Windows 7 freezing issues

Hello

I recently upgraded to Windows 7 from XP and am having a few freezing issues.
I tried playing World of Warcraft but it would freeze on the loading screen, no BSOD, no error message, not 'this is not responding' just total lock up and having to force shut down.
So I uninstalled and tried to reinstall it. The downloader would freeze every few minutes, again, no error message no crash or BSOD, just total lock up and a force reboot. It took unpteen attempts for me to download the patch. I managed to log into the game for about 1 minute, then total freezing again.

Today I tried to download a programme, froze after a while, again, total lock up. Tried watching a video on window media player, another total lock up.

I checked my error logs and I am getting this message :
The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Ide\IdePort0

Just before I get a bunch of error messages about my pc not shutting down properly, which is leading me to assume this is the cause of my problems.

Could anybody tell me what it is and how to fix it? Or if this is indeed the causes of my freezing? I'm going nuts!

Hi missmuffy,

What is the make and model number of your computer?

It sounds as if there is a driver issue with your hard drive controller. Before you upgraded to Win7 from XP did you run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to determine if the computer was capable of running Windows 7? Before upgrading, it's also a good idea to check the computer manufacturer's web site to make sure that there are Windows 7 drivers available for that particular model?

Erm, it's cobbled together out of all bits. What specifically do you need to know?

AMD athalon dual core 7550


And yes I did run it first to make sure, given my mobo and processor aren't 2 years old yet I can't see that being the issue. My RAM is a week old, my graphics card, less then that.
I have been and updated the drivers to windows seven for all components also mobo, graphics, sound, network card....

You can post much useful data about your system by following the procedures at Publish a Snapshot using Speccy - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic323892.html/page__p__1797792#entry1797792 .

Louis

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/ofvR1v4RVz2Ov7BGcoR2wx3

There you go!

But after some investigation, I think it's a hard drive problem. But I'm not sure where to go from there?
See I tried running a defrag on both my drives, it analysed C not a prob. D, however....froze and locked up my pc. Its when this happened I realised it;s only when doing stuff on my second drive that it freezes, the installation or a game, the running of a game from it, watching a tv show on it....

So yeah. I opened her up and pushed all the cables to make sure they were in, not tried to use the D drive yet though. I THINK my drivers are all up to date, I'm not certain how to check.

I'm probably babbling and should let somebody who knows what they're talking about help LOL

Hi,

Your system drive would appear to be a Maxtor 40 GB (IDE) drive (C:\) and your drive (D:\) a 156 GB Hitachi drive (Hitachi HDP725016GLAT80 ATA Device).

You can test the drive with Hitachi's "Drive fitness software." You will need to download dft32_v416_b00.iso file and burn it to a CD so that it is bootable.

Here is a link to the Drive Fitness User's Guide. Arrow down to page 8.

Boot the computer from the CD and select the Hitachi drive. Look at "capacity" (156GB or there abouts) to help you select the correct drive. Run the Quick Test and then the Advanced Test. It should pass both.

If your D: partition/drive is the Hitachi...you can use the Drive Fitness Tool to check the functionality of the drive.

Hitachi Drive Tools - http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/ . do not get confused by the various tools listed...you want the CD image version of the Drive Fitness Test.

Download the CD image (.iso file) and then burn it to either CD or DVD, using any one of several programs designed to burn .iso files to CD/DVD. I use Active@Iso Burner 2.5 (Freeware) but you can follow the instructions below to accomplish the burn.

Please follow this guide on How to burn a CD/DVD With ISO Recorder. ISO Recorder is a free program that offers users a simple to use interface and GUI to perform a CD/DVD Burn. This application, can be installed on Windows XP and later, as well as the 64bit variants. It will allow you to burn an image aka .ISO file to any type of CD or DVD.

This application, also does not include any extra or bundled software such as free search toolbars, free trials of norton, or other programs.

Once the .iso is burned to CD...make sure that your system is set to boot from the optical drive, change the applicable BIOS settings...save the changes in the BIOS by hitting F10 to exit.

Ensure that the burned disk is in the optical drive before you save the BIOS changes made...electing the SAVE option will result in an automatic reboot of the system.

Once the system boots...the burned CD will go into action. Please read the Hitachi instructions for using the DFT.

Louis

and if it doesn't pass, just follow the instructions you gave me?

and if it doesn't pass, just follow the instructions you gave me?

The D: drive, if healthy, should pass all tests. A failure in any of the tests would indicate that the drive is in the process of failing and should not be trusted. If the drive is failing, you should move any important data contained on that drive to a safe place. The drive would then have to be replaced.

If on the other hand, the D: drive passes all tests, we will have to explore other causes for the "freezes."

missmuffy,

If you have a second PC with WOW you can just copy your WoW folder to your computer and you can backup it. It will have all the data for 4.3.4. if your still having problems downloading wow

missmuffy,

If you have a second PC with WOW you can just copy your WoW folder to your computer and you can backup it. It will have all the data for 4.3.4. if your still having problems downloading wow

Yep gonna rob the files off my brother when I've sorted the freezing issues. Sadly it's not just WoW it plays up on.

And to Artrooks, righty'o. I'll be starting the test in just a moment


**edit**
Thanks Hamluis for the info, I had no idea how to make a bootable disc!



Also, tests have been run. It failed the quick test so didn't bother with the advanced. Can't remember the error code, I helpfully forgot to write it down. But I sure I remember the words Device Faulty or something to that effect.

So just get rid of it and buy a new one I guess?

Looked through the user guide, found the error code. I got 0x70
Corrupted Sector.
A general hard disk drive problem was detected. You can run the "Erase Disk" utility. If a subsequent test
fails again, the drive is defective and should be replaced.

Sounds to me I'm better off replacing.

I think in the long run you are better off replacing the drive. That being said, if funds are tight, there is no harm in erasing (all data will be lost) and re-running the extended test. If the drive then passes the extended test, it may buy you some time. The corrupted sectors will no doubt return and worsen over time.

I'll buy a new one tomorrow and get it all installed over the weekend. I'll keep you posted to make sure this fixes the problem. Thanks for all the advise :D