Replies

My reply was snarky, based upon the complete lack of any information other than it’s presumably a computer and it is running Windows 7. And the OP is at least in their late 70’s.

It sounds like–but I don’t know–the PC goes into standby or sleep mode and fails to wake back up. One assumes this is a new phenomenon on an previously working fine old computer.

Make, and model name and number of PC?

Such issues are not simple to track down or fix. There should be multiple ways of waking the PC; does keyboard clicks OR mouse (if?) movement (do both) not work? If neither works to wake the PC(?) when both are tried then neither is likely the cause. Are they USB based keyboard or mouse or PS/2 (the round plugs) based? [It can be a USB issue.] Are the keyboard and mouse wireless? [It can be a battery/wifi dongle issues.]

So, any new apps installed right before this started?

Any changes to a screen saver or power down (sleep) mode before this started?

Something has changed: Failed component, altered setting, installed app or update and it happened at the time of the change. The event viewer may diagnose though it is not easy for the average user to use. Select (type) “View reliability history” from Start Search box may or may not be more useful than Event Viewer.

Check if “Allow this device to wake the computer” is checked in Device Manager.
a. Click Start, type Device manager in the Start search box and hit Enter.
b. Select keyboard, it will display your keyboard, right click and select ‘Properties’.
c. Select the ‘Power management’ tab.
d. Check the “Allow this device to wake the computer” check box.
e. Repeat these steps for your Mouse as well.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/266283

Not knowing your computer diagnostic capabilities, but given the dearth of details I suspect you will have to hire someone to diagnose and fix the issue.

Another possibility is to disable sleep mode all together and leave it running. When bedtime comes shutdown the PC. Either way, constantly cold rebooting many times a day from a frozen PC is far worse for the PC. Especially an older PC and will lead to premature failure.

Don’t leave your computer running?

…. I got two error codes: 55 = memory not installed; 53 = Memory initialization error. Invalid memory type or incompatible memory speed.

The sticks were properly seated. It is easy enough to see that there are no gaps at the edges and that the memory went in just as the last dozen or so have (other boards)….

Memory properly seated is detected by the two latches on the sides being properly seated into place. It is the most common mistake to be made with this error.
44348-RAM-proper-seating
At this point I am going to assume they are fully seated. So based upon the messages that leaves three likely possibilities: incompatible RAM, bad RAM, bad MB. Bad CPU memory controller would be less likely. If you tried both sticks by themselves with the same result it is unlikely both sticks are bad. It is more likely incompatible RAM or bad MB.

It is overclocked RAM (from 2,133MHz). I would have expected XMP to have properly set the appropriate settings but it is possible the settings were not made in BIOS. You may also need to turn on or direct it to XMP 2.0 support in the BIOS to get the MB to automatically make the timing adjustments for you (in MB manual?). If not, you can easily make them manually (see timings below) usually either in a RAM section or Advanced/Overclocking section. [Of course now that I think of it you can’t get into the BIOS menu at this point can you?]

One other thing to do is update the BIOS if it is not already the latest revision (BIOS 1601, 2016/03/31). Fortunately ASUS does not require any RAM or even a CPU be present to do this, and your RAM should not be present during an update since it is currently an issue. See MB manual. It is easy to do using a flash drive, the designated port and pushing the BIOS button. All the revisions are stability updates so maybe it will help.

edit: There is one other thing to try: A CMOS reset. Sometimes a reset will make a new installation work because some settings are a bit wonky by forcing the system to reevaluate what is installed upon it. So put both sticks in the slots you want (usually A or zero channel) and reset using the jumper (see manual; preferred method) or with PC unplugged from wall remove the CMOS battery, hold the power button in for a few seconds to discharge caps and replace battery after 20 minutes).

This is also a time when recontacting ASUS support is not a bad option before returning anything. Corsair support as well…though unless you can access the BIOS Menu there isn’t much they can do.

