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ltj3113

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XP Pro: Computer randomly freezes with no error message.

Well, I have been experiencing problems with my Windows XP Pro, as it has been randomly freezing and there are no error messages, no screens, nothing. The music I was listening to skips and the mouse is frozen in one spot. Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn't do anything either. The computer is just totally unresponsive. I have to reboot to get it to work again, and this is very agonizing.
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shivsa
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SpyBot-S&D : http://www.webattack.com/download/dlspybot.shtml 
Ad-aware : http://www.webattack.com/download/dladaware.shtml 

and clean up your system.
start->run->msconfig and disable all the programs and start enabling one by one to see if the problem is some application.

start->run->sfc /scannow
and check all the system files.

do u have all the updates for windows, your drivers and BIOS>

your RAM is ok. check this.
use these to test RAM.

http://www.simmtester.com 
The website for memtest is http://www.memtest86.com/
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/
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ltj3113

ASKER

I tried the "start->run->sfc /scannow" and I dont know if that did anything, but I am scanning for viruses and I made a disk from "http://www.memtest86.com/". When it is done scanning I will try it, thanks. I hope it will work.
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I ran a virus scan, and there were no viruses. I did a RAM test, but there were no errors, so I don't know what to do now...
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Hmmm, I am doing the sfc /scannow, but it wants a disc. And I dont have it.. What should I do?
what make/model is your laptop?

are you patched to the latest versions of Windows and Internet Explorer?
if u do not have XP disk, then sfc /scannow can not determine if any of system file is corrupt.
u can try other suggestion and see if any of other catch the problem.
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bios updates... look there.
Ram check's don't tell you much-, update bios... update all drivers... and go to windows update...etc...

start > run > "chkdsk /f" (no quotes btw)
say Yes in the CMD window and then reboot.
-rich
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ASKER

I've done everything that has been suggested, but I can't seem to find anything wrong. So, If anyone has any other suggestions that would be appreciated. Thanks

-Cam
If your using a laptop and your doing any heavy duty cpu stuff like playing music while watching a video while chatting online while and so on, then there's a good chance you just don't have enough ram. In addition to the standard memory load from explorer and services, etc. laptops also usually have some extra overhead in the form of device drivers and whatnot do to their removable devices, proprietary configuration software, etc. I used to run 98 with 128mb on a thinkpad and it would crash several times a night while watching videos and chatting. Laptops just seem to be less stable than desktops for the most part.  See how much ram you have and if it is less than 256mb, you might want to upgrade.  ram upgrades are usually easy to do even for laptops because they usually have a separate access cover just for the ram cards.
I don't care what you're doing, XP will *NOT* lock up because you don't have enough RAM, laptop or not.  It might run really really slowly, but it will not hard-lock.  Please provide more details about your system if you know (CPU type, system make/model or motherboard model, etc).

Whoever said ltj3113 had a laptop???  Maybe I'm blind or something, but I never saw that posted by ltj...

Hard-freeze lockups are generally indicative of a hardware problem (either something faulty or an intermittent IRQ conflict of some sort, or overheating CPU, etc).  Low RAM is not going to cause it though (faulty RAM could though.  Just because the memtest86 test passed it doesn't mean its OK.  Try letting it run overnight and see if its still going in the morning.  Does your system (assuming that it is *not* a laptop) have sufficient cooling fans installed?  Is the air blowing out of the case fairly warm?  Was the system working fine for a long time and now suddenly is freezing?  It could be a case of an overly dusty motherboard, causing some components to heat up, etc.  Open the system up and blast it out with some compressed air (canned air, etc), especially the CPU and power supply.  If you get huge clouds of dust, that's likely the problem.

-dog*
THESE ARE CUT AND PASTE EXCERPTS FROM MICROSOFT WEBSITE

_________________________________________________________________
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/reskit/prmd_stp_oweb.asp

Common Stop Messages for Troubleshooting
When Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional detects a problem from which it cannot recover, it displays a Stop message, which is a text-mode error message that reports information about the condition. Stop messages, sometimes referred to as blue screens, contain specific information that can help you diagnose and possibly resolve the problem detected by the Windows kernel. This appendix describes these Stop messages and helps you understand and interpret them.
______________________________________________________________________
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/reskit/prmd_stp_oweb.asp

Stop 0x0000001E or KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
The Stop 0x1E message indicates that the Windows XP Professional kernel detected an illegal or unknown processor instruction. The problems that cause Stop 0x1E messages share similarities with those that generate Stop 0xA errors in that they can be due to invalid memory and access violations. This default Windows XP Professional error handler typically intercepts these problems if error-handling routines are not present in the code itself.


