PC's randomly freezing

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avk

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Hi all

I've been trawling the net to find answers, and was hoping I could tap into the awesome knowledge on this forum as well. :D

I have a network of 40 PC's of which I replaced 20 in February. The other 20 I replaced last year. Basic entry-level machines. Strange thing is that the new computers are randomly freezing, everything stops responding including the cursor. Only option is to manually reset. The older 20 computers do not do this. This is even though they have the exact same setup (W10 Enterprise, Office Pro 2013, etc.)

When it first started happening I thought is was an Office issue, but it is now happening even when browsing the Internet, irrelevant of the web browser being used. This happens totally at random. Some days it would go hours without freezing. Next day it will freeze 5 times in one hour.

What I have done up to now:

- Updated W10
- Updated Office
- Updated ALL drivers

I've checked through the Event viewer, but there is nothing out of the ordinary there that would indicate a problem.

I sent two of the PC's back to the supplier. They checked all of the hardware, and it all checked out apparently. They reckon it is a software issue.

Basic specs of the new PC's:

- Biostar H81MHV3 M/B
- Celeron G1850 2.90 GHz CPU
- Adata 4GB DDR3 RAM
- Seagate 500 GB HDD


Anybody have any idea what I can try/check next?
 
The 20 PC's most likely has something in common, which is usually batches of hardware. I suggest running your own tests on RAM/CPU first and maybe compare model number/batch numbers to that of the first batch of 20 and do a test on one or two of them as a reference.

99% of the time when more than 1 PC suddenly freezes randomly like that, it's not the software. Really irritates my dogs when hardware suppliers blame a piece of software that's running perfectly everywhere else except 20 specific PC's, lol
 
This was my point as well. I might not be an expert in the field but I have almost 20 years experience in fixing PC's and running a network.

My experience tells me it cannot be software related. Has to be hardware.

But they apparently tested the hardware and found nothing wrong with it.
 
DIY, there's plenty of free tools out there. Then go back with evidence its hardware and make a stink with a manager
 
halfmoonforever said:
DIY, there's plenty of free tools out there. Then go back with evidence its hardware and make a stink with a manager
Click to expand...

Thx.

Exactly what I'm planning. Though this time I'll be cornering their head office instead of the regional manager.
 
-All of those biostar running the latest BIOS? (Biostar is a rather kuk brand)

-Are these machines using an image/clone or is it a fresh install per PC?
 
Rickster said:
-All of those biostar running the latest BIOS? (Biostar is a rather kuk brand)

-Are these machines using an image/clone or is it a fresh install per PC?
Click to expand...

Fresh install on each PC.

Yeah, agree on those boards. Unfortunately did not know this until it was too late....

I downloaded the BIOS flash tool from their website, and according to that it has the latest version installed.
 
Install Ubuntu on one machine just to test, if it freezes then its probably the Mobo or PSU, has to be.
 
Have you made 100% sure it's not heat related? Maybe the new PC's have some form for dust protection still inside? Will either be heat or hardware related.
 
Pitbull said:
Have you made 100% sure it's not heat related? Maybe the new PC's have some form for dust protection still inside? Will either be heat or hardware related.
Click to expand...

OP could have forgotten the thermal paste :D
 
Rickster said:
Install Ubuntu on one machine just to test, if it freezes then its probably the Mobo or PSU, has to be.
Click to expand...

Thx. Will try that.

Pitbull said:
Have you made 100% sure it's not heat related? Maybe the new PC's have some form for dust protection still inside? Will either be heat or hardware related.
Click to expand...

Company built the PC's for me to order, so I'll open one and check.

But would this not make it restart more regularly? As I said, it sometimes runs the whole day without restarting. Will check it out though.
 
avk said:
Thx. Will try that.



Company built the PC's for me to order, so I'll open one and check.

But would this not make it restart more regularly? As I said, it sometimes runs the whole day without restarting. Will check it out though.
Click to expand...

Worth a shot. Should be an easy fix if it's that. But I honestly am just throwing stones I the bush here hoping something jumps out :D
 
Since all 20 have the same issue, it's doubtful to be a software issue.

How are the new PCs powered? Are they on the same or different circuit to the rest?

Are you sure the power supply is sufficient? (This would be my first thing to check)

I see they are all seagate hard drives. have you tried switching one out for a western digital and see if it still has the same issue? (Could be a faulty batch)

Have you reset all BIOS settings to fail save defaults? (Could be some type of over clock or something going.)

Are the RAM chips seated properly?

Are there any loose cables? (Lose sata connector could cause that).

My gut tells me it's a power supply issue.
 
Run something like SuperPi with a tool that can log the processor heat to a file somewhere. If you cant log the heat digitally you should be able to feel the CPU's temp radiate on the side of the case where the MoBo is if you dont want to open it up for Warranty purposes. This seriously sounds like hardware (read CPU) trying to protect itself from a heat issue...

I'm hesitant to blame power. The machines will restart if a brown-out happens. I also dont think that cables or components not plugged in properly would affect 20 machines equally. Ram tends to cause other issues like BSOD. I would not rule out any of these things but I doubt your cause is here.
 
Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Will be giving them a go. If/When I find the answer I'll post it on this thread for future reference.

My own thoughts:

- Don't think it's a power issue, older PC's running on the same line don't have the same problem. Will exchange a PSU just to be sure.
- Can it be heat? Surely the PC will restart if it's a heat problem? Not totally freeze? All fans are turning as they should. Intel diagnostic report shows normal heat.
- All cables, RAM, etc. securely fitted.
- CPU has thermal paste

I keep on coming back to the motherboard. The only difference between the older and new PC's is the motherboard. Same RAM. Same HDD. Same software.

Anyway, back to the salt mines I go.
 
avk said:
This is even though they have the exact same setup (W10 Enterprise, Office Pro 2013, etc.)
Click to expand...
Wow! Where did you get licence for W10 Enterprise? ;)
Windows 10 ia a bitch, BTW.
 
sajunky said:
Wow! Where did you get licence for W10 Enterprise? ;)
Windows 10 ia a bitch, BTW.
Click to expand...

Educational license. :D

I actually enjoy W10. Took a bit of fine tuning to get everything like I want it. Group policies needed some updating and changing. Still some settings that I need to do, but in all I'm happy.

MUCH better than 8 or 8.1..... ;)
 
Nice advertising platform for Microsoft. Lol!
However 20 computers do not work and it really sucks. ;)
 
sajunky said:
Nice advertising platform for Microsoft. Lol!
However 20 computers do not work and it really sucks. ;)
Click to expand...

For sure. However I'm still convinced it's not a W10 issue. The other PC's work 100%.
 
If you are so convinced it is not Windows 10 issue, it would help if you had posted motherboard model number. But perhaps you are not convinced, as you didn't. ;)
 
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