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.
Random lockups when computer is idle
- Thread starter bcrew1375
- Start date
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
- If your PC gets even a tiny glitch or spike (too much power) it can have severe side-effects like crashing, rebooting... etc.
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
- 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
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.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
- Thread Starter
- #8
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:
I have one thing to say to that. Bull. ****.
Here is a piece of the FAQ from their site:
I have one thing to say to that. Bull. ****.
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- Thread Starter
- #11
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.
- Thread Starter
- #12
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.
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.
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.
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.