The computer stops working unexpectedly.
The computer stops working unexpectedly.
Hello, after thorough investigation, I’m still facing difficulties: Once I power on my computer, nothing seems out of place except the BIOS display lingering longer than before (now around 10 seconds). When it starts up and I launch Windows (version 10 Pro, 22H2), everything appears normal and functions smoothly. The responsiveness feels great, and everything runs without issues. The real issue emerges when I open an application—whether games, VS Code, Discord, browsers, or Office products—for about half an hour, then close it. At that point, the whole system freezes completely. I can still move my mouse and hear sounds, but no animations appear, and the hard drive LED stays lit constantly. From now on, each mouse click results in a 5-minute wait (not to be exaggerated), a BSOD, or a black screen. If I can’t shut down the PC normally, I have to power it off using the power supply switch, which unfortunately leads to another problem. After turning it on immediately after the freezing episode, I can’t access Windows, and the BIOS detects my drives. I even receive a message saying, “An operating system wasn’t found. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to reboot.” If I leave it off for a few minutes or longer, it boots normally into Windows again. What steps have I tried so far? I’ve reinstalled Windows multiple times, but nothing worked. Removed some updates without success. Disabled certain programs before they started, but the issue persisted. Installed ESET antivirus on all Windows versions I tested, yet nothing suspicious was found. Created a registry backup and rolled it back, but no improvement. Swapped the i7-2600 for an i5-2300 without any difference. Cleared temporary files regularly, disabled most apps from launching at startup, checked all SATA connections, PSU connectors, experimented with different RAM slots, tried various cooling methods (even placing a large fan in the case), used integrated graphics, but nothing changed. Still, the PC functions adequately when I run an app for half an hour or more. One thing I haven’t tried is updating the BIOS. I’m unsure about doing it, feeling a bit nervous, but if it’s the only option, I’ll consider it. I understand my computer is outdated, and if I had the funds, I’d buy a new one. My goal is to somehow fix this machine, if possible. Any advice or solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
In the task manager, accessing the performance section lets you track your HDD. If it shows excessive usage even when idle, it might mean the drive is failing. You can easily switch to an SSD from Amazon at a very reasonable price. I often choose the Kingston A400 240GB model and run Windows there, using the HDD only for storage during upgrades. This significantly improves performance and system responsiveness.
You're using a 512GB SATA SSD and a 1TB mechanical HDD. You're considering defragmenting the HDD or skipping it entirely. The S.M.A.R.T. data from HWinfo shows read error rates and sector issues, but those details can be tricky to interpret. Let me know if you'd like a clearer breakdown of what these numbers mean for your system. Thanks for sharing!
It's a WD green 1TB 7200 rpm hard drive. It runs smoothly with no unusual sounds, temperatures are normal, and I'm writing this on the computer I've been using. After cleaning up the files, everything functions properly. Thanks for your help!
That's positive. Please let me know if you need anything else!