Frozen Windows

We answer your questions.

PC World staff | Tuesday, December 01 2009

Frozen out
Attempting to use the keyboard on my Windows XP PC frequently causes the machine to freeze up. I have to turn the computer off and start again. Can you suggest a fix?
Ken Walker

I suspect that the problem is arising because of a hardware fault on either your keyboard or your motherboard.

Check that your keyboard doesn’t require specialist drivers by going to the maker’s website or looking on Windows Update (windowsupdate.microsoft.com).

Next, try plugging the keyboard into a different USB port. Alternatively, if yours is a PS2 keyboard (these have a round connector), borrow or buy another keyboard and try that. Note that switching to a USB keyboard can involve enabling it in the BIOS; updating your BIOS can also help.

If you’re still experiencing the same lock-ups then it’s likely there’s a fault with your motherboard, or the operating system itself. In either case, back up all the files and folders stored on your PC on to an external hard drive before you continue to the next step.

Reinstalling Windows using your restore discs is an option only if you are confident enough to do so. Remember, this isn’t something you should undertake lightly. It’s also worth establishing whether there are any issues with your motherboard and, if so, whether your machine is still under warranty and can be fixed at nominal cost.

Speak up
My PC dual-boots Vista and XP Pro. Since installing XP Service Pack 3, I’ve lost the sound on that partition. Windows Help reports that all devices are working properly. A PC technician was also unable to fix the problem.
Thomas Cameron

We can rule out a hardware problem since the sound is still audible under Vista, Thomas. The ATI sound card mentioned in your original email is part of your ATI graphics card (all ATI HD cards come with Realtek HD audio chipsets built in). This is probably the second sound device installed on your machine as your motherboard will also have an audio chip onboard.

To check whether you have two sound devices installed on your machine, right-click My Computer and choose Manage•Device Manager•Sound•Video and Game Controllers. You can also disable one of the sound cards in the BIOS.

Given that HD audio is available only via an HDMI connection to an external monitor or TV, consider disabling the ATI card. To use your other sound device instead, go to Start•Control Panel•Sounds and Audio Devices•Audio and make it the default device under the Sound playback section.

Alternatively, disabling the onboard sound will force the machine to use the ATI card – it will be the only sound device available. Download the latest ATI drivers and Catalyst Control Center for your particular graphics card from ati.com.

Driving me crazy
My internal and external optical drives seem to be causing my PC to freeze up. I’ve tried booting up into Safe mode, cleaning the drives and checking for firmware updates, but the problem persists.
David Bauernfeind

You need to check which device is causing the problem, David. If you run your PC with the external drive disconnected and it still freezes then your internal device is probably at fault. Disconnect your PC from the mains, then remove the cables going to your internal drive. If the PC now works correctly then you’ll need to download and install the latest firmware for your internal drive.

Similar steps apply should you discover that the external drive is at fault. If the problem persists, one of your optical drives may need to be replaced.

Squealy strange
On returning home from a recent holiday and switching the electricity back on I was met with an unwelcome and almost continuous squealing noise from my PC. The machine refuses to boot up and no image appears on the monitor. Tech support suggested that the CPU or its fan had failed. The processor fan seemed to be working fine, so I wasn’t surprised when the noise continued after I installed a new chip.
Robert Atkinson

The noise could be also coming from your power supply unit (PSU), Robert, where there is another fan. However, perhaps the easiest way to discover the source of the squeal is to remove the side panel and switch the machine on.

The fact that you aren’t getting a picture on your display leads me to believe that the PSU may have failed and is now sending an incorrect amount of power to the computer. However, if the noise appears to be coming from the motherboard then the actual culprit will be the memory, processor or other component.

In all cases you should contact the manufacturer’s support line and try to get the issue resolved under warranty

Individual updates
Could you point me in the right direction of a download link for Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 please? Also, how I can download individual updates, save them on my hard drive and manually apply them at a later date? I’d like to reinstall Windows and then reapply the updates.
Mick Jackson

You can download a copy of Windows XP SP3 from tinyurl.com/4qvth5.

To back up all the Windows updates that have been downloaded and applied you first need to disable Automatic Updates. Right-click My Computer and choose Manage•Services and Applications•Services. Right-click Automatic Updates and choose Stop.

Navigate to your Windows folder and find the SoftwareDistribution folder. This is where Windows places updates. Copy the contents to an external drive. Once you have reinstalled Windows you can copy the updates back into the folder.

The next time you run Windows Update the system should pick up that the relevant files require updating but will not need to download them again. You may find that XP SP3 is already held within this folder too.

Note that you can save a lot of time and effort by downloading nLite (nliteos.com) and using it to ‘slipstream’ SP3 with your current XP disc. This will create a brand-new bootable disk that will install XP SP3.

Lousy mouse
When I put my Windows XP PC in Standby or Hibernate mode the USB mouse and keyboard refuse to wake up on reactivation. Changing USB ports makes no difference.
Mick Davey

XP’s hibernation and sleep function is notorious for not working correctly with some devices when the machine wakes up.

Right-click My Computer and choose Manage•Device Manager. Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers branch and look for entries listed as USB Root Hub.

Double-click the first to bring up its Properties. Click the Power Management tab and untick Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Repeat this step for each USB root hub to fix the problem.