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Thread ID: 143615	2017-02-28 14:39:00	Help with checking SSD and HDD connections please..	Chikara (5139)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1432316	2017-05-07 23:01:00	Dont put all your faith in software tests of RAM, HD etc. Ive seen plenty of faulty HD's & RAM that would pass every test I threw at it. The best test is part swapping.	1101 (13337)
1432317	2017-05-08 12:44:00	@ Dugimodo, yes just to fill you in, this machine is maybe 16 months or so old. The freezing has happened from the beginning, but it's not constant, it might happen a week apart, a day apart, couple of times a day or anywhere in between. The freezing happens randomly, no matter what task - even if I am not using it (left running but away from keyboard, just with browser and Outlook open, next time I come back it could have still frozen). The freeze gives no error messages/BSOD at all. Just totally non-responsive, only way to fix it is forced restart from power button. I have teamviewer on here, when this has happened I've checked the PC status from another device and it shows not online, so it's not just a display problem. I didn't seriously trouble-shoot in the early days because I wrongly assumed it might be because of the 'new' Win 10 that had bugs, or as the MB was new also, maybe a BIOS update would fix it. But as time has gone by I realise it's now unlikely to be that. So yes even though I have tested RAM, I might try the longer tests a few of you have suggested, one stick at a time. Or maybe even if I can pick up some cheap different RAM to try. I have got a tech here to assist me as I felt it was getting out of my skill range to fix. He also says that it can be difficult to isolate it and often need to try one component swapped out at a time. In his opinion though, it is almost certainly PSU, CPU, RAM or MB. In his opinion (right or wrong but I trusted what he said as he's a professional!!) He said it it was any other hardware component - even HDD, even the HD that has windows on - there would be a crash message generated. He said the only components needed to generate the crash message are the MB, RAM and CPU, so the fact there is no crash message means it's almost certain to be one of those three causes in his opinion. And just for further background, as well as the previous RAM tests, I have tried a different PSU, the tech replaced CPU under warranty. In the early days of troubleshooting I also tried a different monitor to eliminate it being just a display issue. I do think it's unlikely to be a software issue as I have done a few windows clean installs, I'm quite sure I have the correct and updated drivers, and since the last reinstall I have purposely only installed the minimum programs	Chikara (5139)
1432318	2017-05-08 19:25:00	Can you run something like Heavyload to try and trigger the freeze? www.jam-software.com	apsattv (7406)
1432319	2017-05-08 22:10:00	You wont get a crash message in the logs if its freezing. Win has to be running to write to the logs. If its frozen, then nothing can write to the logs as it freezes . You will get a log message about unexpected restart etc, but no usefull info (most of the time)	1101 (13337)
1432320	2017-05-09 00:42:00	Yes, that's what makes it more difficult to isolate the problem, no logs are written. Plus, the freezing is random, I can't replicate it just by doing certain tasks. @ apsattv, regarding stress testing/burn in tests, yes I have already tried that myself. And after the warranty swap CPU was installed, the tech ran a stress test for 3 days before returning it back to me. I then had a freeze one day later. Currently, since yesterday I have removed one stick of RAM and will run it on one stick only until I either have another freeze, or have long term success with no freezes.	Chikara (5139)
1432321	2017-05-09 16:29:00	I used these when tracking down my issue. give them a try to target specific components UBCD Burnmark 8.1 Cpu Stress Prime 95 Aida64 Heavyload Passmark burnin Test CPUID HWMonitor Coretemp	apsattv (7406)
1432322	2017-06-26 13:44:00	I thought I would post the resolution to this, in case it helps anyone viewing the thread in the future. Seems like it was one faulty stick of RAM. I tried running just one stick of RAM, still had the freezes. When I switched to the other stick, no freezes. So that meant it must either be a faulty stick or RAM, or - more unlikely - problem with that physical slot on the MB. So I did a RAM RMA, and so far after about 2.5 weeks, I have had no further crashes. So I am 99% sure it's now solved. Lesson learnt for the future, as some of you had advised me when troubleshooting - don't rely on the RAM stress tests. All the RAM software tests and stress tests I did, the RAM passed. Also, I had a good experience with Corsair. They offer an express RAM replacement service, where they will take a credit card hold (but not charge the card) and ship you the new RAM before you need to return the old RAM. I literally had the new RAM in my hands within 2 days of requesting it, was sent from Taiwan. Very impressed with their RMA process.	Chikara (5139)
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