"Freezing up or locking up is very rarely a result of defective hardware"
I would disagree with that assertion, and I think you will find a fair
number of others do as well. Years of experience tell me otherwise. As a
recent example, a machine i just worked on this week had had random freezes
for months before she brought it to me. No error messages, nothing in the
event viewer, just a solid freeze and nothing worked. This person had good
user habits, system and AV were kept updated, there were no bugs, ads, or
spy programs present. Pulled the processor, counted 7 leaky capacitors on
the board that two other previous techs had missed. New m-board and all is
well in the world for her.
This is a new system under warranty. The supplied drivers, while not the
most recent, should at least be sufficient as WinXP has been out for more
than 2 years now. Under no circumstances should the owner mess with it. The
manufacturer can and will use any excuse to void the warranty. Making them
own up to it and getting it straight is what that warranty is for. Use it,
there is no reason anyone should have to muck about on their own with a new
system.
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Best of Luck,
Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!
Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone