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Question

Windows randomly stops working properly

Sep 23, 2016 6:19PM PDT

Over the last 2 weeks I've had the following happen seemingly at random, first directly after waking from standby, but now it also happened twice out of nowhere while the PC was running. It's hard to fully investigate the issue while it's happening but there seem to be at least 3 things that are part of this:

1) Internet goes out on my PC, can't even reach the router anymore
2) No programs open anymore, I've tried a lot of different ones, including process explorer, nothing happens. This also causes the PC to not shut down anymore.
3) Some, not all, currently running programs won't close properly and/or crash while closing.

As far as I can tell so far anything that is currently running keeps running however e.g. I can still do stuff in Word etc. if it is open and also still save my work. There is no indication, no errors, it just seemingly randomly "happens", nothing of note in the event viewer, I haven't installed anything recently, everything is up to date and there are no other problems.

Specs (let me know if you need more):
Win 7 Pro x64
Intel i5 4590
16GB RAM

Discussion is locked

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Answer
A Couple Of Things I'd Do
Sep 23, 2016 8:38PM PDT

First, because heat damage can cause such issues, open the case and use compressed air to blow out all the dust from around the processor, heatsink, power supply, and all vents and fans.

Next, clean out all the junk files from your Temp folders and Temporary Internet Files. Then uninstall any programs you don't need, or at least, prevent them from running in the background in "Services" or "msconfig", if they're not necessary. If you've got two antivirus programs installed, remove one. One AV is the best way to go so there's no conflicts between the two. You might even run Chkdsk to attempt to repair any damaged files on the hard drive. (run "chkdsk /f /r /x" from a command prompt, then restart the computer to start the disk check.)

And finally, just in case it's malware, click on the link below and follow ALL of the steps to the letter.

“Expand” the post titled: "Please try this" at the link below:
http://www.cnet.com/forums/post/f742c795-5881-433b-a29b-6d758efe5cd3/

Hope this helps.

Grif

Post was last edited on September 24, 2016 11:44 AM PDT

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Did a couple things
Sep 24, 2016 3:22AM PDT

Did everything you said

- Overheating is definitely not an issue, I regularly check temperatures and the highest I've ever seen is like 75°C
- removed temporary files
- I also regularly check for programs that sneak into autostart, but just in case I did double check, nothing in there that I don't want to be there
- Avast is all I use
- Ran CHKDSK, repaired some issues
- AdwCleaner found whatever the hell this is supposed to be: Chrome pref Gefunden: [C:\Users\****\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Secure Preferences ] - aidgmjkfmbhldhnhkopojimkhhhcpenl
- rkill did nothing
- AntiMalware found nothing
- SuperAntispyware finds a bunch of tracking cookies and crashes halfway through the scan

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If Super crashes that's a sign
Sep 24, 2016 8:20AM PDT

Of some bigger problem. It could be some hardware issue like an outdated BIOS or driver but it doesn't exclude hardware issues like heat or incompatible memory.

As a test be sure the BIOS is up to date then use the BIOS defaults. Still crashing? Try it with one stick of RAM.

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BIOS is up to date
Sep 24, 2016 5:40PM PDT

Haven't tried actually taking out RAM sticks yet, but a quick scan by Windows has revealed no memory errors.

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And What Happens If You Log Into A Different Admin Account?
Sep 24, 2016 11:49AM PDT

It appears like hardware my be the issue here, but just for grins, try creating a second admin account and start the computer using the new account. Does the computer still have the same problems?

Corrupted logins are fairly common and sometimes they have issues such as yours.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Trying
Sep 24, 2016 2:04PM PDT

I'll try that. It could take some time to find out if it actually fixes the issue as this only occurs once every couple days.

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So super antispyware doesn't always crash?
Sep 24, 2016 2:20PM PDT

That tells me something else.

