Screen freezing but sound continues

Borg 386 · 23 Nov 2016

Zeel said:

Hey that's great - thanks very much. My RAM is on two 4GB sticks, so I could always try running with just one of them at a time for a while, see if that helps. If so, the other stick is suspect.

I did run a Windows Memory Diagnostic just there and it didn't turn anything up, but it's probably not in-depth enough.

Thanks again for the tip about RAM. That sounds promising, especially since you had what sounds like the same issue yourself.

I can't remember for sure, but I believe I ran a diag on the RAM & it didn't show anything (if I remember correctly). Nonetheless, while doing some investigating on the prob I found a couple articles relating to the vid freeze problem & it being linked to the RAM.

One thing I did note was when the video would freeze, whatever vid I was watching at the time, it would always be at about the same point it froze the last time. I would reboot, run the vid again & at about the same point it froze last time, it happened again.

Here's hoping this helps you out & it's something simple like that.

BugMeister · 23 Nov 2016

Hi, Zeel :)
- could you confirm your Mother-Board details, I can't trace a Z84 version - did you mean Z87 (?)

Zeel · 23 Nov 2016

Ack sorry yes - Z87 Pro4.

BugMeister · 23 Nov 2016

check your motherboard manual - section 2.3
it shows how to install RAM to enable dual-channel operation
- slots 2 and 4 look to be the best arrangement..

PS: and by-the-way, if you haven't already..
- download and install the latest version of CCleaner
Latest CCleaner Version Released - Windows 10 Forums

Hint: check the Options in CCleaner and save any Cookies you may need - then blast the rest into space!!
- when run, it cleans a TON of unnecessary rubbish from your PC

Zeel · 25 Nov 2016

Thanks for the tip on which slots to put the RAM in. I had it in slots 1 and 2, which isn't one of the configurations they recommend. Changed it to 2 and 4, but unfortunately am still getting freezes.

I'll try having just one 4GB stick in at a time next, see if either or both still cause a freeze.

Zeel · 27 Nov 2016

Hmm, well after trying first one stick and then the other in slot 1 for a few days each - I'm still getting freezes either way. So maybe it's not the RAM after all. Thanks very much for the suggestions there though.

Graphics card next I suppose, but how do I diagnose that? I don't think I have an old one lying around I can try instead.

BugMeister · 27 Nov 2016

Screen freezing but sound continues-asus-sound-drivers.jpg

Looks like AsusTek have a later sound driver than the one showing in your DXDiag report

Zeel · 28 Nov 2016

Thanks for the tip there. I've now udated the drivers for my sound card. Unfortunately it didn't help - still the occasional freeze. But that was well worth trying definitely.

So a few things I've done:

Updated graphics card drivers
Checked for viruses
Put RAM in dual channel configuration (both slots 2 and 4, and 1 and 3)
Used just one (4GB) stick of RAM at a time - both sticks
Updated sound card drivers
Run CCleaner
Cleaned out any dust from inside the case

All good ideas, but none have helped unfortunately. If anyone has any other suggestions I'd be eager to hear. If not - the tips so far have been much appreciated. Thank you for those. I could look around for an old graphics card somewhere just to try out, see if that helps. I don't mind replacing that (or any other component), but just want to know which one to replace first! :)

BugMeister · 30 Nov 2016

- as I suggested earlier, it could just simply be that your GFX card is struggling..
- big advances have been made with graphics hardware (- and drivers!) in recent times..

- if you're going for a hardware upgrade, I'd go for a GFX card (- with more RAM on-board)
- it obviously depends on your budget, what you go for - the AMD RX series is pretty good value for money

- be sure to check that your PSU can cope with any increased load, though..

PS: I know I'm being partisan, but I'd switch to using Edge as a browser, if I were you..
I reckon it's the best..

Zeel · 01 Dec 2016

Great. Thanks for the pointers. I may well upgrade to a new card sometime. As the issue was happening when just using a browser and not even gaming, I don't know that it would be the card struggling as such, but something to consider definitely.

However, for the last three days now, I've had no issues with freezing. So I'm tentatively thinking things seem okay again. Not sure why they'd just clear up like that. But browing around for people with similar issues lately, several seemed to put it down to recent Windows updates causing issue with their graphics hardware. Not sure how likely that would be, but I suppose it's possible - and then a subsequent update rectified things.

I'll keep an eye on it, and bear in mind your points when upgrading. Thank you. :)