU and memory with no problems. I've gotten rid of all my spyware. I was able to run 3DMark06 with no problems whatsoever(got over 5000 points BTW). I'm going to try reinstalling Windows later. I'm also beginning to suspect USB devices, but I've removed the most likely one and it still happens.
 
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bcrew1375

New member
Sorry for bringing this thread back up. After experimenting a little bit more, I'm almost certain either the motherboard's USB ports or Windows USB drivers are at fault. I ran memtest86 overnight and by morning it had tested the memory 22 times with no errors. The computer also didn't freeze, which it does every night I leave Windows running without fail. I've noticed that when I try to burn a CD or DVD with my USB burner, it consistently locks the computer. However, the USB burner works fine on another Windows XP computer and my internal burner works fine. I also noticed after rebooting, most of the USB devices would require rebooting, such as my capture device and my external hard drive. I think I'm going to try disabling my onboard USB and try using a PCI USB 2.0 card. If that doesn't work, I can only assume the problem lies within Windows.

Edit: I tried putting in my Belkin F5U220. I was able to burn a CD and DVD without a problem. Now I just need to leave it on overnight and see if it freezes. Though, it's really annoying not being able to use my onboard USB ports since my Belkin card won't work with my hub, and now I'm using up 2 of my 3 PCI slots. :(
 
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Doomulation

?????????????????????????
Wow, uh well... bad luck? You should switch out those USB then? As my own dual core has never frozen the computer like you describe.
 
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bcrew1375

New member
Well, that proves it. I left the computer on overnight with no freezing. So, the onboard ports are at fault. :(
 

zAlbee

Keeper of The Iron Tail
Send the motherboard back. Also, question: are you sure you connected the USB wires correctly to your case?
 
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bcrew1375

New member
It came with my case. Here's a picture of it with the power info:
ShowImage.asp
 

BoggyB

New member
Your motherboard may not be broken, just defective by design and not supplying enough power to the USB ports. You could use a powered hub to make up for that. A qood quality USB card also helps, as you've seen.

We used to have a Compaq as the family computer. Worked as well as any Compaq, with the exception of the USB ADSL modem going up and down like a yo-yo. Turned out that Compaq skimped on the USB ports, and they probably weren't able to supply enough power. We stuck the modem on a hardware router (a Vigor box that's designed to work with USB modems), and it's now rock solid. That box has only ever been powercycled when we've physically moved it or had a powercut.
 

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