New G1Sn-X1 locking up..

Hey guys. new laptop arrived on tuesday. Go it up & running, and let windows update everything it wanted. Thing is, during the first start up one Vista (64-bit) was running, and the "welcome to" app started, it froze. Had to hold the power button down to restart, as I couldn't bring up the task manager.

It's happened numerous times since. Mostly in Firefox 3, but that's of course what I've used the most. Haven't downloaded/installed anything else yet.

I'm not at home now, so I can't access it, but I just thought I'd see if anyone had any ideas that I can check out in the meantime.

Specs here, if needed: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...=product&tab=2&id=1204332769810#productdetail

 

Many possible causes... including hardware and software causes.

Is it entirely frozen, as in no mouse movement and no reaction to key presses?

Does the event log record any error at the moment of the freeze?

You can try testing the RAM, with memtest86+.

Another useful thing is to run it in Live Linux for a while, and see if it does the same thing. If it doesn't then it's software (Windows, drivers, apps). If it does it, then it's probably hardware.

 

It doesn't entirely freeze, no. I can still move my cursor, but everything I try to open/run will not work once it's started. I don't know if it means anything, but most of the time, my cursor will be normal, except inside the "frozen" application, it'll turn to the loading icon. If I put my mouse over the taskbar, however, it turns to the loading icon there, as well.

Didn't see anything about an error log.

Didn't mention earlier, a good portion of the time, the frozen window gets a white-ish tint to it, like it's covered in cellophane or something, for lack of a better description.

Having the g/f bring it to me here at work, and I'm going to restore to factory default. If that doesn't work I'll look into memtest.

What exactly is Live Linux?

 

Alright, then I really think it's software. I think the restore is the best way to go, indeed.

I meant open the Event Log (that's how it's called in XP, at least) and check if there are any errors logged at the moment of the freeze.

Live Linux means Linux runs off a CD. No need to modify the HDD, and you have a different OS to test the hardware in.

 

That eases my mind a little. What makes you say it's possibly software related?

I'll do the event log thing the next time it happens.

So do I just burn the live linux to a disc, and boot from CD? Are there different ones out there? Can you recommend one? In case I need it later.

I appreciate the help. This is one of the most informative forums I've ever visited.

 

I recommend Knoppix, or SLAX.
I say it's probably software related, because usually, when a crash is hardware related, it's either a blue screen or a total freeze.

 

Great, I'll look into those. Thanks a lot, again. Hopefully I wont need anymore help.

 

Just a quick update, everything seems alright so far, since last night. Did a restore, and followed nearly every step in your Optimizing Vista on an ASUS, and it's running quite well. Gonna keep my fingers crossed, and see how it does at home with the g/f over the weekend.

 

Let's hope it'll be stable this time. Glad my guide helped.