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Help! My new computer is freezing!

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superboyac:
Unfortunately, my new computer is freezing whenever I try installing games.  I never usually play games, but since I have a new computer, I thought I'd try out its capabilities.  I've tried two games so far, Half Life 2 and Unreal 3, and they both freeze (hang) during the install process somewhere.  The whole computer is frozen I can't do anything except hit the reset button on my tower.

Most of the time when I restart after the hang, I get a BSOD.  After rebooting again, everything works fine (unless I try installing again).  I've tried everything:  installing from the original CD, installing from a mounted ISO using daemon, and copying the files to the hard drive and installing.  They all freeze during the installation.

I thought maybe it was Kaspersky.  So one time I exited Kaspersky and immediately after the computer froze again, which is weird, because I've exited Kaspersky before without any problems.  Also, I tried exited Kaspersky later and it was fine.  So it doesn't happen every time.

Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with the games or Kaspersky.  There's some other problem, possibly hardware related.  I'm running XP.

Now about the BSOD, the driver specified on the screen is "portcls.sys"  After doing some research, this file has something to do with audio drivers, possibly the onboard one that comes with the motherboard.  I don't know what to do about it.

Fortunately, you can see all my computer specs here, if it reveals anything.

40hz:
Have you checked Gigabyte's website to see if you're running the latest BIOS and chipset firmware? Boards as new as this sometimes have a spate of updates for the first 6 months or so as the kinks get worked out.

You should be able to disable onboard audio under BIOS setup. Try updating your firmware first. See if you get a clean bootup. Then try disabling onboard audio if the problem persists.

superboyac:
Have you checked Gigabyte's website to see if you're running the latest BIOS and chipset firmware? Boards as new as this sometimes have a spate of updates for the first 6 months or so as the kinks get worked out.

You should be able to disable onboard audio under BIOS setup. Try updating your firmware first. See if you get a clean bootup. Then try disabling onboard audio if the problem persists.
-40hz (February 06, 2009, 11:15 AM)
--- End quote ---
Thanks, I'll try that tonight.

Carol Haynes:
Check that you have installed the latest motherboard drivers (from the chipset manufacturer rather than the mobo site as they are often not updated much after release). Similarly check you have the latest Graphics and Audio drivers.

In the BIOS disable any unused devices (there are often game ports, midi interfaces, audio and lots more that you are not actually using) and check for any 'performance' settings. If there are high performance settings defaulting 'on' try turning them off (not sure what is in your BIOS - take some photos of the screens and post them here if you are not sure).

Deozaan:
When you get a BSOD you should record the STOP code. You usually only need to record the last couple of digits, then google the code for answers.

For example: STOP 0xFC

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