Resolving the Problem
The following suggestions are specific to Stop 0x1E errors. For additional troubleshooting suggestions that apply to all Stop errors, see "Stop Message Checklist" later in this appendix.

Stop 0x1E messages typically occur after installing faulty drivers or system services, or they can indicate hardware problems, such as memory and IRQ conflicts. If a Stop message lists a driver by name, disable, remove, or roll it back to correct the problem. If disabling or removing applications and drivers resolves the issue, contact the hardware manufacturer about a possible update. Using updated software is especially important for multimedia applications, antivirus scanners, and CD mastering tools.
If the Stop message mentions the file Win32k.sys, the source of the error might be a third-party "remote control" program. If such software is installed, you might be able to disable it by starting the system in safe mode. If not, use Recovery Console to manually delete the system service file that is causing the problem. For more information about safe mode and Recovery Console, see "Tools for Troubleshooting" in this book.
Problems can result from system firmware incompatibilities. Many Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) issues can be resolved by updating to the latest firmware.
Other possible causes include insufficient disk space while installing applications or performing certain functions that require more memory. You can free up space by deleting unneeded files. Use Disk Cleanup to increase available disk space. From Recovery Console, remove temporary files (those with .tmp file extensions), Internet cache files, application backup files, and .tmp files generated by Chkdsk.exe or Autochk.exe. You can also choose to install additional applications to another hard disk with more free space or move data files, paging files, and so on. For more information about Autochk.exe and Chkdsk.exe, see "Troubleshooting Disks and File Systems" in this book.
The problem might be due to a memory leak caused by an application or service that is not releasing memory correctly. Poolmon (Poolmon.exe) helps you to isolate the components that are causing kernel memory leaks. For more information about troubleshooting memory leaks, see Microsoft Knowledgebase articles 177415, "How to Use Poolmon to Troubleshoot Kernel Mode Memory Leaks," and 298102, "Finding Pool Tags Used by Third Party Files Without Using the Debugger." To find these articles, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.
To find additional articles, search using keywords winnt, poolmon, pool tag, pooltag, and memory leak.
____________________________________________________________________

Microsoft seems to agree that, at least sometimes, memory does cause crashes as evidenced by this statement from the paragraph above (second from bottom):

'Other possible causes include insufficient disk space while installing applications or performing certain functions that require more memory'.

And by this statement from the bottom paragraph:

'The problem might be due to a memory leak caused by an application or service that is not releasing memory correctly.'
____________________________________________________________________

In my earlier response, I stated "If your using a laptop" because a previous post, not yours, asked "what make/model is your laptop?" and I therefore assumed at some point within the page it had been established that you are using a laptop.  Sorry if that is incorrect.  

Regardless of what you are using, though, Microsoft has identified insufficient memory and/or memory leaks as a cause of this particular STOP error, which is commonly referred to as a CRASH!!!!  It's not the only STOP error, or CRASH!!!! that Windows XP suffers from.  Memory leak is actually not the fault of insufficient memory so much as poorly written software that causes a reduction in the amount of available memory over time.  My simplifying assumption is that if you start with more memory, then even if you have a leak, the computer will still run with more stability and for a longer period of time before the leak affects its performance significantly.

Whether memory is the cause of your particular problem, or not, I can't know, but consistent with my previous post, I'm merely suggesting that it certainly can't hurt.


Is your system overclocked? If so, set it all back to stock speed. Check your memory timing in the bios. Make sure its not on aggresive settings such as CAS2.
Check you event log, see if anything is there. (Start, Programs, Admin. Tools, Event Viewer). The event log should tell you why your system freezes.
Let me know what you find out.
i had the same trouble but it was due to fastfind wich scanned the HDDS every 41 hours to rebuild the index files ,if you didn't change the standard  setting .This operation slows down your computer,if you have a lot of HDD and a lot of partitions as me.
I ran accross these links while looking for memory leak information.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];177415
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];298102

http://labmice.techtarget.com/troubleshooting/memoryleaks.htm

While everything listed may not be applicable to XP, alot of it probably will be because XP is based, in part, on the NT operating system and, as such, functions similarly to both NT and 2000 in many respects.

