Windows 8.1 locking up intermittently

dusf

New Member
Messages
17
Hi

I built my computer a few weeks ago and it has been working great although sometimes it locks up completely. This has happened when I am in front of the computer but also when I leave it alone for some time and come back to find it frozen or barely responding before becoming completely frozen. The CPU is an Intel i5-4690K, 8GB of Crucial RAM, I use a gigabyte board, MSI GTX 970, and a Samsung EVO SSD. I am do not overclock any of the components. I use this system almost exclusively for gaming and some BitTorrent downloading using the Deluge client. Reinstalling Windows did not solve the issue. I have tried opening task manager when the issue occurred, to see if something is using up all of the memory, CPU, or reading or writing from the SSD too much, only to receive an error advising it could not be found - task manager worked fine on reboot. Trying to launch RealTemp.exe I received the following error: the application failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command line too sxstrace.exe tool for more detail'. After that another error appeared with no title on the window: 'open driver handle failure!'. When ever this happens it eventually results in my having to cold reboot the computer.

Have you ever encountered this issue or heard of something similar?

Is there logs somewhere I could check after rebooting to see what is causing the problem?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, Ubuntu 13.10, Debian 7, and Kali 1.0.6
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Zenbook UX32A
    CPU
    Intel i5 3317U
    Motherboard
    Intel® HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Browser
    Firefox and Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast Free ad Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
I take it you aren't talking about the laptop in your system specs. What kind of GPU or just the Intel? Is the PSU large enough? The latest motherboard drivers especially chipset installed?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
hello,

right after you install fresh windows, do you then notice any freezes? this one might be tough to figure because it sounds like right away after you install windows you start torrenting.. and we all know that comes with a price..


so, you use the computer for torrenting, well what have you downloaded and installed that could cause these freezes as well??

also don't use intel rapid anything if you do have any of that..

I'm sure the Evo has nothing wrong with it if you recently bought that.. i have one myself..

-your gpu and cpu needs to be looked at with openhardwaremonitor.. or such.. -if you get errors it's because of one of two things, -1. you again installed something to cause conflict, or 2. you do have a hardware issue with the motherboard/cpu/parts..

as said, definitely go to the website of all the individual parts in your computer and download latest drivers first, chipset,gpu,etc..

you should never get freezes after just installling fresh windows and a new build system.. or else you didn't pair correctly! or got bad ram etc..

and on that note, go to your motherboard website and look for "diagnose" "testing" utilities made by them. usually manufactures have testing motherboard/cpu programs you can run.. including memory tests..

start there..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo g750
    CPU
    i5
    Motherboard
    Some Chinese Crap..
    Memory
    8
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 755
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I take it you aren't talking about the laptop in your system specs. What kind of GPU or just the Intel? Is the PSU large enough? The latest motherboard drivers especially chipset installed?

Thanks for the reply. It is a HTPC gaming build. The GPU is an MSI GTX 970. PSU is EVGA gold rated 750W which I overshot on to leave room for SLI in the future (although maybe not in a HTPC case!). Yes, all of the latest drivers from motherboard website, graphics card website, and SSD.

hello,

right after you install fresh windows, do you then notice any freezes?

Well no, not quite after. I then installed all WIndows updates, the chipset driver, VGA driver, the Nvidia graphics driver, and then a game. It happened again a few hours later. I think if I just reinstalled Windows 8.1 and left it idle nothing would happen.

so, you use the computer for torrenting, well what have you downloaded and installed that could cause these freezes as well??

I mainly run games on my system that are purchased online but also some large GNU license programs that I download using BitTorrent.

also don't use intel rapid anything if you do have any of that..
I have the drivers downloaded from Gigabyte's (motherboard) website but I never installed them, although intel MEI is installed, is that okay?

I'm sure the Evo has nothing wrong with it if you recently bought that.. i have one myself..

They are very nice :D Though I will again find myself struggling with 250GB, I think I am going to add a 1TB EVO in the very near future.

-your gpu and cpu needs to be looked at with openhardwaremonitor.. or such.. -if you get errors it's because of one of two things, -1. you again installed something to cause conflict, or 2. you do have a hardware issue with the motherboard/cpu/parts..

PC part picker confirmed the parts compatible before working, along with users from that forum and two separate forums so I do not think that is the issue although I am open to any resolution. Will openhardwaremonitor advise me if either of those two possible problems are the cause? Going to look into openhardwaremonitor once I post this.

as said, definitely go to the website of all the individual parts in your computer and download latest drivers first, chipset,gpu,etc..

This was done on first install and again today after fresh install of Windows 8.1

you should never get freezes after just installling fresh windows and a new build system.. or else you didn't pair correctly! or got bad ram etc..

I answered at the top of this post what was installed when first occurred since the fresh Windows 8.1 install today. I ran a Windows Memory Diagnostic, system rebooted and found no errors.

and on that note, go to your motherboard website and look for "diagnose" "testing" utilities made by them. usually manufactures have testing motherboard/cpu programs you can run.. including memory tests..

start there..

Going to look at Gigabytes right after openhardware monitor. Thanks, anything else please advise.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, Ubuntu 13.10, Debian 7, and Kali 1.0.6
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Zenbook UX32A
    CPU
    Intel i5 3317U
    Motherboard
    Intel® HM76 Express Chipset
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Browser
    Firefox and Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast Free ad Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
Hi,

openhardware monitor will just show you some info and temps.. it won't tell you much in terms of hardware pair failure or what not..

do you still get an error opening "realTemp"?

when you say your computer locks up - does that mean you can't even move the mouse?

are you still having this problem? that system is better than my laptop but i don't have "freezes" or "locks"..


i think it's something with the motherboard and ram or yes, definitely remove the INtel management components.. just for a test.. otherwise you can reinstall them back in.. don't use rapid storage please. Your Samsung Evo does not need it ad unless you have tons of ram (i have 16) IT'S pointless and the way it works it sees what you use often and tries to write that into ram.. sounds nice, but I still believe there are too many unidentified conflicts with the software, so wait till its been around for years then lets see if people are still even using it..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo g750
    CPU
    i5
    Motherboard
    Some Chinese Crap..
    Memory
    8
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 755
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
have you also started to look through the performance monitor??


moniitor.JPG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo g750
    CPU
    i5
    Motherboard
    Some Chinese Crap..
    Memory
    8
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 755
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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