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General discussion

Computer Freezing Problems

Feb 18, 2015 8:38AM PST

This post is going to be long and detailed as I have now had this problem for over 2 months.

Let me first define what I mean by "freezing".
Freezing, in this case, means my monitors get stuck (freeze) on whatever is on the screen at the time. Not a pixel will change. Audio cuts out as well. Everything else works fine though, my mouse and keyboard stay turned on and all components/lights inside the case remain working normally. Even the light on my headset.

That being said, it leads me to believe its a graphical issue. However, I've tried multiple monitors, different coords, etc. Everything just short of replacing my gpu.

The first freeze occured about 5 minutes in to my inital boot when I was installing windows. It took 3 tries before it went fully through the install without freezing.

Additionally, I can get it to freeze about 90% of the time I plug my phone in to the usb 3.0 slot and about 70% of the time in the 2.0s. Sometimes it takes a few minutes after I plug it in but you can't hide from the innevitable.

Pre RMA'ing motherboard:
-Froze about 3-4 times per day.(Almost unusable)

Post RMA:
-Did not freeze after I got the new one for 2 weeks!!
-Froze after I bumped the case. (not even very hard either)
- Froze numerous times after that until it slowed down to the current 1-2 freezes per day. (excluding the few where I had my phone plugged in)

Other Things I've tried:
-Reseated both sticks of RAM and cpu multiple times.
-Made sure everything is plugged in. 99% sure its plugged in RIGHT as this is my first build.
-Made sure the motherboard was in the case correctly (standoffs, tabs on the i/o shield, etc)
-Built the full thing outside of the case. (Eliminates the mobo shorting out on the case)

Full build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Tempers/saved/NpFxFT
My ram is not listed on pcpartpicker so here that is:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Any help is greatly appreciated. Every time it freezes, my stomach just drops with defeat as I am completely lost on this problem..

-Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Scratching.
Feb 19, 2015 10:28AM PST

You can't be sure what ports go to which chipset so take your finding and like the doctor said to "Doc, it hurts when I do this."

"Don't do that."

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Because of USB 3.0 chipset issues.
Feb 19, 2015 10:13AM PST

I reread the above and it seems like when you use USB 3.0 ports it locks up. So the fix is to not use those, disable if possible.

There are so many posts about iffy USB 3.0 ports that I won't start another.
Bob

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freeze issue
Feb 20, 2015 12:19PM PST

Sounds to me like you need to change out the hard drive, it has gone bad.

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Though of that
Feb 20, 2015 5:09PM PST

I've thought that many a time. Don't have the money to buy a new one. Currently it's only freezing when I plug my phone coord into a 3.0 port so I can bear this for quite some time.

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Another approach
Feb 20, 2015 8:32PM PST

Dear Destructionx80,

Two issues listed : 1/ install fails and 2/ freezing on connecting a USB 3 device. May I offer some suggestions aimed at ruling out some causes?

1/ download a Linux LiveCD/ DVD such as Lubuntu, burn to disk on a 'known to be good' computer, and pick the 'verify after writing' option. You should now have a reliable disk from which to start checking.
Slip the DVD into the drive at your new troublesome computer and boot from CD/ DVD : after the language selection page you'll get five options.
Select option 4 : test memory and allow to run for a while - make that a couple of hours, as some problems only become apparent after a while.
If the memory test completes without a hitch DVD-drive, Mobo, memory, CPU and graphics card can be ruled out as cause of a freeze with occurs after just a few minutes.

2/ Freezing on connecting a USB 3 device : assume you can successfully connect that device to another computer, using the same driver version, without freezing that computer? What happens if you connect another similar device to the USB ports in question?

From experience : 1/ Memtest86++ (which is what runs from the Lubuntu disk) found an infrequent hitch in one memory module which other memory testers did not spot. 2/ You're not using firewire, but I'll mention a problem I solved years ago as it also runs at a higher rate than USB2; that problem was traced to a sub-standard component, in that instance the controller in the device, and barely the standard. Further on sub-standard components: a wireless access point initially caused one netbook to loose connection, some while later the notebook couldn't connect either, finally the smartphone lost connectivity. It seems components may function with some, and malfunction with other devices.

Your conclusion that you can do without the phone to USB connection to the phone seems sensible, what bothers me is that knocking the case caused a freeze : something isn't right, and as you checked all visible wiring : could there be an issue in the power supply unit? To find out : remove PSU and hard disk from case, knock case, then knock PSU - repeat if you need to, with some luck that freeze can be traced eventually.

Best of luck, and please let us know how you fared : adds to the knowledge of those who gave their time to suggest ways to solve.

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Thank You
Feb 21, 2015 1:48AM PST

I'm not home currently but I'll be sure to try your suggestions. It seems like I have 2 separate issues causing the same type of freeze. I'll update you how the tests go later,.

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Update time
Feb 21, 2015 1:45AM PST

Let me take the time to update my issue. I am yet to get a freeze in the past maybe 4-5 days that I didn't intentionally cause by plugging in my cord to the 3.0 slot. However, just this morning, I tried all 3.0 ports with my phone cord and somehow, someway, it did not freeze. I'm 100% stumped.

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If you read the prior 3.0 discussions.
Feb 21, 2015 3:28AM PST

Same stumpers out there. If it works, carry on as a Windows update could have fixed it. It's a widespread issue.
Bob

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should I worry?
Feb 21, 2015 4:30AM PST

If this is a widespread issue, should I worry about it at all or should I just carry on? I'll still try some of the previous suggestions though.

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(NT) If it's working, carry on.
Feb 21, 2015 4:52AM PST
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computer freezing
Feb 21, 2015 3:22AM PST

not sure if this is your problem but after months of computer freezing i finally saw on my ie page at the far right is a search bar and found binkiland there click on it and says it is default page to search.looked up binkiloand and it is a web browser stealer and watches your computer see if on your computer get rid of it so far computer doesn't freeze and more and run faster.

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Thanks All!
Feb 21, 2015 6:29AM PST

Thanks to everyone who tried to help. Hopefully this issue doesn't reoccur and I can finally rest easy.

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BUMP FREEZE CONTINUED.
Feb 21, 2015 9:33AM PST

That means there is some loose board, cable or even a screw/metal bit floating around the insides.

I would not attribute a bump freeze to the wrong PSU or driver. It's a mechanical issue.
Bob

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How the problem has evolved
Feb 21, 2015 1:59PM PST

It started out happening all the time at random. However j may have had a keyboard it something plugged in to a 3.0. Then I rma'd my motherboard and it stopped for 2 weeks until I bumped the case slightly. It went on to freeze only 5-6 times after that initial bump freeze before it stopped. NOW it's only freezing when I have something in a 3.0. I'm ruling out my recent table bump freeze because I had my phone in a 3.0 at the time.
So it seems I have 2 issues..
1. Bump freezes. This only happened once as stated above.
2. Random freezes while a usb is in a 3.0.

I'm not necessarily worried about the freezes with the 3.0 usbs. I can live with that. But the bump freezes makes me worry I have a bad part. Still don't know how they could cause the same type of freeze though.

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test
Feb 23, 2015 5:43AM PST

test