[elsavako]

HI Ron,

sorry for a late response!!

I'll be running the test tonight, so will keep you posted.

I also ran the following:
1. windows memory test - no errors identified.
2. restored the computer to the time when it didn't have issues. I noticed that on that day tons of windows updates were installed so thought one of them might have been causing an issue. No help so will probably re-do the restore.

hopefully will manage to run the memtest tonight.

thanks! anna

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OK no problem and no hurry on the tests. I'm here when you post the results.

[rshaffer61]

OK no problem and no hurry on the tests. I'm here when you post the results.

[elsavako]

Hi Ron,


re memtest86 - 6 passes, 0 errors. phew -at least smth good today
also reversed system restore I ran earlier, so all windows updates are now installed and extra software gone.

haven't run the HD test. shall I try to do that again?

my hinch is it is not a hardware issue but maybe smth wrong with W7?

FYI - my laptop has a history of bad fans, have changed several times. However when fan was an issue it would a) make loud noise; b) computer would shut down (to prevent hd overheating) not freeze partially (mouse and keyboard work) like it does now.

was thinking of restoring to factory settings - which means it would become vista again and i'll have to upgrade to windows 7. a long story
what do you suggest? Anna

[elsavako]

now trying to burn HD test to a CD using Image burn but it isn't working trying reinstalling but it freezes and says
'searching for SCSI / ATAPI services'. What's up with that one?

Also I noticed computer gets stuck sometimes in the middle of whatever for a minute or two, totally frozen. (so even mouse and keyboard do not work).


I guess I'm totally screwed, amn't I?


Anna

[rshaffer61]

Just for general purposes please do the following.

Download Speedfan (The download link is to the right), and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows.
The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
To make sure we are getting all the correct information it would help us if you were to attach a screenshot like the one below of your Speedfan results.

To do a screenshot please have click on your Print Screen on your keyboard.

• It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key
• Now go to Start and then to All Programs
• Scroll to Accessories and then click on Paint
• In the Empty White Area click and hold the CTRL key and then click the V
• Go to the File option at the top and click on Save as
• Save as file type JPEG and save it to your Desktop
• Attach it to your next reply

[elsavako]

Hi,

here it is... strangely no info on fans!

thanks! Anna

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[rshaffer61]

Doesn't surprise me at all being a laptop. Lets try a different program and see what it shows.
Please download and run Hardware Monitor
Installation (setup version only)
HWMonitor is a hardware monitoring program that reads PC systems main health sensors : voltages, temperatures, fans speed.
The program handles the most common sensor chips, like ITE® IT87 series, most Winbond® ICs, and others. In addition, it can read modern CPUs on-die core thermal sensors, as well has hard drives temperature via S.M.A.R.T, and video card GPU temperature. Please get a screenshot of the sensors window and post it in your next reply.

[elsavako]

Hi, here it is (attached)

perhaps worth mentioning that when computer freezes the online radio continues to play, time also goes on and mouse moves around...but all programs are 'hanging'..

and I couldn't run HD test from the CD despite changing booting sequence

[elsavako]

Hi, it's getting worse I think
For the first time after a freeze the screen went greyish while everything else seemed to be running and that after a relatively recent reboot.
Yesterday surprisingly I managed to watch a movie w-o a disruption.
Also at the restarts it doesn't check C drive for consistency all the time.

[rshaffer61]

OK first thing is the HD test as it looks as though it's not using the right test or the disk is burned wrong. I don't see any other reason it won't boot to the cdrom when you reboot.
Since the memtest86 worked fine I suspect either the disk was burned wrong or the file itself is wrong.

Secondly the temps and voltages don't look bad.
Thirdly when this happens what kind of surface is the laptop sitting on. IE: table, desk, bed, pillow?


Thirdly can you do the following.



Go to Start then to Run
Type in compmgmt.msc and click Enter
On left side click on Disk Management
On right side you will see you hard drive.
Male sure the window is open all the way on the top right so I can see all the info it has.
Now I need you to take a screenshot and attach it to your next reply. Do the following to take a screenshot while the above is open and showing on your desktop.

To do a screenshot please have click on your Print Screen on your keyboard. It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key
Now go to Start and then to All Programs
Scroll to Accessories and then click on Paint
In the Empty White Area click and hold the CTRL key and then click the V
Go to the File option at the top and click on Save as
Save as file type JPEG or PNG and save it to your Desktop
Make sure the window is open all the way so I can see everything on the top right window.


Attach it to your next reply

[elsavako]

Hi Ron,

thanks!

so going backwards

1. Attached the screenshot

2. The computer sits on a table. (yesterday it was on a pillow when I could watch a movie - maybe I should cover it with a duvet )

3. CAn you please confirm the HD test I'm using? I got from here
http://www.tacktech....ay.cfm?ttid=287
the CD image version for Hitachi

as i mentioned this link
Hitachi DFT doesn't have an image version of a test and whatever it is doesn't work.

(the freezes get pretty bad:( )

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[rshaffer61]

First having the laptop is bad because it greatly restricts air flow. Your screenshot looks good so it doesn't look like a space issue for sure. Please do the following and let me know the results.

Download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop

• Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
• It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
• Click the Start button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
• Once it's finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.

Background info courtesy of DonnaB Thank you

As for TFC, this is a tidbit of an article I found a while back by a MicroSoft MVP.

TFC (Temp File Cleaner) will clear out all temp folders for all user accounts (temp, IE temp, java, FF, Opera, Chrome, Safari), including Administrator, All Users, LocalService, NetworkService, and any other accounts in the user folder. It also cleans out the %systemroot%\temp folder and checks for .tmp files in the %systemdrive% root folder, %systemroot%, and the system32 folder (both 32bit and 64bit on 64bit OSs). It shows the amount removed for each location found (in bytes) and the total removed (in MB).

Before running, it will stop Explorer and all other running applications. When finished, if a reboot is required the user must reboot to finish clearing any in-use temp files.
-- TFC only cleans temp folders.
-- TFC will not clean URL history, prefetch, or cookies. Depending on how often someone cleans their temp folders, their system hardware, and how many accounts are present, it can take anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or more. TFC will completely clear all temp files where other temp file cleaners may fail.

Download Auslogics Defrag from the link in my signature below. Auslogics Defrag in my opinion is better because:

It does a more comprehensive job at Defragging
It will actually show you what it is doing
At the end of working it will show you how much speed you picked up
You can view a online log of the files that Auslogics defragged
Please do not run any other Auslogics programs other then this one as they may cause unwanted results.
http://auslogics.com...defrag/download

[elsavako]

Hi, done both.
After TFC manually restarted the computer.

Haven't restarted though after the defrag. It also identified 169 registry errors and suggested I download something else...

shall I wait till another (or not!) freeze now?

thanks!

[rshaffer61]

Do not download any suggested programs other then what I instruct. Let me know if it freezes again and then we will continue if need be.

[elsavako]

yes, it does freeze

somehow i have a feeling it freezes at inaction - if I just have it on w-o doing anything on it.. could that be?