Let us know how it's going.

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ASKER

Sorry I haven't been updating, I had school, and now I am away from my house, but I will be there later. I was going to open my computer up and dust it out, but I got tired last night, I will do that in a while when I get home. I will update after that.

-Cam
your system may be overheating, make sure the fan is working properly.
timothyfryer:
My point was that you CAN run XP with only 64MB (for example).  The performance will be nightmarishly slow, but simply not having enough physical RAM will not cause XP to freeze like what ltj3113 is experiencing.  Memory leaks are a completely separate issue, and can most certainly cause STOP errors, but are extremely unlikely to cause the system to completely freeze/hard lock with no response in the middle of doing something.

ltj3113:
Can you try running Task Manager (Start->Run->Taskmgr.exe) and monitor CPU usage levels?  After it comes up, click Options and select "Hide when minimized", then Minimize it.  It will show up as a green box by the clock. CPU activity is shown as a lighter green that rises and falls as CPU usage increases.  Next time it freezes, see if the CPU has maxed out, and/or periodically check the Performance tab to see if the CPU is running at 100% all the time. How much Physical Memory does it show installed Total, Available, and System Cache?  Also go to www.hmonitor.com and download/install the HMonitor program, it should show you a real-time indicator of your CPUs temperature.  If its over 60* Celcius, its too hot most likely.  The problem may lie with your power supply too, its it is cheap or faulty the power fluctuations could cause this (though generally a bad PSU will cause spontaneous reboots).

dogztar
Also, in addition to the hardware monitoring that dogztar suggested, you might also want to go to http://sysinternals.com and download two free utilities, filemon and regmon.  They can be configured to show a continuous list of the registry and file locations accessed.  If you turn your screensaver and hibernation features off such that your monitor is not blanked out, and leave the machine running all night while under load and connected to the network, then if it does freeze, these utilites might show the last place in the registry that was accessed and the last file accessed.  The results are sortable and can be saved to a text file which can then be opened by a works databse or similar for manipulation. They can also show a program that is consuming more resources than you might like, active desktop, for instance, which makes continuous ongoing quiries to the registry, thus slowing everything else down.
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ASKER

dogztar: I checked the CPU temp with SiSoftware Sandra and it is 29.9 C

And to everyone:
My specs:
(SiSoftware Sandra)

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) Processor
Speed : 1.10GHz
Model Number : 1100 (estimated)
Performance Rating : PR1463 (estimated)
Type : Standard
L2 On-board Cache : 256kB ECC Synchronous Write-Back

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA AGP PCI USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support : No
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : Award Software International, Inc. 6.00 PG
Mainboard :  <http://www.abit.com.tw> 8363-686A(KT7,KT7A,KT7-RAID,KT7A-RAID)
Total Memory : 255MB SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Abit Computer Corp KT7A Mainboard System Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 100MHz (200MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 256MB SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : Magnum/Xpert128/X99/Xpert2000
Imaging Device : Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 3300C

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : ST340824A
CD-ROM/DVD : CREATIVE CD5233E-CF
CD-ROM/DVD : PLEXTOR CD-R   PX-W4824A
CD-ROM/DVD : TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1502

Logical Storage Devices
1.44MB 3.5" (A:) : N/A
Hard Disk (C:) : 37.3GB (14.1GB, 38% Free) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (E:) : N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (F:) : N/A

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 2 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : PS/2 Compatible Mouse

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : Game Port for Creative
Device : Creative AudioPCI (ES1371,ES1373) (WDM)

Printers and Faxes
Model : hp deskjet 845c series
Model : hp deskjet 845c

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 5.01.2600

Network Adapter(s)
Network Drivers Enabled : Yes
Adapter : Intel(R) PRO/100+ Management Adapter

I don't know.. I just copied it from SiSoftware Sandra...

-Cam
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I'm going to open my computer up now, I will dust it out and the such..

-Cam
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Ok, I am back. I dusted it out (there wasn't much dust) and I got the numbers to update the BIOS and such..

