Thread: Windows Freeze When Crank, Crank again windows unfreeze

Originally Posted by The Durango Kid

antimatter keep us informed.. Hopefully it's just something small and able to fix fast and cheap..

Like he said, hopefully it is something that is fast and cheap to fix. Sounds like it could be the 12v rail in my opinion. If that is the case and you have to get a new Opus, my thoughts are that it won't be fast or cheap (because of shipping) to get a replacement.

Well I did test it with a multimeter. I recreated the windows freeze and what i did was stick the positive and negative probes into the respecive holes on the molex connecter (not the molex connector that was going to the Hard Drive but a free one) and i did get +5 and +12 volts.

So i don't think it is the OPUS unless there is a problem with current from the actual molex connector that is plugged into the Hard Drive. I will test the actual molex that goes into hard drive later tonight.

One thing i noticed was that when i disconnect the Molex (after it is frozen) and reconnect it, the hard drive spinns up again and it unfreezes itself.

I am not sure, but it could be as simple as a faulty HDD. I had a drive that was acting weird with power in a home PC, also had to be unpluged and pluged back in once in a while. If it is a drive be careful, because when mine finally went it took the PSU, MOBO and Videocard along with it.

Do you have another drive to test it with?

Originally Posted by antimatter

Well I did test it with a multimeter. I recreated the windows freeze and what i did was stick the positive and negative probes into the respecive holes on the molex connecter (not the molex connector that was going to the Hard Drive but a free one) and i did get +5 and +12 volts.

So i don't think it is the OPUS unless there is a problem with current from the actual molex connector that is plugged into the Hard Drive. I will test the actual molex that goes into hard drive later tonight.

One thing i noticed was that when i disconnect the Molex (after it is frozen) and reconnect it, the hard drive spinns up again and it unfreezes itself.

I'm not sure what you mean here.. You said you tested "a free one" but then say after you "disconnected the Molex"?

If you are in fact removing the Molex from the HD and when you hook it back up the drive is spinning up I'm thin the controller on the HD is bad. I suggest testing another HD if you can.

I do have another western digital 80g drive that i will test it out with and also 40g laptop drive that i will eventially be using (once i recieve the purchased adaper) I will be moving everything to that drive.

I also have a crappy car battery that needs replacing soon and that could be the problem too. I will be getting a car battery this weekend so that might fix the problem.

I hope it is as easy as replacing the Hard Drive

So here is the deal...

I went and did some more thourough testing when i got home. I was able to create a pattern on when the hard drive would SPIN down and was able to get around it for the time being.

I plugged in another WD 80g HD and I had the same Issue with it spinning down and freezing Windows. This hard drive seemed to have even greater power requirments becasue the car almost wouldn't start a couple of cranks

When I had the Lilliput and CD/DVD plugged in and I cranked I was able to reproduce my problem 5/6 cranks. When I disconnected them and only had the hard drive plugged in i was only able to reproduce my issue like 1/6 cranks. Also I noticed that i was more likly to have this problem while stepping on the Brake Pedel.

Obviously my system is running lean on power. What are some good suggestions on fixing this.

I have a couple of Ideas

1. Replace the battery with a Optima Deep cycle battery
2. Put in a tank circuit
3. Run the lilliput directly off the battery (with a 12v regulator inbetween(any suggestions on a good 12v regulator))
4. Wire the Lilliput Directly to the Battery (I havn't drilled through the firewall yet)

any comments or suggestions on this newfound info?

Thanks for the help

Search the web for the 3 magic wire that audio peps referring to.
Basically what they do is upgrade the wiring system from the alternator to the battery. A minimum of 4GA wire is perfect but you can use 8GA.
- 1 wire go from the alternator output (+) to the (+) of the battery. WARNING: on some car, there is an inline fuse between. Check your car repair manual/electrical manual to see if there is one. My Matrix and Supra all have this fuse. If you open the fuse box cover in the engine bay, there is one label ALT for alternator. My Matrix has 100AMP, but the Supra only has 80AMP fuse.
The other 2 are for ground. One from the battery (-) to the bold that mound the alternator/engine. The other one is from the battery (-) to chasic/fender.

If all those doesn't work (including replace with Optima battery), you may have to upgrade the alternator.

So last night i worked for many hours installing my new 40g laptop HD. I bought it couse it was cheap and becasue i wanted a HD inside the case and because of its lower power consumption.

I have to say that i still my problem is not as prevelant however unfortunatly my boot time has jumped quite significantly.

I havn't had a windows freeze error with the laptop hard drive but i have a complete reboot when I crank the engine.
EDIT:I just had the same windows freeze/unfreeze problem with the lapop drive.


It is definitly time for a new battery. Sears Here I come. Doing the wiring upgrade is a good idea too. I will look into that.

I am considering switching back to the 3.5 hard drive just becasue it was so quick once i get the power issue straightened out. I will keep this thread updated with my progress

O I went by Sears and got an Optima Yellow Top battery.

I havn't gotten it installed in my car yet because the battery terminals are reversed. So i decided to run it to the trunk. That is going to take some time.

Once I get the battery installed in the trunk I am going to power the computer directly from the battery (as i should have in the first place).

I am hoping that all this will fix my cranking problem.

I will keep this post updated with my progress. (seems i am the only one posting here)