Windows Lockups etc.

A large proportion of my repair jobs are users reporting "My computer freezes." I ask, "does it freeze when you're doing something specific? - can it be reproduced?". They say, "No, it just freezes at any time."

How do you approach these types of "repairs"?

Often, with this type of vague problem description I can test the compuer for a while without ever seeing the problem. Then after making some changes or removing software, it's difficult to test and to be able to say you've fixed the problem.

Does anyone know of any good burn-in tests for these situations?

I use Passmark's Burn in test program. http://www.passmark.com/

Otherwise i just reformat and install ;)

The Problem most often can be traced down by using diagnostic software such as DIAG from this site, Also most lockups are due to faultly MB or Memory problems, Replace the Memory and run a diag test then test the MB if problem prersist replace the motherboard. This problem will come back if you try quick fix (Software diag) So check the hardware MB & MEM and replace.

the full version of BCM diag has a very good stress test

I always just check for video driver updates and low system resources. These are the most frequent culprits of lock ups that I run into. Also, when it locks up for the user and not for me on the bench, I always make sure that they've got a grounded outlet at home. Ungrounded has caused more havock with customer pcs. I've never actually messed with any type of diagnostics program for software problems. I'll have to look into that.

for me 70% of the time its temp files and internet files and cookies . if it happens during a certain program then uninstall it and reinstall backup personal files.

i go all the way back to to win 3.0
biggest problem i see on repairs is people wanting to carry stuff over from win 3.1 to WinME they just aren`t compatible

Check the fans, this is frequently a symptom of a system overheating.

Check the system recources, stuff running in the background.

Check for viruses--even if they say they just did it yesterday--most of the time they are running old definition files.

Remove stuff like Crash Guard, and First Aid--these seem to creat their own problems just so people believe they are doing something. Also, and this is worst of all remove Bonzi Buddy!! Kill the monkey--Kill the parrot--whatever it may be!

If they are still having trouble when they get it home, after you are sure it is running well on your bench, ask them to unplug everything but the KB, Mouse and Monitor. These problems are frequently a device attached to the computer, that was not a device attached on your bench.

These problems can be a lot of things, but 95% of the time we find it is one of the above.

quakeII
open the console with ~
then type "set timedemo 1"
then "map demo1.dm2"

this will make the game run itseld through the map selected, at the end it will dump back to the console and give you the time it took to run and the fps. if you hit ~ again after that, it will start it looping through 2 diff maps until you stop it. no better way to test a machine than to run a game on it for a day or two straight.

Faulty memory was the culprit on one of my friend's PCs. Apart from that, hardware conflicts (visible from Device Manager), outdated drivers, and programs running in the background are all major factors in my small experience.

We use Novell Disk Doctor and Win Dr here, these programs have saved my *** more often than not. If Dr. Norton gives the machine's drive a clean bill of health, then I go looking into Ram, Processor, bios, ect.
If it looks like a Windows issue, if un-installing and re-installing does not fix it, we have a policy that on the 3rd trip out for the same issue, the machine gets re-imaged (f-disk and new load of OS and all software).

Quote:

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Originally posted by clascomp:
Also, and this is worst of all remove Bonzi Buddy!! Kill the monkey--Kill the parrot--whatever it may be!

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I hate Bonzi Buddy!!!! Why does everyone want to install this on their machines?

In a large help desk environment it is not always easy to replace parts (none on hand) nor is it possible to test a machine for a number of days (burn-in), in those situations what I commonly do is tell the client to call when the problem occurs so that I can diag the machine with the problem occuring and not after the fact when I may or may not be able to cause the problem to reoccur.

try to update the bios. or maybe find the office patch.(usefull if using 2000) removing old, unused program is a good thing to do too. We get lots of those descriptive calls here too and those are some of the thigns we try. also update the video and replace the memory. it all depends on what software is run on the machine.

lot of good ones .. I especially go with clascomp and star_fleet... when I get those pcs in tho the first things I do is 1) check device manager in SAFE MODE -not normal- and remove all duplicate or wrong devices 2)run systemworks windoctor - it runs directly from the cd without installing, make sure you only use 2001 version with winME tho... 3)do a full scan with an up-to-date virus scan 4)remove all possible from start-up. I rarely find it's a hardware problem like motherboard or ram, worse comes to worse a good fdisk and format is the answer unless I see an error I know to usually be from hardware then I will try whichever I think down to the last part if necessary.. Its usually just someone having 3-4 years of junk (or just installed AOL6)and low hard drive space and\or 20 things starting up with 16 or 32mb ram. Or people who never shutdown right or delete stuff not uninstall...
Last couple weeks its been a majority are caused by virus. And in new pcs it's heat or low resources...

I go through my normal routine - check for duplicate devices in safe mode, look for known offensive or problem programs and drivers, and do a burn in overnight. Failing that, I then inform the customer that I couldn't reproduce the error, and that if they can't give me a specific instance of when it locks up, I'm gonna have to format and re-install. If they refuse, I make sure they read the disclaimer at the bottom of our shop tickets - in a nutshell it says that by signing this, you understand and are satisfied with the diagnosis/repairs done on your machine. That way, they can't come whining to me a week later that their computer is still locking up.

Quote:

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Originally posted by COBRATEKMAX:
I go through my normal routine - check for duplicate devices in safe mode, look for known offensive or problem programs and drivers, and do a burn in overnight. Failing that, I then inform the customer that I couldn't reproduce the error, and that if they can't give me a specific instance of when it locks up, I'm gonna have to format and re-install. If they refuse, I make sure they read the disclaimer at the bottom of our shop tickets - in a nutshell it says that by signing this, you understand and are satisfied with the diagnosis/repairs done on your machine. That way, they can't come whining to me a week later that their computer is still locking up.

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Ditto here....I do not have the time to spend hours trying to reproduce an error!

We run into these "mystery problems" all the time. The very first thing I do is run Norton Systemworks (The WinDoctor prog), from the CD and let it fix all the Win and Reg errors. Then I burn it in for a while. Only after this fails do I dig any deeper. Honestly, Norton Systemworks used in this way has made many a call less than an hour time spent! I highly reccommend you use it as a first line of attack.