Hard disk broken? Computer freezes constantly

This all started last night. The computer just froze so I pressed the off button on my HP Pavilion dv6700 Notebook with Windows Vista Home Premium, 4GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.00 GHz, bought in September of last year (specs) and turned it back on. I thought nothing of it. Then I go on FireFox, watch some videos on YouTube, went away from the computer for maybe 10 - 15 minutes and when I came back, FireFox had stopped responding. I try to right click on it in the taskbar, then the taskbar stops responding too. Nothing was accessible so I did what I did before, pressed the off button then turned it back on. When it started back up, I opened FireFox like normal and that seemed ok. Now it seems that when I keep the computer busy, nothing iffy happens.

Then today, after the computer kept freezing and I shut it off and turned it back on again, I got an error message that said something like "(something) Microsoft has stopped responding" while I was doing typical things like browsing the internet and listening to music. I had no idea what it was talking about because everything was running smoothly at that point. I closed the error message then the Help and Support thing came up and said that there was something wrong with the hard disk ( ) and suggested solutions like restarting the computer (which I did) and checking the hard disk for errors. I did that but nothing happened. The computer just restarted like normal.

I don't have the slightest clue about what could be wrong. Is the hard disk really messed up? It doesn't seem to be. I never downloaded anything yesterday. Didn't go on any unsafe sites. If I did, my anti-virus would have and should have told me so. I did restore the computer three times yesterday because one of my games was messed up and I wanted to see if I could make it work again like it previously did. I think in doing so I may have reversed some Windows updates. Come to think, last night when I went back on Firefox, the updater kept forcing me to restart the computer to install the updates that I guess I had reversed. I checked Problem Reports and Solutions and I'm seeing that there is something called Superfetch that could have caused this. It seems relevant enough. But I have no idea what Superfetch is and I don't know if that even is what's causing all of this. I am currently running the computer in Safe Mode and nothing is happening as of yet. Please help, anyone. I don't want to have to take this relatively new computer to a shop or anything. Please and thanks in advance for any help.

Edited by chuckaugustus, 13 June 2009 - 11:43 PM.

to summarize:

Hardware: HP Pavilion dv6700 Notebook, 4GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.00 GHz.
Software: Windows Vista Home Premium
Browser: Firefox

Problem: hang and freeze while browsing and running media (music and streaming video)
Secondary: "one of my games was messed up and I wanted to see if I could make it work again like it previously did"

error msg: "something like "(something) Microsoft has stopped responding""

attempted: restart, ScnDsk (negative result), System Restore, AntiVirus (negative result), "I checked Problem Reports and Solutions and I'm seeing that there is something called Superfetch that could have caused this"

resolution: none in normal boot, runs fine in Safe Mode


Superfetch:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/syspe...ccelerator.mspx Microsoft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperFetch#SuperFetch Wiki


what version is your FireFox and which Anti-virus are you running? What was the game that went wonky and are you 100% for sure that it's Vista-compatible?

Do you run regular maintenance? Defragment, junk file clean, etc? CCleaner and Advanced System Care are both good for that.

I'm using the latest Firefox version and running Avast Anti-Virus. The Sims 2 went wonky and I thought it was compatible with Vista.

I use CCleaner all the time. Actually, I used it that night the computer started going crazy.

I should also note that I got that error message I was talking about again and jotted down what it said:

"Host process for Windows Services stopped working and was closed"

Ahhh...no Sims 2 is not Vista Friendly. I had that same issue myself and called EA tech support to be sure. Back up any game data, Uninstall all Sims 2 components and run CCleaner, etc to make sure you got it all. Reinstall Sims 2 then go to EA and get the latest patches for it before running. Once you're ready to run the game (after patching), do it with right click - properties - compatability - for XP then right click - run as admin. That should fix the Sims issue.

Make sure CCLeaner is the latest version as well (2.20), 2.19 and earlier can be slightly buggy still with Vista. Firefox should be 3.0.11


MS Tech Net: Service Stop Issue http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc756320.aspx

Reinstall Sims 2 then go to EA and get the latest patches for it before running.

Which patch(es) should I use? Should I use the patch for every expansion pack I have?

Edited by chuckaugustus, 16 June 2009 - 08:19 PM.

yup. Save to desktop then deploy from there.

Thanks for your help, but unfortunately, I did what you suggested, and while my Sims 2 game runs fine now, I accidently left the computer sitting idle for too long and that error message popped up and everything froze again. As a precaution, I log off of my user account to prevent the computer from freezing. It never freezes when I log off, but when I'm logged on, it has no problem doing so. But thanks anyway for your help.

If you could, make a note next time it freezes, then check the Event Manager under "Application" for events around that time that are errors or warnings. Post what it says here, that might help diagnose what's going on.

Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 6/20/2009 4:44:43 PM
Event ID: 1005
Task Category: (100)
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: Computer
Description:
Windows cannot access the file C:\Windows\Prefetch\AgGlUAD_P_S-1-5-21-445318638-3710151374-614389321-1000.db for one of the following reasons: there is a problem with the network connection, the disk that the file is stored on, or the storage drivers installed on this computer; or the disk is missing. Windows closed the program Host Process for Windows Services because of this error.

Program: Host Process for Windows Services
File: C:\Windows\Prefetch\AgGlUAD_P_S-1-5-21-445318638-3710151374-614389321-1000.db

The error value is listed in the Additional Data section.
User Action
1. Open the file again. This situation might be a temporary problem that corrects itself when the program runs again.
2. If the file still cannot be accessed and
- It is on the network, your network administrator should verify that there is not a problem with the network and that the server can be contacted.
- It is on a removable disk, for example, a floppy disk or CD-ROM, verify that the disk is fully inserted into the computer.
3. Check and repair the file system by running CHKDSK. To run CHKDSK, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the command prompt, type CHKDSK /F, and then press ENTER.
4. If the problem persists, restore the file from a backup copy.
5. Determine whether other files on the same disk can be opened. If not, the disk might be damaged. If it is a hard disk, contact your administrator or computer hardware vendor for further assistance.

Additional Data
Error value: C0000185
Disk type: 3
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Application Error" />
<EventID Qualifiers="49152">1005</EventID>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>100</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2009-06-20T21:44:43.000Z" />
<EventRecordID>19645</EventRecordID>
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>Computer</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>C:\Windows\Prefetch\AgGlUAD_P_S-1-5-21-445318638-3710151374-614389321-1000.db</Data>
<Data>Host Process for Windows Services</Data>
<Data>C0000185</Data>
<Data>3</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

<<S-1-5-21-445318638-3710151374-614389321-1000>>

http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/...ecurity-id.html

I can't really tell you what any of it means (your error message), but I would guess that you have a hardware problem.

Louis

I just really wish I knew what that file is. The one that is causing this, "AgGlUAD_P_S-1-5-21-445318638-3710151374-614389321-1000.db".

a very brief internet search suggests a possible bios issue.

a search of HP revealed that the laptop batteries are under recall as of 14 May 2009


for specific info on which downloads apply to your system you're going to have to be just a tad more specific on the model number:

HP Pavilion dv6700 CTO
HP Pavilion dv6700ef
HP Pavilion dv6700t CTO
HP Pavilion dv6700z CTO

I believe I have a dv6780se.

Edited by chuckaugustus, 10 July 2009 - 11:45 PM.