Random freezing

Hi, recently my comp has been randomly freezing in a very specific way.. When I am watching a video and its almost at end if i click a new video or click a link or change websites while vid is still goin my comp will freeze up entirely, having to use the power button to restart, but if i pause the video beforehand then this freeze doesnt happen Also when I am gaming and if the game is in window mode and i turn sharp to shoot someone it sometimes does this same freeze, however if the game is in fullscreen this never happens and i am unable to reproduce it while in fullscreen my comp itself seems to still run perfectly smooth and fine, there is no hardware beeps when this happens so i believe it is software Windows XP SP3 ATI Radeon HD 4850 vid card It doesnt freeze any other time then these 2 ways :S

Hi dirtyzerg,
Welcome to WTT

It might be a good idea to run an "Overdrive" test scan so we can get a complete overview of what is happening on your PC.

PC Pitstop's 'OVERDRIVE'
http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/

Fast, Comprehensive, and Free.
In just a few minutes OverDrive creates an extensive report of your PC's performance, security, software, drivers, and more.

Note: Vista or W7 users with UAC must first Right-click IE - Select "Run as Administrator"
Register and create a password

Accept the ActiveX component to allow your machine to run the Full Tests
Registering and accepting the ActiveX is both SAFE and FREE.
There is a lot of stuff on that site that WTT does not endorse, so just be careful that you zero in on the "Overdrive" test only.

Before running the test, make sure all applications are closed except for the one instance of IE8.
When the test results are displayed, copy the URL from your address bar and post it here.

Note: PCPitStop may recommend that you use certain utilities to fix problems on your computer.
At WhatTheTech, the help we provide is free. We do not endorse or recommend the use of any products PCPitStop may suggest.

Cheers,
Lee

http://www.pcpitstop.com/betapit/sec.asp?conid=24291871

not sure if this is the link u are talking about lmk if doesnt work

Hi dirtyzerg,

That's the correct link, thanks.

Please download ATF Cleaner to desktop. http://majorgeeks.com/ATF_Cleaner_d4949.html
Double click ATF and in the window that opens tick "select all" and the click on "clean".

Use ATF at least once-a-week.

I'll get back to you again as soon as I've had a good look at your Overdrive test results.


Cheers,
Lee

I've had a good look at your test results and apart from a lot of junk files (that ATF will remove) and the fact you need to do a Microsoft Update, I can't really see any obvious performance inhibitors on your PC. CPU Utilization: 22 % Total RAM Used: 418 MB RAM Utilization: 20 % You have the same powerful CPU as I do (I'm a gamer too), 2GB of ram and a decent video-card. The main concerns you might like to do something about are: * Increase Free Space (Drive C:) Disk 19% Free 43590 MB (remove any unused games and decrease your System Restore storage space to 1GB) * Last Security Update for Windows XP (KB229619 Dec 18, 2010). * BitTorrent (A very risky P2P you really should remove). * Defragment Drive C: (as a gamer, once a month for sure). See how your PC runs after all the above housekeeping and let me know if you are still having any problems. Cheers, Lee

nvm i found it, changed from 12% (max) to 2903 mb (1%), couldnt find the edit button sorry for dbl post

12% reserved restore space (default) is an XP hangover from the days of when a 50GB hard drive was the norm. Totally ridiculous today when most HDD's are from 250GB to 1TB. One restore point = about 200mb. I find 1GB storage space for SR plenty. Cheers, Lee

the freeze hasnt happened so far but like i said its not real common just every now and then, when it first happened i thot vid card was messing up