PC lock up

[Supergoal]

Another problem. I think if I don't get through this problem I'll give up the PC.

Anyway, until today my 2 week old PC was running fine with no lock ups.

This morning however, I was playing Crysis for a couple of hours when during the game it suddenly froze and a constant looping sound played.

I manually rebooted the PC only to find since the in game crash, my PC now randomly locks up and then becomes totally unresponsive. Not even Ctl Alt Del can bring up the task manager.

I can load up the desktop, I can do things as normal but sooner rather than later it will lock up and then I have to manual boot. Even idling on the desktop will eventually lock up the system within a few minutes.

I know it could be a million things all possibly happening. The first thing I need to work out is, is it software or hardware related.

Any help please...

[briareos_kerensky]

Check the fans, maybe the video card isn't properly cooled.
I had this problem once with a Radeon 9700, though it could operate in 2D mode just fine.

[Supergoal]

Check the fans, maybe the video card isn't properly cooled.
I had this problem once with a Radeon 9700, though it could operate in 2D mode just fine.

Yeah it could be, though it's odd how it's been fine for 2 weeks and now it crashes even on the desk top.

[abigsmurf]

Most likely hardware, sounds like a bios level halt if it's not rebooting or blue screening.

Get speedfan, check out your temps and voltages. Temps above 90c are generally pretty bad, CPU or GPU. If your voltages are significantly out from what they're supposed to be (12V is the usual suspect, if you're getting <11V, it's a sign the PSU isn't coping).

CPU overheating usually results in the PC beeping at your though, GPU overheating gives artifacts and the PSU not coping usually results in the PC rebooting.

Check your HDD and RAM. Memtest or memory benchmarking tools are good for identifying RAM issues, check disk is reasonable for HDD errors (also look up on the bios to see if it's giving SMART errors).

[Supergoal]

Most likely hardware, sounds like a bios level halt if it's not rebooting or blue screening.

Get speedfan, check out your temps and voltages. Temps above 90c are generally pretty bad, CPU or GPU. If your voltages are significantly out from what they're supposed to be (12V is the usual suspect, if you're getting <11V, it's a sign the PSU isn't coping).

CPU overheating usually results in the PC beeping at your though, GPU overheating gives artifacts and the PSU not coping usually results in the PC rebooting.

Check your HDD and RAM. Memtest or memory benchmarking tools are good for identifying RAM issues, check disk is reasonable for HDD errors (also look up on the bios to see if it's giving SMART errors).

Right, I was thinking too that CPU, GFX card issues would result in reboots and blue screens, none of which I get.
It just locks after a few minutes of desk top use, even light use.

It never asked me to reboot or does it itself. Just I have to manually do it since nothing responds and the cursor timer continuously moves.

[Supergoal]

I've actually got the PC in question running now on the desktop. (I'm using a different PC to use these forums)

Just fiddling about now, I've noticed something odd. Just by trying to open a few folders, programs, the PC is taking a long time to open them on occasion, and as it looks like it's about to lock up, it eventually opens the folders or programs.

Like a tipping point, if I were to open a lot of folders or a heavy program it would lock up completely.

[Hohum]

Could possibly be hard drive failure. Check the event viewer under administrative tools, see if there's anything recorded under error/warning categories related to storage controllers or devices.

[dragonfly10]

You should really run some memory tests for a few hours. I had similar problems with a new custom built pc and it turned out to be a memory issue. The system even crashed on me while I tried to format the hard disk or install Windows. The only stable environment was the BIOS.

[abigsmurf]

To be honest, if this is a store bought pre-built you don't need to do any of this.

It's almost certainly a hardware fault, it should be covered by whatever warrenty you got.

[Supergoal]

Right, I got so annoyed I re-installed the OS

Surprisingly it hasn't locked up since doing so. I've played Crysis, ran some programs and surfed the web.

I still have this feeling it will come back, but it's truly weird.

With that in mind, any ideas what it could have been?

If it happens again, I can't return the whole machine. I built it myself! (maybe a lesson in don't do that again)

[Hohum]

Don't know - did you check event viewer before reinstalling the O/S? All evidence is gone otherwise (until it happens again, of course).

[Supergoal]

How would I check the event viewer?

[Hohum]

Control panel > Admin tools > Event viewer

[Supergoal]

ANOTHER f-ing problem...

I was using the PC fine, until just now it started to crash and lock up when using firefox. I then was able to shut it down through the START menu and then re booted. Only to find that it won't load past the Windows Logo. I tried safe mode and that too won't boot. I tried the system repair tool after but that also crashes when trying to fix the problem. WTF..

I'm very close to throwing the damn thing out the window...

[abigsmurf]

Sounds almost certain it's the HDD now.

Try getting a USB bootable linux with HDD repair tools, try to run some disk checkers just to verify it's getting physical errors before you RMA it.