-Cam
Cam-here's a little video thing on memory leak diagnosis using perfmon.exe in xp.  You can bring it up with start-run and typing perfmon into the run window.  While its probably more likely to be a sound driver issue, I suspect, does your scanner run an icon in the system tray, those things can get pretty buggy and I noticed some conflicts in a google search of scanjet with xp.  You might try disabling the scanjet software in msconfig to see if that helps, assuming there is any.

http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesks/webcasts/seminar/shared/asp/view.asp?url=/servicedesks/webcasts/en/wcd020200/manifest.xml&WMPVer=9.0.0.2980 
Also, did this just start happening all of a sudden, or did it start following the installation of some other hardware/software??  Have you tried updating any of your drivers?  Here is the updated video driver for your ATI card:
http://mirror.ati.com/support/drivers/winxp/winxpr1286133279.html

-dog*
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Timothyfryer- I just recently installed the scanner, so I know that isnt it.

Dogztar-I have done that update I dont know how many times, and it hasn't helped. And thats actaully the fist thing I did because thats what I thought it was. Actually, before (only two or three times) I got a blue screen with a stop message when it happened, and that said something about the ATI video card, so I figured I'd update it, but it hasn't seemed to help.. Unless the blue screen error was caused by an old driver, and I got that fixed, but it still freezes because of a different problem.. If any of that made sense.
I had a ATI Radeon 7500 before I switched to Nvidia and it almost drove me crazy trying to get it installed.  If you have a driver version installed other than the one that came on the original disk, I would clean it all out and reinstall the original driver.  That was the only way I could get mine to work.  I would try new update as they came out and, as I recall, not one ran with any stability on my machine.  ATI seems to be a good card once you do get it installed correctly, but they have a reputation for quirky driver software.  If your machine ran well when you first installed the ATI card, I would go back to that driver after doing a very thorough search and destroy of every single ATI driver file.  If you uninstall it and clean out the remnants and then restart back into normal mode, xp will probably mess it up by automatically installing the wrong version from some invisible cab file in the windows\system32\whoknows folder so restart it to safe mode and install it there.
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timothyfryer: I had the old driver before windows xp, but it didn't work with xp I guess, so I had to update. So I don't know if thats it.

e_sandrs: I got my BIOS updated, but not the chipset driver, I will look into that. Thanks


-Cam
You can get the chipset drivers from www.viaarena.com/?PageID=300 (VIA Hyperion driver)

As far as video drivers, ATI now offers a driver uninstaller program to scrub all the old driver information out of the system.  And the new Catalyst 4.2 was just released in the last day or two, so now is a good time to try it out.  Before installing, go here: http://www.ati.com/support/drivers/misc/catalystutils.html and get the ATI Uninstaller utility (and the SmartGART one too) and run them before installing the new drivers.  Also, check your BIOS for an option (probably in Advanced Chipset) for "AGP FastWrites Support" or similar, and disable it
Sorry, dogztar - but have to have a rare dissagreement with you.

The Vid card is an ATI Xpert200 or such, with a Rage (correct name?) chipset - not Radeon.

So, although your initial driver link was good - I don't think he can use the CatUninst.exe program to clean up, he won't have  SmartGART to remove, and he can't install the Cat4.2 drivers.
OOps ,youre right e_sandrs...I mixed up this Q and another I'm working with Radeon problems.  Sorry about that Cam
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well, i have been running my computer a lot and it hasn't frozen yet so that is a good sign.
i will update if something happens
DId you install the VIA Hyperoin drivers??
Here's Abit's driver download page for the KT7
http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/drivers.php?categories=1&model=92
You may have better luck with these chipset drivers-upgrade doesn't always mean that it works-these versions may be more compatible despite being earlier.
Also note usb driver download.  If your board is a 7A or raid board-backup a directory and goto the appropriate page.  
The VIA drivers Abit has are the exact same as the ones from VIA, the ones on that page are about 1.5 years out of date too...
Ok, I don't know much about drivers or BIOS, but I think that the individual motherboard manufacturer's get a customized BIOS from the makers like Award, for instance. for each kind of board.  It might be an off the shelf BIOS at Award, but when it goes out the door on the board, its tweaked to fit that board.  This has been my assumption anyway.  But I really don't know for sure.

