Hello

I am a PC engineer and a problem that I find difficult to fix is where
everything just freezes up.

I would be very interested to know how people tackle this problem.

This is what I do at the moment:

1. Suspect memory, motherboard or hard disk.

2. Disconnect any non essential peripherals.

3. Swap memory because very easy thing to do.

4. Check hard disk with eg XP chkdsk or hard disk provided software checker.

5. Swapping motherboard is usually a real hassle. Need to get exactly same
motherboard and that can be difficult. Any test tools to test motherboards?

Any other ideas? Could a CPU be faulty? Could any other devices cause a
freeze up?

Angus

You forgot the power supply.
Some hard drives don't play nice with other hard drives.
Software locking memory space usage can also lock up the PC when other
software tries to access that memory space location.

Software oriented test tools are readily available. An oscilloscope may
come in handy at times. A high impedance digital multimeter is a must.
--
Jonny
"Angus Comber" <angus@NOSPAMiteloffice.com> wrote in message
news:do8q0o$cfm$1$8300dec7@news.demon.co.uk...
> Hello
>
> I am a PC engineer and a problem that I find difficult to fix is where
> everything just freezes up.
>
> I would be very interested to know how people tackle this problem.
>
> This is what I do at the moment:
>
> 1. Suspect memory, motherboard or hard disk.
>
> 2. Disconnect any non essential peripherals.
>
> 3. Swap memory because very easy thing to do.
>
> 4. Check hard disk with eg XP chkdsk or hard disk provided software
checker.
>
> 5. Swapping motherboard is usually a real hassle. Need to get exactly
same
> motherboard and that can be difficult. Any test tools to test
motherboards?
>
> Any other ideas? Could a CPU be faulty? Could any other devices cause a
> freeze up?
>
> Angus
>
>

Video adapter is a frequent "freeze" cause.

Angus Comber wrote:

> Hello
>
> I am a PC engineer and a problem that I find difficult to fix is where
> everything just freezes up.
>
> I would be very interested to know how people tackle this problem.
>
> This is what I do at the moment:
>
> 1. Suspect memory, motherboard or hard disk.
>
> 2. Disconnect any non essential peripherals.
>
> 3. Swap memory because very easy thing to do.
>
> 4. Check hard disk with eg XP chkdsk or hard disk provided software checker.
>
> 5. Swapping motherboard is usually a real hassle. Need to get exactly same
> motherboard and that can be difficult. Any test tools to test motherboards?
>
> Any other ideas? Could a CPU be faulty? Could any other devices cause a
> freeze up?
>
> Angus
>
>

where does it lock up or is this a theoretical question?
"Angus Comber" <angus@NOSPAMiteloffice.com> wrote in message
news:do8q0o$cfm$1$8300dec7@news.demon.co.uk...
> Hello
>
> I am a PC engineer and a problem that I find difficult to fix is where
> everything just freezes up.
>
> I would be very interested to know how people tackle this problem.
>
> This is what I do at the moment:
>
> 1. Suspect memory, motherboard or hard disk.
>
> 2. Disconnect any non essential peripherals.
>
> 3. Swap memory because very easy thing to do.
>
> 4. Check hard disk with eg XP chkdsk or hard disk provided software
> checker.
>
> 5. Swapping motherboard is usually a real hassle. Need to get exactly
> same motherboard and that can be difficult. Any test tools to test
> motherboards?
>
> Any other ideas? Could a CPU be faulty? Could any other devices cause a
> freeze up?
>
> Angus
>
>