not a virus....

I've been having trouble for a couple of weeks with my computer freezing. There doesn't seem to be any specific thing that initiates the freeze. Once the computer is shut down after a freeze, I've noticed that I usually have to let it rest for several minutes before restarting or else it does not reboot successfully. I've done all the virus scans and they've come up clean. Any ideas what this could be?

 

Possibly a refresh of your thermal paste.
Sounds almost heat related.

 

I would think it is heat related too but then there are times like today where the computer had been shut off all night and after starting it this morning it froze almost immediately and again when i restarted it. Is there a way to determine what piece of hardware is overheating or not working properly? Could it be the video card? I guess this might be a hardware issue, repost? At any rate, where would I put the thermal paste?

 

You might want to rule out a problem with the HD. Run a chkdsk /r on the C: drive. And then a maybe a HD diagnostic to make sure it passes the short test and maybe the extended test if you want to be thorough.

Chkdsk would be Computer>right-click the C: drive and select Properties. Then under Tools tab choose Check Now. In window that opens tick both boxes and hit Start button. It will schedule for next reboot. Reboot. that will fix any problems in the file system and move any file that might be in a bad area of the HD.

The manufacturer's diagnostic is just another test to see if there are any bad areas on the HD. You can find your diagnostic here. A Windows version is available for Western Digital and Seagate drives, other brands may have only DOS versions that have to be written to CD and then you boot to the CD to run the program. If yours is not WD or Seagate and you don't want to bother running the DOS test that is fine. I'm just giving suggestions to rule out the HD, it may still be a heat issue.

 

As far as heat goes, check all the intake/ouput vents on the computer. make sure they are not blocked with dust and such. If you can, take the case off and, with the machine powered OFF, blow any dust inside out. Clean the fan blades as well, that buildup can cause the fan to run slower and shorten its life.

If a laptop, and it feels overly warm in spots, get one of thos under the laptop fans to set it on. Or just elevate it with a few wood or plastic sticks. Anything to improve airflow under the laptop...

 

Thanks guys! I blew the dust out first and then ran the scan on the hard drive. Hard drive didn't report any problems and it hasn't been acting up anymore so I guess it was just dust. One weird thing though, my video settings reverted to a low resolution and when I switched it back to HD, the screen became shaky.... so i was going to give a it a day or so and try it again but it seems like I will need a new video card...weird. But again, thanks for your help, cipher and sach2.