Troubleshooting freezing PC

[wand3r3r]

Alright experts, I'd like to get some opinions about what to troubleshoot. A friend requested some help troubleshooting his PC which consists of the following.

Asus M5A78L-M
G.Skill 8GB Dual Kit Ripjaws X (2x4GB), DDR3 1600
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
WD 1TB Caviar Green, 3.5"
Sony AD-5280S, DVD-RW
AMD FX-4130, AM3+, 3.8GHz

The issue is that it "slows down" and freezes a few minutes after booting and the HDD light just stays on as if it's using the HDD but nothing happens. I believe it's a new build (or not super new, but issues since new).

My first instinct is a memory test. Is memtest+ (not sure the name) still a good option?
Maybe a HDD test is in order, either smart or the manufacturer test.
Ill also check temps and the event viewer.

He said the PSU might be 400w, he got it with a case from someone.

What else would you guys look into?

 

[escrow4]

That chipset. Its not native AM3+ and 970, its an old ass mobo repurposed for something new. Not surprising you are having issues.

 

[mfenn]

The issue is that it "slows down" and freezes a few minutes after booting and the HDD light just stays on as if it's using the HDD but nothing happens. I believe it's a new build (or not super new, but issues since new).

Given these symptoms, I'm going to say it's an HDD problem. Either there are some bad sectors on the HDD and it's having to reread them over and over, or the amount of work the OS is asking the HDD to do is just overwhelming the poor Green drive. Download WD's Data Lifeguard tools and run the diagnostics.

 

[Blain]

1. Heat
2. HD
3. HD Heat

 

[wand3r3r]

Thanks for the input.