Change IDE to AHCI and computer freezes

[*Yawn*...God?]

I recently changed a Windows 7 OS from IDE (Enhanced) to AHCI without performing a reinstall, but though the registry. Afterwards, after a certain amount of time running, the computer would randomly freeze. I switched back to IED (Enhanced), and it froze. I switched to IED (Compatible) and it still froze. I then reinstalled Windows 7, this time with AHCI, thinking it might fix the problem, but it did not; the computer still froze. I've switched back to IED (Enhanced) and it froze, and even IED (Compatible), which hasn't froze as of yet after the reinstall but will most likely freeze as well.

All this happened after I changed the registry on a previous Windows 7 installation, and reinstalling Windows 7 doesn't seem to have any effect. I've been looking though Google for similar scenarios but it doesn't seem to be that common. Does anyone have any ideas what might be the cause? Could it be a completely unrelated cause? And no, I did not make a mistake when changing the registry.

Thanks for the replies.

[kilgoretrout]

Did you do a full reinstall or just a repair install?
Sounds to me like your problem is probably unrelated to your registry edit. First thing I would check is your ram using memtest86+ :

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

Let it run for several hours at least and see if it picks up any ram errors.

[*Yawn*...God?]

Originally Posted by kilgoretrout Did you do a full reinstall or just a repair install? Sounds to me like your problem is probably unrelated to your registry edit. First thing I would check is your ram using memtest86+ : Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool Let it run for several hours at least and see if it picks up any ram errors.

Yes, I performed a full reinstall, formatted the disk, etc. As we know, the registry is wiped along with other things. I only mentioned it for clarity, to establish when the problem began, and why it's paradoxical that it is continuing when the old registry is gone with a new installation.

I didn't think about running memtest. Do you prefer memtest86 or memtest86+? I'll probably end up running both anyway, though I've had more success with memtest86; memtest86+ seemed to crash on me during startup on a different computer.

[kilgoretrout]

Use memtest86+. The older memtest is no longer maintained by the developers and was essentially abandoned. New developers came in and updated the old memtest code base so it would be compatible with newer hardware. That's what memtest86+ is.

[glc]

Also run diagnostics on your hard drive.

[*Yawn*...God?]

Originally Posted by kilgoretrout Use memtest86+. The older memtest is no longer maintained by the developers and was essentially abandoned. New developers came in and updated the old memtest code base so it would be compatible with newer hardware. That's what memtest86+ is.

The newest memtest86 version was released March 28, 2011, according to their site. The newest memtest86+ version was released January 25, 2011, according to their site.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of your comment.

Originally Posted by Memtest.org The first version of Memtest86+ was released on early 2004, based on memtest86 v3.0 that was not updated since mid-2002.

There was indeed a time where Memtest86 wasn't updated for quite a while, but I don't think that time is now.

[kilgoretrout]

The newest memtest86 version was released March 28, 2011, according to their site. The newest memtest86+ version was released January 25, 2011, according to their site.

Take a look at the memtest86 change log here:

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic

Note how historically many of the changes were merely incorporating changes made by memtest86+, especially the important ones like adding support for newer hardware.

Now take a look at the memtest86+ change log:

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

You won't find any listings incorporating changes made by memtest86.

They are both open source with GPL licensing so there is nothing wrong with one project using the others code. If you want to you could compare the source code for both as they are both freely available. However, in my experience memtest86+ has support for newer hardware before memtest86.

[*Yawn*...God?]

After running memory tests (memtest86+) which is passed with 0 errors, hard drive tests (Seatools for Windows) which it passed with 0 errors, trying AHCI and IDE, trying Windows XP and 7, 32 and 64 bit, unplugging and replugging SATA cables, removing memory sticks and I can't think of anything more, the computer is still freezing spontaneously.

The only thing I can think of now is just unplugging and replugging everything on the motherboard and seeing if that fixes anything.

What I really want to know is why the freezing is occurring. This is so frustrating.

[kilgoretrout]

Probably should have asked before, but could you post your specs. If this is a retail, prebuilt box, post the make and model. Check out your temps in your bios setup and check out your fans to make sure they are all running properly; you may be overheating. If you have a lot of dust in the case, clean it up, particularly by the heatsink fan. If you look OK temperature wise, your power supply would be my next suspect. Be sure to include your psu manufacturer and wattage in your specs.

[*Yawn*...God?]

Actually, it's not my computer, but my friend's computer, and it's not prebuilt, but an assortment of upgraded bits of hardware. Interestingly enough, the power unit is the oldest bit of the computer, so you might have a point there.

Temps are good, both under stress and while idle, and I cleaned the dust out of the comp just a few days ago after this problem began occurring. It might be the power unit, as a matter of fact. My friend sometimes complains he gets a shock from touching the back of the computer case, and I myself sometimes feel a buzz. I've felt this on other computers before, but his is especially shocking (bwahahahaha). I'll investigate the power unit.