Computer Freezing

[Falcon Speed]

In the last 7 days, my desktop has been freezing up sporadically, 2 - 60 minutes from logging in. I have not installed any new software, for the exception of upgrades such as Adobe, VirtualBox, etc... I have been imaging (Acronis) back to a previous good image (created 4 months ago) and avoid upgrading any software. It seems to rule out on a software level.

I need to test RAM (3 years old), Hard Drive (6 years old), SSD (3 years old), graphic card (8 years old), CPU (3 years old). Could you name a software that can test these hardware?

I doubt it is the graphic card. Symptom: When it freezes, I get a weird noise (as if buzz out) and then a still picture of the screen. I would have to hold down the Power button to reset.

Thanks

[Midknyte]

UBCD5 has memory and hard drive diags. Link is in my signature. You need to know how to burn .iso properly. If you don't, read this:
http://www.howtogeek.com/80094/how-t...-in-windows-7/
https://www.petri.com/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd

For the SSD, you need to get the manufacturer's diags. You didn't list make/models, so that's the most I can say.

It could also be a PSU problem.

[Falcon Speed]

Thanks for providing that. I will use PowerISO to burn it to a CD.

Since most of my storage HardDrive are TrueCrypt, will UBCD5 mess up? My OS is on the SSD. Hard Drives are only for storage.

My SSD is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820171567

[Midknyte]

http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/de...rt-information

Diags should not affect your data, but it's always good to have a backup anyway.

Why are you still using Truecrypt?
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/05/t...is-not-secure/

[Falcon Speed]

What should I do with that SanDisk site that you provided? I viewed and notice a firmware on there. Should I search for the diagnostic tool?

A few months ago, I was searching for an alternative to TrueCrypt and read some other articles that TrueCrypt is still safe. Mix articles. Example: http://thehackernews.com/2014/04/tru...n-tool_15.html

Here is another article: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/features/...till-safe-use/

What are you using now? I would change once I know there is a worthy alternative. I trust that you are using something reliable.

Thanks MidKnyte

[Falcon Speed]

Thanks for providing the SSD ToolKit. I installed it and got the following:

Attachment 13185Attachment 13187

How do I delete the previous images from years ago?

[Midknyte]

I don't have a Sandisk, so I'm not sure about how to delete the old data. I guess you found the diags in the toolbox. I've run Intel and Samsung SSDs and they each have their own diags.

Personally, I can't trust Truecrypt even if people say it's "safe". It's your call, though.
Here are a few alternatives:
http://www.maketecheasier.com/truecrypt-alternatives/

I don't usually encrypt my entire drive. I create encrypted zip/rar/7z files for my important data. Encrypting the entire drive affects performance. It's like punishing the whole class when one kid acts up.

[Falcon Speed]

I ran the Memory Test 86+ overnight. No memory defect. That is good news.

I will look into another alternative for TrueCrypt and once I find one, I will update.

I have my entire drive encrypted for almost 7 years now and never had any problem with them, except at the beginning when test and trial. The reason is because I have lots of family videos and pictures (nothing explicit or anything) . Just that I want to make sure if my computer ever gets stolen, none of my data gets upload on the internet. I don't have a Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, or any social media because I am old school when it comes to privacy.

I completely agree that it is a performance hit. Ironically, I posted a question why the heck does the program RealTemp when crazy high when I was moving data from one hard drive to another. Train finally helped me to understand that the process of decryption and encryption use CPU power. hahaha! But for data storage, it is perfect and on the occasion of watching family video again, no performance hit since I have a quadcore CPU and 24 gb of memory. A con to encrypted drive is we can't just hook it up to a WD Media Player but that is the trade off we pay for encryption.

[Falcon Speed]

MidKnyte,

http://www.maketecheasier.com/truecrypt-alternatives
After some test and trial in my virtual environment, here are some of my feedback.

I am not going to even touch Symantec Encryption Drive since it is not a free product.

https://diskcryptor.net/wiki/Main_Page
This one is good but there is no File Container support.

https://veracrypt.codeplex.com
I will be sticking with this one since it is the same interface as TrueCrypt. As a matter of fact, this one was the next program that I was going to go with a while back when I was looking for the alternative.

https://www.boxcryptor.com/en/download
Needs to sign in or have an account which requires internet connections.

http://www.axantum.com/AxCrypt
Only File Encryption (No Drive or File Container)

This will be my next project to convert when I have time.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

[Falcon Speed]

I don't want to knock on wood yet but I think I have isolated the cause of the freeze. Let it be for another day and I will post an update.

[Midknyte]

Ok. Good luck