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-MAXIMUS-VIII-FORMULA/ – MB

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-MAXIMUS-VIII-FORMULA/HelpDesk/ – support

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-MAXIMUS-VIII-FORMULA/HelpDesk_QVL/ – RAM QVLs

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/MAXIMUS_VIII_FORMULA/E11081_MAXIMUS_VIII_FORMULA_UM_WEB.pdf?_ga=1.8065904.337798135.1452473605 – manual

http://www.corsair.com/en/vengeance-lpx-16gb-2x8gb-ddr4-dram-2400mhz-c14-memory-kit-black-cmk16gx4m2a2400c14 – I believe this is your RAM model???? Which is on the latest QVL with full support listed
Speed: 2400MHz
Tested Latency: 14-16-16-31
Voltage: 1.2V
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/understanding-ram-timings/

QVLs are fairly meaningless. RAM is so standardized it works, period. Has for years. Some exceptions are if you bought seriously out of spec RAM. While the CPUs memory controller supports 2,133MHz RAM, 2,400 should work just fine and is a JEDEC standard.

Are you sure the memory stick was fully seated with both securing arms snapped into place?

The recommendation to build a minimal system is the place to start. Better if the build is outside the case on a non-conductive surface to eliminate shorts to case and make it easier to make connections and recognize improperly seated ones. Also I’d use onboard video and leave the GPU card off the minimal build. Put the stick in the slot nearest the CPU.

The model number is on the case:
http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/bph07555

Belarc Advisor will usually also return the correct System Model information even if most of the system has been swapped out since the returned info is on the MB BIOS.

Try this one:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/advisor

or what was your HP model name and number?

…. I may simply need more RAM for this machine?KZ

If your HP MB supports more RAMbeyond 4GB. And assuming a 64-bit OS.

Nice. I would recommend the mod separate this from this thread (or copy) and post it as a separate sticky in whatever you deem the appropriate forum. Then we can keep posting the link because retiredgeek is correct it keeps coming up over and over and over ….

…. I know the video card model number and so far, no driver is available. I use a CAD software program, a video editing program and photo editing programs, all of which rely on a high performance video card …. retune my monitor for color correctness and start over. That will entail weeks of lost time ….

What is your video card model number? I assume it is a workstation card?

Unless either of those 3 apps uses the parallel processing power of a graphics card (in which case it is proprietary) the only use of a video card in CAD or video editing in commercial packages in lessening the load on the CPU is in realtime playback. Almost any modern consumer or workstation card can handle that. Some faster workstation GPUs (drivers really) can make a small but noticeable visual playback difference).

Virtually all of the load of rendering is borne by the CPU which is why the more cores the better, with support for hyperthreading and 64bit processing and apps to do as much as possible in RAM. Which is why Xeons are a better chocie than i7’s. That may change in the future because I think both CAD and video editing are ripe for parallel processing, but so far years later nobody seems to have gotten around to writing the code for commercial distribution.

Color correction adjustments are a pain but should not take more than a few hours of time. Learning to do everything you do on an Apple–a viable option–would take weeks of your time. And repurchasing suitable apps.

RAM is cheap. Anything done on a PC is best done in RAM as it is the fastest (excluding the CPU caches). When pieces have to be read or written elsewhere they go through a slower interface and the CPU waits. If the CPU waits enough, the user waits. That is a bad thing.

An SSD helps with this since it is faster than a HDD, but faster still is to do as much as possible in the CPU caches and RAM with only as few writes and reads from nonvolatile storage as possible.

Most people with that 32GB of RAM will likely never exceed even 8GB of its space in their life. But as that kind of space becomes more frequent (along with 64bit apps) I have no doubt someone(s) are going to create some pretty cool uses for that RAMspace. For the present as was said those running a lot of open apps (or browser tabs), especially 64-bit apps, can make use of as much RAM as those combined apps and usage ever occupy. I doubt such usage exceeds 16GB for anyone presently.

For the time being though, a small 2-4GB volatile RAMdrive with a fixed drive letter for 32bit apps is about all I see worthwhile for the rare 32-bit apps that need more than their restricted 2GB of space and need to do writes and reads (thrashing). Now that is fast.

