Question

PC is fine under load, but freezes when idle.

Asked by: Earshel

Hello. I'm posting here because I am experiencing a very odd problem. I am having a problem with my PC freezing when it's left idle with a 3d application running. The application in question is World of Warcraft. While I'm actually using the computer, I'm able to run three instances of the game with no issues, but as soon as I walk away for an hour with only one instance of it running, my computer freezes up and my monitor goes into standby mode. Normally, I would think that this is a temperature issue, however, it runs great when I'm pushing it to its limits and freezes up when the CPU usage and such is very low. My next thought would be my hard drive going bad, but I haven't heard any noises or seen any messages in Event Viewer that would indicate that my HDD is going bad. Any insight into this problem is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Earshel

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Asked On
2009-10-06 at 06:41:42ID24788787
Tags

freeze

,

idle

,

pc

,

hard drive

,

ram

,

locked up

Topic

Personal Computers

Participating Experts
6
Points
500
Comments
9

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Answers

 

by: NotexaPosted on 2009-10-06 at 07:06:44ID: 25505134

This could also be a problem with the motherboard fan control.
When pushing it the vent will go in overdrive to make sure the CPU stays cool.  When idle the vent normally slows down, maybe here it slows down to much.

There could also be a problem with the energy settings.  Try disabling all suspend methods (stop harddrive, shut down pc, ...).

A few programs that monitor the temperature:
Everest: http://www.filehippo.com/download_everest_home/
Speedfan: http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
Motherboard Monitor: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311

Off course, if the temp sensor is broken, then these tools won't work.

Also check background programs, maybe you have a service that kicks in after a certain idle time that freezes the computer.

 

by: scottjacobPosted on 2009-10-06 at 07:10:41ID: 25505185

My only thought might be something with your power save options.   Is it shutting down the HDD, or anything like that if it sits idle for a certain period?

 

by: EarshelPosted on 2009-10-06 at 08:11:34ID: 25505935

Thank you for both of your answers. I apologize that I wasn't thorough in my description of the problem. I've disabled any power save options. As far as having a service that kicks in, wouldn't that happen if I left it idle on the desktop? Like I said, it only freezes when I've got a 3d app running and it is idle. As far as monitoring temperatures, I'll give that a shot. I've got speedfan. I'll enable logging and get back to you when I've got a result. Thanks.

 

by: NotexaPosted on 2009-10-06 at 08:53:55ID: 25506468

It could also be the GPU that doesn't recieve enough power when idle.

 

by: swappedsrPosted on 2009-10-06 at 09:24:34ID: 25506811

I would double check the power settings again.  Control Panel-->Power Options--> make sure everything is set to never.  

Now, is Windows freezing? or the game? or both?  Does it freeze where you have to power it down by hitting the power button the machine?

 

by: ilnycPosted on 2009-10-08 at 18:50:22ID: 25531851

If this is reproducible with 3-D apps, I'd look into the GPU settings.  Maybe it is overheating during idle, or its fan isn't at full setting during idle.

 

by: nemisizPosted on 2009-11-03 at 21:59:42ID: 25736764

have you Flashed your bios lately? If you have try going back to Your previous version . Sometimes a bios flash can cause all sorts of problems with standby and suspend problems , also causing the Cpu voltages to drop and cause freeze ups in 3d apps.

 

by: ComputerJoePosted on 2009-11-28 at 18:32:26ID: 25927585

Check your BIOS.  Change Suspend from S3 to S1.

Have a great day.

- Joe

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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