Thanks DL - A hardware issue is a distinct possibility & has been suggested
earlier. Maybe. But after several months why no obvious breakdown? Also -
I ran the available tests on the Vista Ultimate CD. I've been thru the bios
menus going by the Asus user manual. I use the default settings except for
the booting drive option that lets me boot from the CD. I've checked for
all updated drivers & mobo flash upgrades - checked the Asus website & found
no promising leads. I think I do have a meter somewhere that came with the
mobo for diagnostics - but I'm still not convinced there's a hardware issue.
I'm all thumbs & am shy of opening the case even though I foolishly built
several PCs since 1990 & Win 3.0 - I am probably dead wrong but I suspect
the issue is possibly related to a mobo/Intel quad cpu/Vista 64 bit
compatibility issue. (I did manage to replace my CMOS battery & reseat my
graphics in another PCI slot.)
Blithe
----- Original Message -----
From: "DL" <>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.vista.general
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 12:50 PM
Subject: Re: Which newsgroup for these freezes?
> Your various posts would seem to indicate a hw problem, my personal
> instincts would be to download/create the bootably memory utility from
> www.memtest.org and run it for 'hours'
> I assume you havnt attempted to tweak your bios, or used any tweak utility
> that may have been supplied with your mobo
>
> "Blithe" <> wrote in message
> news:%...
>> Re:Vista Ultimate 64 bit - continuing random freezes for months
>> PC:Microsoft® Windows Vista Ultimate
>> Version 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Build 6001
>> System Model: Maximus Extreme (Asus)
>> Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6001.18000"
>> System Type: x64-based PC
>> Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme CPU Q6850 @ 3.00GHz, 2997 Mhz, 4
>> Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
>> BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 0904, 12/18/2007
>> SMBIOS Version 2.4
>> Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
>> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>> Yesterday was the worst - within 30 minutes I logged the following after
>> booting normally:
>> 1. Opened IExplorer 8 & it froze instantly
>> 2. Hit restart button & booted normally - opened Windows Mail & it froze
>> instantly
>> 3. Hit restart button, selected Safe Mode & it opened OK to desktop
>> 4. Clicked desktop restart link and rebooted normally without incident
>> 5. Opened Windows Mail OK
>> 6. Opened IExplorer & it froze instantly.
>> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>> I searched for freezes on Explorer & Win Mail & hit one of my own old
>> posts only on Win Mail -
>> So - perhaps this post ought to go to the other two newsgroups also?
>>
>> Update: For the moment the 'worst' is over but only after trying a trial
>> register scan software (not recommended by Vista's online 'help') as a
>> last resort
>> Note: As I posted in the past - running Vista's CD repair option &
>> checking Event Viewer is totally non-productive & I am being forced to
>> come to some previously considered but 'unacceptable' conclusions to try
>> & get relief - at a considerable cost. The only evidentiary support I
>> have for such a conclusion is that my surfing and searching indicates my
>> experience with Vista freezing at random is fairly common for many other
>> Vista users. One possible strategy is to downgrade to Windows 2000.
>> Another is to shelve my PC & downgrade the hardware to something more
>> average, commonplace, reliable, less than 64 bit 'ultimate' - & proven
>> compatible with the average users' choice of operating system?
>>
>> My patience is running on empty. Thanks for your input.
>> Blithe
>
>
"DL" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Your various posts would seem to indicate a hw problem, my personal
> instincts would be to download/create the bootably memory utility from
> www.memtest.org and run it for 'hours'
> I assume you havnt attempted to tweak your bios, or used any tweak utility
> that may have been supplied with your mobo
>
> "Blithe" <> wrote in message
> news:%...
>> Re:Vista Ultimate 64 bit - continuing random freezes for months
>> PC:Microsoft® Windows Vista Ultimate
>> Version 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Build 6001
>> System Model: Maximus Extreme (Asus)
>> Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6001.18000"
>> System Type: x64-based PC
>> Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme CPU Q6850 @ 3.00GHz, 2997 Mhz, 4
>> Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
>> BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 0904, 12/18/2007
>> SMBIOS Version 2.4
>> Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
>> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>> Yesterday was the worst - within 30 minutes I logged the following after
>> booting normally:
>> 1. Opened IExplorer 8 & it froze instantly
>> 2. Hit restart button & booted normally - opened Windows Mail & it froze
>> instantly
>> 3. Hit restart button, selected Safe Mode & it opened OK to desktop
>> 4. Clicked desktop restart link and rebooted normally without incident
>> 5. Opened Windows Mail OK
>> 6. Opened IExplorer & it froze instantly.
>> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
>> I searched for freezes on Explorer & Win Mail & hit one of my own old
>> posts only on Win Mail -
>> So - perhaps this post ought to go to the other two newsgroups also?
>>
>> Update: For the moment the 'worst' is over but only after trying a trial
>> register scan software (not recommended by Vista's online 'help') as a
>> last resort
>> Note: As I posted in the past - running Vista's CD repair option &
>> checking Event Viewer is totally non-productive & I am being forced to
>> come to some previously considered but 'unacceptable' conclusions to try
>> & get relief - at a considerable cost. The only evidentiary support I
>> have for such a conclusion is that my surfing and searching indicates my
>> experience with Vista freezing at random is fairly common for many other
>> Vista users. One possible strategy is to downgrade to Windows 2000.
>> Another is to shelve my PC & downgrade the hardware to something more
>> average, commonplace, reliable, less than 64 bit 'ultimate' - & proven
>> compatible with the average users' choice of operating system?
>>
>> My patience is running on empty. Thanks for your input.
>> Blithe
>
>