Windows 8.1 semi-frequent freezes/hard lock ups

ao7415

New Member
Messages
1
So ever since I updated from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1 (as a gift), I've been getting somewhat frequent lock ups. Sometimes I can go a few days without getting one, with the most frequent being an hour apart. It also seems mostly random, with the only common occurrence being when I load a BF4 map or when I alt tab out of a game (both have happened twice so far).

What happens though is my screen will freeze at whatever I was doing last, my mouse and keyboard become unresponsive, my HDD light goes solid, but my case fans/lights keep going. Also whats weird is that my power button also becomes unresponsive, forcing me to reboot via psu or unplugging it.

This was basically a clean install (I assume, had to reinstall all my games/programs), only preserving pictures and documents from before the update.

Even though the computer is kind of old (4-5 years) it runs smoothly except for these freezes. My temperatures for my GPU/CPU never exceed 50-60C, and all my drivers are up to date.

Just some side notes:

-This isn't entirely a "new" problem. I've had these kinds of crashes in the past with Windows 7, though it was on very rare occasions, something like once every 4 months or something (if that) if I had to guess. Since updating to Windows 8.1, the frequency of the crashes is way higher (few times a week).

-Recently replaced my PSU due to my old one failing little over a month ago. Don't believe the crashes are related to that simply because it ran flawlessly all of December with Windows 7 before upgrading to Windows 8.1 a week ago.

-Ruled out my HDD (I think anyway). I ran WinDlg 124, Western Digitals diagnostic for their HDDs and passed. Also ran CHKDSK as well with 0 bad sectors too. Open to trying another program if those are believed to not be reliable.

Thanks in advance for any asssitance
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Hate to say it, I'm with you on this. I Googled the symptoms and yours matched mine almost identically. And it's been getting worse. I don't play games. For me it's graphics intensive work, though -- Photoshop and Lightroom mainly. I thought maybe it was RAM or something. I ran MemTest86 for over 16-hours and no issues. I KNOW it's some sort of Win 8.1 glitch combined with hardware. I just don't know WHERE. So incredibly frustrating I can't get my work done because of this. Anyone else???
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD FX 9590
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair V Formula Z
    Memory
    32GB G-Skill
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus nVidia GTX 660
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two NEC MultiSync PA241W
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD
    D:, E:, F: Seagate 1TB Barracuda
    G: Toshiba 128GB SSD (for Photoshop cache)
    PSU
    Corsair 850w
    Cooling
    AMD Liquid Cooling
    Internet Speed
    sucks
Hate to say it, I'm with you on this. I Googled the symptoms and yours matched mine almost identically. And it's been getting worse. I don't play games. For me it's graphics intensive work, though -- Photoshop and Lightroom mainly. I thought maybe it was RAM or something. I ran MemTest86 for over 16-hours and no issues. I KNOW it's some sort of Win 8.1 glitch combined with hardware. I just don't know WHERE. So incredibly frustrating I can't get my work done because of this. Anyone else???
In your case it's probably tha bloody 9590, they still did not make an MB worth it. Over 200w and most MBs run out of steam (power) when CPU is pressed hard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I hadn't really heard that about the 9590. Maybe I should consider a "lower end" FX chip. Or... ugh .... go Intel. Haven't had an Intel desktop in 20-yrs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD FX 9590
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair V Formula Z
    Memory
    32GB G-Skill
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus nVidia GTX 660
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two NEC MultiSync PA241W
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD
    D:, E:, F: Seagate 1TB Barracuda
    G: Toshiba 128GB SSD (for Photoshop cache)
    PSU
    Corsair 850w
    Cooling
    AMD Liquid Cooling
    Internet Speed
    sucks
BIOS

Hi Boys,

Update your bios,
ive had to upgrade mine to improve performance,
Nemo have a look at the Asus homepage for your model, had to on mine was originally a W7 version.
AO do the same for your manufacturer

Roy
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    x55a asus
    Antivirus
    bitdefender
    Other Info
    this laptop was/is still posted on asus website as W7
I hadn't really heard that about the 9590. Maybe I should consider a "lower end" FX chip. Or... ugh .... go Intel. Haven't had an Intel desktop in 20-yrs.
9590 is just an overblown 8350, factory OCed if you will, it's not much better than 8350, same core, factory chosen to be able to stand higher frequency so AMD could call it "New" chip. If you pushed 8350 to 5 GHz you'd get same results. Consequence of that is of course higher power requirement that can easily reach 200 -220 Watts and most VRMs on MBs are ill equipped to handle, power-wise or heat wise. When power requirement rises to certain levels, both VRM and CPU cut down automatically a bit for safety and that's what AMD counts on. That and right power management of CPU (not too often that it runs to full potential for longer times) keep it in safe state. You can always lower it's frequency by couple of hundred MHz and not even notice the difference other than on a benchmark. So the problem is mostly in the MB, not chip itself. One of safest MBs for it is Gigabyte GA990 FXA UD7 MB but it's rarer than hen's teeth. Can easily handle 8350 at 5 + GHz so it should run 9590 at full load.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Roy,
My BIOS is the most current one for the board, and I updated it Thursday. Friday was the worst day I've had -- no less than 8 freezes in the day, often no less than a 5 or 10 min apart. I was ready to through the bloody machine out the window. Seems to generally be related to graphics work (Photoshop). It could run email and a spreadsheet all day. Replacing my graphics card in case. Today, the computer was on, no programs running, just sitting and idling, and it froze. Piece of dung.

CountMike,

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll can the 9590. Not worth the problems I'm having. I'll just go with an 8350 or something. Worst case, can it all and go Intel. The problem will be trying to port my SSD with Win 8.1. Can't afford the time to reinstall everything. Now that I think of it, I've had problems with freezes from the beginning (a couple months ago). Just gotten worse. Defective MB??
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD FX 9590
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair V Formula Z
    Memory
    32GB G-Skill
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus nVidia GTX 660
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two NEC MultiSync PA241W
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD
    D:, E:, F: Seagate 1TB Barracuda
    G: Toshiba 128GB SSD (for Photoshop cache)
    PSU
    Corsair 850w
    Cooling
    AMD Liquid Cooling
    Internet Speed
    sucks
Defective MB?? Who knows possible. I would try down clocking it by 500 MHz and down volting it and try like that. for a while. Will not see much of performance drop but can tell you something about where the problem is.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I've been building PC's using the AMD FX-6300 on am MSI 970A-G46 motherboard sand it runs Windows 8.1 very well. I always use an SSD for the OS and a variety of GTX-660, 760, 770 video cards. No problems at all...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
I've been building PC's using the AMD FX-6300 on am MSI 970A-G46 motherboard sand it runs Windows 8.1 very well. I always use an SSD for the OS and a variety of GTX-660, 760, 770 video cards. No problems at all...
There's large difference between power requirements of FX 63xx and new FXs on steroids. When OCd any CPU can demand a lot of more power than usually. Take my Deneb, at standard 3.4 GHz 125W, at 4.2 GHz over 145W. Any MB with less than 8+1 VRM is not going to take it. It would cut power to CPU or just die outright. With number of cores, rising frequency and power requirements, amount of heat rises too so it's dissipation (cooling) must be addressed adequately.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Back
Top