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I thought that was in response to the initial issue.
Sep 24, 2016 3:21PM PDT

SAS actually stopped crashing after I excIuded my backup drive from the search, since it contains only encrypted backups and some random files that were using too much space. It was always crashing at the exact same file (which is most definitely not a suspicious one)

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That is a clue.
Sep 24, 2016 4:45PM PDT

There was this Dell that did that. It was an out of date BIOS and/or USB drivers. Dell didn't have a fix for a month or two. But it's all good now.

I'd talk to my machine's maker about those areas.

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its a self-built machine
Sep 24, 2016 5:25PM PDT

so there is no manufacturer to ask. BIOS is up to date, USB drivers as well.

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btw
Sep 24, 2016 5:44PM PDT

If/When this happens again, is there anything I can do to gather more data on the issue? The rarity makes it really hard to troubleshoot so I'd like to get as much info out of it as possible when it does happen.

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For me I'd have to clear the event viewer.
Sep 24, 2016 5:52PM PDT
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avast is the only AV
Sep 25, 2016 6:05AM PDT
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Bios
Sep 25, 2016 7:25AM PDT

At the asus site I see a newer bios than what you have.

While your there brows through the driver updates and compare to what you have installed.

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you are correct
Sep 25, 2016 9:14AM PDT

Which means the ASUS update utility didnt work properly. Anyway, BIOS now up to date, all other drivers are up to date aswell, nothing new released since I built this PC except for audio driver.

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I really wonder why you have Terminal services there.
Sep 25, 2016 9:32AM PDT

I'll reply to the top.

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Crashing
Sep 24, 2016 7:39PM PDT

Run an avast full scan on the ext disk.
Enable scan for pups.
Does it also crash?

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nope
Sep 25, 2016 5:47AM PDT

doesn't crash

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Answer
Assumption
Sep 23, 2016 11:15PM PDT

Perhaps a recent update is not working properly with your device. Since you mentioned that you didn't installed anything recently so I guess some (or a single) update might cause this issue.

Again, heat and dust might be an issue. Clean your computer and get rid of the junkies.

One last thing, try shutting down the computer instead of putting it to stand by for a few days.

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Answer
#1 seems to be your entire problem
Sep 24, 2016 8:08AM PDT

Work on why your internet access is failing. If this is wireless, try another device.

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#1 is only part of the problem
Sep 24, 2016 8:52AM PDT

It has nothing to do with my actual connection, router is fine, PC is wired, all other wireless devices work just fine. It's difficult to troubleshoot while it's happening, since no programs will start up.

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what other devices are used?
Sep 24, 2016 4:30PM PDT

Any wireless keyboard or mouse? Try one that is wired instead to eliminate or discover if the wireless is the problem. Anything else in USB slots?

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Everything is wired
Sep 24, 2016 5:26PM PDT

Only one other USB slot is permanently used by my backup HDD.

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run memtest on it, be sure the RAM is working OK
Sep 24, 2016 5:56PM PDT
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no errors after 10 hours
Sep 26, 2016 5:24AM PDT

looks like other people might have fixed the issue already though

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Answer
Just picking over Speccy report.
Sep 25, 2016 9:38AM PDT

1. Port redirection for Terminal Services in user mode
You have some terminal or remote services enabled that I'd really ponder why and my choice would be to disable.

2. I still see the USB drive. As long as that's in there you may be seeing what I've seen. I'd run without that for now.

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done
Sep 25, 2016 9:51AM PDT

Deactivated the service I think you mean and also deactivated remote control in the control panel, I did use Teamviewer some time ago, but not doing it atm. Also removed the external HDD for now.

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(NT) Still Logged In As A Different User? Crashed Yet?
Sep 25, 2016 10:02AM PDT
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(NT) Yes and no
Sep 25, 2016 1:17PM PDT
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If It Turns Out The New Login Works Correctly....
Sep 25, 2016 8:05PM PDT

..for the long term, then the old profile is corrupted. When you're sure that's the case, simply copy your files and documents to the new login profile and delete the old.

Hope this helps.

Grif