Yes, you never want to reply or click an unsubscribe link. It is fish on from there because they know they got a live one on the other end of that email. They will not only bombard you, but sell your email address as a verified good one. Now about those Nigerian oil wells or widow of Ambassador Mukafu who would like to deposit her late husband’s fortune in my checking account to hide it from probate if she could have the account number….

To add to retiredgeek’s suggestion…once done and everything is sunning smoothly with your SSD as the boot drive, and the new HDD as a secondary drive, install the old HDD from your present setup and transfer your data, etc. to the new HDD.

As for advice on what to get in a new PC it depends upon what you use it for. Most people never upgrade their PCs, but were it mine I would want 4 RAM slots, an x16 slot, if I were getting a Pentium or i3 I would want it upgradable to an i7 down the road, I would want at least four SATA 6mbps ports on the MB, probably a Realtek 1150 audio chip, and preferably an Intel LAN chip. DDR4 support would be great but an 1150 chipset MB with DDR3 support is fine if the price for the equipment was right. I would want an ATX form factor PSU in a microtower case. I’d want at least a 1TB HDD. And I’d spend the money on a 250GB SSD.

Perhaps you should start by addressing the problem causing your wife to be unable to use Win 7. Upgrading a faulty system is a fairly common path to grief….

Nice catch and absolutely true.

The other way to do it would be to make a verified image of the new Win10 installation and then kill the drive partitions (assuming those are the only two partitions), then repartion the drive into one partition and then do a quick format. Then boot up your backup’s rescue disk and reinstall your Win10 partition from the image. Minitool is a lot slicker.

…. I get a two system freezes every day. One immediately after the PC is booted in the morning, or after it comes out from sleep; and the second within an hour of the first. After that, the system runs without a hitch. Investigation seems to indicate my NVIDIA geforce 610 card, but although annoying, I can tolerate the inconvenience.

My system is:

Core2Duo E5300 2.66ghz @ 32ghz (64bit system but not used)
….
Canon N650U USB scanner

I can’t get the scanner to work, even under Vuescan, so I may have to buy a more modern one someday.

I do a lot of image processing, write image-heavy webpages, about 5% of my use is video editing, slow but bearable. ….

OK, I assume from your comment on the 64-bit not being used on the CPU that means you are running Win10 32-bit. No idea why—because preserving settings from an old XP or Vista migrated to 7…etc. so not worth just clean installing a 64-bit OS (and hopefully upping the DDR2 to 4 x 2Gb if possible).

[*]With issues such as you describe I would first update the BIOS to the latest version available (you did not list a MB).
[*]
[*]Then update the chipset (including ME and RST if applicable) and SATA drivers from Intel, not the MB maker.
[*]
[*]Then manually remove (not disable) the Intel graphics driver.
[*]
[*]Then update the nVidia 610 driver.
http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/100867 – 32-bit Win 10

See if that doesn’t clear it up. Two reboots a day is two more wear and tears on your system a day and the second one is an instability that can cost you work. Both should be unacceptable.

Yes, a scanner for which the driver was a Win9.x adapted to XP and never updated for Vista is not a good bet to run. I assume you tried compatibility mode settings for Vista, XP, Win 98, Win95? Reduced color or 640×480 tweaks? Scanners have always been an issue with old drivers but sometimes you get lucky. A virtual XP (if CPU supports) or an old dedicated XP scanner box like I have…..
http://www.windows10forums.com/articles/compatibility-mode.7/

BTW, there was no Core2Duo E5300. That was a dual core Pentium.
http://ark.intel.com/products/35300/Intel-Pentium-Processor-E5300-2M-Cache-2_60-GHz-800-MHz-FSB

You don’t say what your MB make and model is but doing all the image/video work you do you might consider upgrading the CPU to either faster or quad core if the chipset supports it. Should run between $20-$50 depending upon the CPU support. Quad core would be best for your uses, but faster works as well.