Very odd PC problem...

[Tsuyu]

Recently my PC has been being very naughty. I get this problem where after I turn it on, there is a random chance that it at any time might just freeze - totally freeze up with the only course of action available being to manually reboot it.

However...

After this has happened a random number of times, the PC just magically stops freezing! Always the same routine: a few freezes and reboots, and then it works. If I didn't know better, it is almost as if something is "too cold" and it needs to have been "warmed up" by running for a while in order to not freeze! Utterly bizarre.

I have no clue, and most likely you guys have no clue either, but I thought I might as well throw it out there.

Help me Obi-Wan. You're my only hope.

 

[Gikoku]

Have you checked to see if you have any malware/virus on your computer?

If not, I would try Malwarebytes & Avast and do a scan.

 

[Dark Drakan]

I cleared my boot queue/startup programs the other day and noticed quite a large performance difference. Id certainly try Scotts suggestion first however.

 

[TRA Rotid]

Asked my PC nerd friends and:

"difficult one.. could be anything from fans powering up too late (should definitely check aka observe and clean all cooling components inside the case) up to not 100% attached cabling up to a faulty psu. also definitely load default bios setup values for a start. that is all i can come up with at the moment, should maybe check things in the order mentioned."

"Well if its not software problem than first you need to check AC - 70% chance and Motherboard - 20% chance. 10% chance that it can be any other sh1t that you have inside chassis. Check also if CPU is not overheating (fan can be to dusty to work on optimal speed from start) and if voltage on it is stable (but if its not you should get some beeps from motherboard)"

Edit: for clarification - AC means PSU

 

[Tsuyu]

Nvidia actually.

Malwarebytes did find around 8 suspicious files, including one involved with Nvidia.

Hopefully that was it.

 

[Tsuyu]

Malwarebytes? Oh boy...

....?

 

[Dark Drakan]

Have you had the problem since?

 

[Tsuyu]

I haven't checked. Had the PC running all night to scan with Malwarebytes.

 

[Dark Drakan]

I haven't checked. Had the PC running all night to scan with Malwarebytes.

Defragged recently? Mine normally takes about 10mins to scan with Malwarebytes. :lol:

 

[Tsuyu]

With the Quick Scan option I would probably have the same result. I did the full scan of two 500 gig+ harddrives. Took around 3 hours or so I believe.

 

[L0ki]

To me, it sounds like a PSU or GPU problem. Your PSU or GPU is probably dying. How long have you had them for?

Also, what model of nVidia card do you have? I had a few problems with GTX 460s before. In-fact, when one of them was dying, it did exactly this. When it didn't freeze on start up, I would try playing games, I'd be able to play for about 10 minutes, and then it freezes on me.

 

[Azer249]

To me, it sounds like a PSU or GPU problem. Your PSU or GPU is probably dying. How long have you had them for?

Also, what model of nVidia card do you have? I had a few problems with GTX 460s before. In-fact, when one of them was dying, it did exactly this. When it didn't freeze on start up, I would try playing games, I'd be able to play for about 10 minutes, and then it freezes on me.

I agree with the Psu part.

I know you've probably already herd this but try updating your drivers for the Nvidia card via a clean install. They just recently released some beta drivers (304.79) and my computer has been using them, running fine. If that dosen't work you can use a program called CPU-ID hardware monitor to check the loads and temperatures of your computer, you can then compare them against the retailers reccomended and see if they are over-heating causing your 'failsafe' that is set in your bios to activate.

If you need i can find the recommended temperatures for you if you list your computer specs.

 

[Tsuyu]

I've not had it happen since I removed that malware within the NVidia folder with Malwarebytes.

Hopefully that was it.

I really hope so. Hardware problems are not within my budget right now...