M17X R2 random freeze or locking up

Hi all
Well as above my pc randomly freezes or locks up and only pressing the off button for a while turns it off .
Nothing has changed on the laptop for a while so i have no clue whats going on .
Any one got any idea to help me diagnose whats going on or any programs i can use to test hardware etc .

Spec is in my sig but no hardware has been changed or updated for a while so nothing new there .
Temps using HW info are fine .

Thanks

 

After booting up, hit F12 at POST to go into PST (Pre Boot Systems Test). Follow the instructions and run thru all of the tests (including the memory tests). This will test the CPU, RAM, motherboard/chipset, etc. for any faults. If it gives you an error code during one of the tests, write all the information down and post it in your reply. If no errors occur, then it could be a driver or system file(s) that got corrupted all of the sudden...or you caught internet herpes somehow.

 

Ok thanks I'll try this now and post the results soon hopefully .

Pre-boot assessment completes with no problems ....

 

When does it freeze? Have you tried reinstalling your OS?

 

Check the temperatures...Does it happen while playing games or videos, or even when idling? Also, there could be a program running on the background causing the freezes, try a clean boot.

 

It seems to do it when idle ... doesn't happen when gaming .
The latest time was i clicked on Internet Explorer then it just froze solid .... doesnt seem any pattern to it . It had been sitting idle for a while before hand.
Temps are all fine ... Highest Cpu goes is 82C ... Gpu's are high 60's or low 70's C . Idles in high 30's and low 40's C.
All diagnostics from Dell pass apart from Error Code 3700:011B ... Msg PROCESSOR_FAN - The fan speed is incorrect .
But i would like to point out the fan does work and i can feel and hear it work and from HWinfo it reports it working and going up to almost 4000 rpm during stress testing etc so im a bit skeptical of this message .
I suppose i could use it to get a freebie fan from Dell but the fan does work ... the machine was dismantled and all fans and heatsyncs cleaned out a few months ago and had new paste MX-4 and High performance pads redone .... but its not overheating so thats not the issue here.

 

Try the clean boot, reflash the BIOS, run windows updates, open the bottom cover and make sure there's nothing on the fan's way (even if the system was cleaned a few months ago, something could have gotten in there).
There's also an Alienware tool you can use to check your system, It's called AlienAutopsy, here's more information...

Let me know how it goes.

 

Alien Autopsy completes all passed , windows memory diagnostic says no errors .
I will try the bios reflash ... windows is up to date .
Norton 360 , Superantispyware and Antimalwarebytes say system is clean apart from a few cookies.
I will blow the fans and heatsyncs out sometime over the weekend . Will also do the clean boot . I just wish there was some regularity or some event thats in common with the lock up but it seems totally random

 

Bios now re-flashed with A10 .

 

Any luck there Proz? Did the new bios fix things or are you still experiencing problems?

 

I was already on A10 bios but reflashed it anyway and touch wood its been fine since ... not had a lock up for a few days now