Likewise, while Nvidia or ATI may have a standard driver for their chip, when it goes out the door on a Visiontek, for instance, its tweaked to Visiontek board.  Again, I don't know for sure if that's true but that is why I trust the original driver's more than the new ones.  Because the new ones are from the chipmaker and not the boardmaker.  Anybody want to wise me up would be great, because I really don't understand the process that well.
ltj3113, I have been experiencing the same issue for over 1-1/2 years on my laptop which is running the XP Home Edition and neither Compaq repair or M$ has been of any assistance. The event viewer is totally worthless as M$ removed all the pages linked by the hyper links. However, the same pages can be sent to you via paid support. Therefore, I am very curious where you obtained the BIOS update and if you updated the chipset driver.
If the screen is totally locking up where you cant move anything(not even slowly) then I would say that RAM is deffinatly in need to replacment and then the system should see if it still does it. It screams out RAM to me.
I had similar problems on two different computer systems.
Freezing, locking up, often, no error message was displayed.

One was resolved by replacing the NVIDIA card with an ATI video card.

The other was resolved by replacing the Pentium Mobile CPU.

The following solution worked for me.

Save all critical data.
Wipe the drive.
Install the original software.
Deactivate automatic nofification and updates.
Install a GOOD firewall and an AVP.

To remove "junk" from the registry, use only the registry cleaner available from Ontrack's Fix-It Utilities. I have tried every registry cleaner available and have found the registry cleaner to be the only safe and effective cleaner on the market. Other cleaners remove too much or do not enough.  Regardsless, my laptop has been performing perfectly.  

Microsoft will not offer support since Compaq modifies the XP OS.
Compaq will not reveal changes made to the system.
SP1 will cause the system to freeze in addition to a few other critical updates.
Compaq, even after spending $40 to speak with one of their call center script reading techs will only tell you not to install any updates.

The fix is not the ideal solution, but it works.

I will never buy a Compaq again, and thanx to my influence, the company I work for will never purchase another one and neither will any of the many, many customers I assist.
i had the same trouble  due to an old l game trying to install directx before to indicate that it is not compatible with this OS. i got a error message only during the directx diagnose, in all other application the PC was running slowly or hanged after some mouse click (or was so slow that it was impossible to use the mouse)!!
I have worked on some very annoying problems such as these for years.
Freeze-ups, lock-ups, mouse and keyboard stop responding.

The problem in most cases was a hardware issue.
However, identifying the defective component can be difficult,
since there often never any ( or never any meaningful ) error
message or system/application event log message.

Also, reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling all of the
software, or updating the BIOS and drivers never resolved the problem.  
Tweaking some OS and video parameters would sometimes change
the behavoir slightly, but never completely resolve the problem.  

As eluded earlier, after investigating all possible software problems
(e.g. BIOS, drivers, OS updates/service packs, etc.) the problem
is often a hardware problem and identifying the culprit can be difficult.

The most likely culprits (in order of highest probability) is:
(01)   First, re-seat all cables and connectors;
(02)   Motherboard (this was the culprit once);
(03)   Video Card (this was the culprit once);
(04)   Memory modules;
(05)   CPU (this was the culprit once);
(06)   DVD-RW/CD-RW drive;
(07)   Sound Card;
(08)   LCD;
(09)   keyboard;
(10)   modem;

Two of the most difficult instances of this took many (3-to-18) months
to COMPLETELY and definitively resolve (by first reseating all cables and
connectors, then replacing one part at a time; e.g. start with motherboard,
then video card, then memory, then CPU, then DVD/CD Drive, then LCD,
wireless card, modem, etc.; in that order).

In these two instances, the system would freeze up, the mouse
and keyboard would become very sluggish and/or stop responding,
the display would sometimes freeze up, and there was usually no
error message of any kind in the system/application event logs.
The solution in these two instances (on two different computers),
the problem was completely resolved by:
(1)   replacing the video card (after replacing the motherboard
       did not help).
(2)   replacing the Pentium Mobile CPU (after replaceing the
       motherboard and video card did not help).

Unfortunately, most people don't have all of these spare
parts (or experience, or patience) to run these tests.  

So, after you have exhausted all of the possible software bugs,
and the problem persists, you should probably find a good
tech-support that can isolate the bad part.
Hey guys...the problem has been resolved for over 3 months:
Comment from ltj3113
Date: 02/17/2004 06:57PM CST
Author Comment  

well, i have been running my computer a lot and it hasn't frozen yet so that is a good sign.
i will update if something happens
 
So I think you can stop now...
dogztar
Here's how to repair the USB (mouse--or any USB device) freeze in XP!!!

I've experienced an IntelliMouse freeze with XP for the past 2 weeks, been looking for new mouse drivers (none) and found a MS KB article how to uninstall the hardware, remove all references from the registry, etc, then reboot and let XP load the right drivers.

This made it worse...it was breaking even before I could do 3 mouse clicks after a reboot!

What I just discovered is Power Management settings for certain devices is the cause. In Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Manager....the mouse and the USB root hub controller(s) (last item in my list of hardware) have a Power Management default to allow XP to "turn off the device to save power."

When I unchecked this feature, there is no more cursor hesitation, no frozen and/or lost cursor! I think the XP Clock for power management gets "sick"...anyone able to verify this?
I had the same issue on two SIS chipset machines.

XP Pro sp 1 on both.

1 was a Duron 850 and about 18 months old. The other is a P4 2.6.

Everything worked OK until I went to Windows update.

If I uninstall the updates - no problem.

If I update other than the security hole patches - the PC's freeze.

Maybe SIS chipsets have an issue with some of these updates??

Have fun.

Doug
Try this simple fix. Replace the power supply with a GOOD QUALITY one. either AMtec or AOpen 300-350Watt. I have fixed dozens of these problems, caused by cheap and nasty power supplies. Good luck!
Looks like a videocard problem to me change that.
Well try this go in google and research ultimate boot disk and burn it this is a test boot disk
You all really need to see here: http:#10345816

THE QUESTION IS ALREADY RESOLVED!

dogztar
Thanx dogztar, but the issue is still being discussed by a few others (including me) that still have the issue.

jenelle_a, thank you for the suggestion.  Changing the Power Management setting for the the mouse and the USB root hub controller (especially if a port replicator is being used via a USB port) does make sense since in the XP upgrades, the mouse drivers are updated. Even if an external mouse is not being used, the touch pad would time out causing a freezing problem. However, I do not believe the mouse timing out would prevent the alternate-control-delete from working. Regardless, I am going to perform some research as the USB root hub controller may affect the feature.

Thanx again.

OK, good luck.
DesertOutlaw,
I don't have a problem with ctrl+alt+delete--I can still use this or the Start key to shut down--I just need to use the tab key and arrow keys to navigate thru active fields--which is fairly challenging in Outlook and most web sites.

Also, the "instant updater" is set to request permission/inform me of updates (the message dialog is a general "windows update," not specifics about mouse drivers)

In any event, I have been running mouse-freeze free for an entire week, incredibly stable compared to the 5 or 10 or 20 reboots a day. Also, a complete shutdown does more cleanup and resetting than a restart.

I'm using a natural keyboard and a USB-compatible (but with the 7 or 9 pin circular plug) 2-button with wheel (the old-fashioned) mouse--with a wire to the back of the box...not anything wireless or fancy. For kicks/baseline, I plugged in a Logitech Trackman to a USB port in the back of my machine. It is not automagically recognized, and it is not active at this time. And the system settings indicate the round 9-pin plug is recognized by a USB controller. Otherwise, I know nothing about a USB Hub other than it appears in my system configuration (choose Start|Settings|ControlPanel|System, click the Hardware tab, and then click the Device Manager button)...USB Serial Bus Controller has 3 identical subheadings for USB Root Hubs. And when I open any of those, my mouse starts to behave ominously (in an erratic and disappearing fashion)...

Like Leonardo dissecting a cadaver....I'm not going to poke that nerve (or tendon) again.


Thanx dogztar, but the issue is still being discussed by a few others (including me) that still have the issue.

jenelle_a, thank you for the suggestion.  Changing the Power Management setting for the the mouse and the USB root hub controller (especially if a port replicator is being used via a USB port) does make sense since in the XP upgrades, the mouse drivers are updated. Even if an external mouse is not being used, the touch pad would time out causing a freezing problem. However, I do not believe the mouse timing out would prevent the alternate-control-delete from working. Regardless, I am going to perform some research as the USB root hub controller may affect the feature.

Thanx again.
 
OK, I've upgraded to SP2 and my mouse freeze is ongoing. The USB Intellimouse problem, I learned today can be "quickly addressed" by unplugging and re-plugging the USB connection. This will wear out the connectors (I think), but it beats rebooting!

I just read the post from ernes suggesting I review Event Viewer (admin tool).

A consistent message appears:

Counter: \\JENELLE-WYNESLM\System\System Calls/sec has tripped its alert threshold. The counter value of 2789.68240514819 is over the limit value of 1500.

or

Counter: \\JENELLE-WYNESLM\System\System Calls/sec has tripped its alert threshold. The counter value of 2028.76703030698 is over the limit value of 1500.

where the counter AND limit values vary from 5 to that huge weird number (or max 1500) you see above.

This is Sys Mon Log (information) message is virtually 100% of the Event Viewer log.

How do I "fix" whatever is setting (or not resetting) this number?  

I notice the pointer "jumps" to certain areas of the screen, presumably a "jump to button" setting in IE or other applications that access the internet ,including Outlook, advertising areas of an HTM page...even if this "jump to" area is BENEATH the currently active window.

 I'm certain someone knows about "priority" areas on a page (buttons, links)...but why would my system allow these settings to take precedence even when they're UNDER the active window?  

An anecdotal similarity: When I had Windows 98 and dial-up AOL (a brief subscription, quickly curtailed because of this phenomenon), I had to be certain not to mouse over, or allow the cursor to be anywhere near, the links on the AOL main screen. I had to make sure the mouse was in the top left corner of the screen when connecting with the internet, then carefully navigate the cursor AROUND any text/links to get to the EMAIL button. If I moused over any links (news, anything) on the default AOL window, I'd get a blue screen or frozen system (alt+tab didn't even work) and I'd have to reboot my computer.

How can I repair the "setting" of this system calls counter--not the MAX; rather, the counter that comes up with a number that has 11 decimal places?????

I didn't want to post my own question, so I figured I would post it here.

I have friend who's computer used to have this same problem. The computer probably still has the problem, we wouldn't know because he bought a new computer this last summer, and the old one has been left untouched.

The problem is though. This said friend's dad is building him a new bedroom, and his dad has told him that he may have the New computer in his bedroom.

The thing is we have to get the old computer to stop freezing. We've tried every OS possible. 98, ME, 2k, XP. etc. We pretty much narrowed it down to either, Processor, Motherboard, or Power Supply. What I am wondering is if there is any easy way to telll which one is causing the problem. The computer is a Intel Celeron 500mhz, with a 12GB Maxtor HD. Last known configuration was Windows 2000, with 256MB of ram. A CD-Burner, and a normal CD-Rom drive. Not that, this matters.

Anyway my friend doesn't think it's the Processor, because he believes if the processor was dead, or dying. It would not boot at all. I think the computer is just overheating, in the summer we have to keep a fan on the computer. He doesn't have air conditioning. Just so we can keep the temps below overheating. If there is no fan in the summer, the computer gives us the warning signal.

I also say it might be the motherboard, because of some of the bad transistors that came out of Taiwan a while back. Just not this long ago I think. All in all it might just be a shitty computer, his dad saw it on TV and mostly purchased it for the extras.

Please we need your help on getting this fixed, let us know what you might think.
I've had the same problem for months. My desktop PC (XP PRO AMD 1900) freezed w/o warning, and w/o obvious triggers.
The freezing left no traceability of any error, not on any windows log (not even dr. watson, event viewer...).

I've tried multiple quick fixes, some of them recommended in this thread. I even tried replacing memory modules, new cables... nothing worked.
In my case the problem seemed to be HW related, since my PC is now behaving normal after disabling all unneeded USB connections.
This is how I did it:

- right click on MY COMPUTER and select MANAGE
- clcik on DEVICE MANAGER, select UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLERS
- right click on the USB ROOT HUB, select DISABLE,  repeat each hub
- then you may start enabling one HUB at a time until you identify the faulty device.

It worked for me, I hope my solution may help someone else.

Cheers!
Spaniard