Tweaking.com Support Forums
Main Forum => General Computer Support => Topic started by: VicTully on December 31, 2016, 07:40:31 pm
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My wife's computer (Win 10 - I5 - 4 gb ram) "freezes" she says. I have ran A/V (Avast), Malwarebytes, and Computer Repair. Nothing helps. I have also cleaned the cache. Still does the same thing. She uses my Win10 I7 w/12 gb ram and it doesn't "freeze".
She plays games on Facebook daily.
Any ideas what is happening here?
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How long is the machine running before it freezes and is it a desktop or laptop ?
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She says last time was like 5 minutes. She has an I3 - Win 10 - 4 gb ram that doesn't "freeze".
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It was the machine that is freezing that I wanted to know if it was a desktop or laptop.
Also which version of Windows is that machine using ?
When it's that quick then I would suspect overheating, but with a desktop it can be that or the PSU.
With frequenting FB, then there's the possibility of an infection, but see what treating it as an overheating problem does first.
With just 5 mins to play with you won't have time to download the free version of HWMonitor to check the temperatures.
If you can, scroll down and click on the SETUP • ENGLISH button http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
If it's a laptop then I suggest you start by giving it a good blow over with a can of compressed air - they are known as Air Dusters.
Blow over the intake on the underside, the side vent and over the keyboard as some makes of laptop draw air in through the keyboard.
If it's a desktop then you will need to open up the case and check the interior for dust and fluff.
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I am so sorry. The machine is a laptop. Her machine is running Win 10.
I have ran Avast, Malwarebytes, & Computer Repair. My son-in-law went over it yesterday and looked at programs installed. He deleted a lot of crap from the machine, too. She has yet to try the machine. I will let you know what happens. I have also d/l'd HW Monitor and will let you know about that.
Thank you!
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Okay.
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HW Monitor shows the core temperatures @ 61 deg. C. Some temps may be a bit higher, some lower. Therm temp @ 58 deg. C.
I installed TweakBit PC Repair Kit. I have ran some of the repair apps included and it found numerous errors.
Hope this helps.
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Is that one of Shane's programs as I'm not familiar with it.
Just what sort of things did it find wrong ?
What was the graphics temps ?
When they get towards 70ºC that can slow things down and higher would cause the machine to shutdown.
The HDD will probably be the lowest temp but for the rest, when they get over 60 then that is pointing towards overheating..
Generally mid 50s are the norm.
A tell-tale sign of overheating is when the fan is blowing strong all of the time.
Have you blown the laptop out yet ?
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Is that one of Shane's programs as I'm not familiar with it.
Just what sort of things did it find wrong ?
What was the graphics temps ?
When they get towards 70ºC that can slow things down and higher would cause the machine to shutdown.
The HDD will probably be the lowest temp but for the rest, when they get over 60 then that is pointing towards overheating..
Generally mid 50s are the norm.
A tell-tale sign of overheating is when the fan is blowing strong all of the time.
Have you blown the laptop out yet ?
TweakBit PC Repair Kit is probably a variant of this or another one of these bogus repair tools that finds loads of spurious errors and then wants you to pay to get them fixed http://www.ghacks.net/2015/05/19/this-happens-when-you-install-a-fix-my-pc-program/ (http://www.ghacks.net/2015/05/19/this-happens-when-you-install-a-fix-my-pc-program/)
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That had crossed my mind but was waiting for VT to come back with a reply.
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I got that impression about TweakBit PC Repair Kit. When I scanned the machine with Malwarebytes TweakBit PC Repair Kit came up all over the place on the scan. I deleted it quickly.
I ran HWMonitor again and find that the graphics area does not have a temperature measurement. Core temperatures at rest are approximately 52 deg C.
I did reload from the backup that was done shortly after we purchased the machine.
I am now adding a few programs the was not included such as Google Chrome, and the latest Avast A/V software as well as Malwarebytes Spyware software.
I will report back when these are complete.
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As I try to make adjustments, such as with the programs, I had a few "freezes". I believe that your suggestion to blow the machine out with pressurized air will be just what I need here.
Thanks.
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Normally the temps in a quiescent state should be below 50ºC
This is mine with 4 IE tabs open.
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Thanks so much for the suggestions. I purchased a can of compressed air this morning. I blew out through evey opening and dust came out. Right at this moment, the core temps at idle is 35 - 38 deg C. and the HD Temp is 27 deg. C. At this time, I think that dust was the culprit.
I will keep an eye on it for a few days.
Thanks again for all your help.
Vic
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That's quite an improvement.
What sort of surface is the laptop being used on ?
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It's a plastic base that was supposed to have fans in it, but it doesn't work now.
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Does it restrict air to the air intake or the vent on the laptop ?
The underside should also have sufficient clearance if there are holes in the casing for the heat sink to dissipate.
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Her lap. LOL! Really. She tried it last night, but it did freeze on her again. Any ideas of the best way to get inside to clean more dust out. This is an ASUS I5. She has had it for maybe 2 years.
Thanks again,
Vic
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It's possible there could be a blocked duct but you would need to open it up for any further cleaning.
You can Google for disassembly instructions, but I think there are a few ASUS with the i5 CPU.
http://bfy.tw/9KGK
If these don't cover the model, then Google specifically for its disassembly instructions if you feel confident in stripping it down.
How long was it running for before it started to freeze this time and can you check the temps again just to ascertain it is still an overheating problem.
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My son-in-law and I are going to do just that this weekend. We are going to clean it out as well as we can.
If it's heat, then this should do it.
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I've just realized in your Reply #17 that you say she is using it on her lap.
If the underside vent is not clear to draw air in then it will overheat and there's the chance of it drawing in fluff from clothes.
Before you go stripping it down, see if it freezes when used on a table.
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I had it on my bench and it froze. We decided that we are going disassemble it this Friday evening.
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Was the fan loud at the time ?
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No, not at all. I checked to make sure it was still running.
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When you get an overheating problem the fan usually fights hard to get the temps down, so you would normally hear it working overtime.
What is HWMonitor giving for the temps ?
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I posted this earlier.
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I purchased a can of compressed air this morning. I blew out through evey opening and dust came out. Right at this moment, the core temps at idle is 35 - 38 deg C. and the HD Temp is 27 deg. C. At this time, I think that dust was the culprit.
I will keep an eye on it for a few days.
Thanks again for all your help.
Vic
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I accept that, but as you said it is still freezing, I was wanting you to check the temps again.
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OK, I will do it tonight if I have time.
I wasn't able to go to my son-in-laws because of an illness in the family. Maybe this Friday evening.
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No rush - just hope the illness isn't anything serious.
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Hi,
It might be possible that your system is affecting by a virus. I would suggest you to use the antivirus software to fix all viruses and then restart your system to check if it starts working fine.
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Thank you for your suggestion. I performed a virus scan and a malware scan first.
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How are the temps and it is still freezing ?
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It's at my son-in-laws house now. He is a computer tech for a school system. We will find out this weekend how it works now.
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Okay.
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Thanks again for your concern.
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Any update on this ?
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Sorry. I got the laptop back from my son-in-law and it wouldn't start. Apparently he didn't try it after putting it back together. I should get it back tomorrow night. I will update then.
Thanks.
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How did he know if he'd fixed it if he hadn't started it back up ?
If he had removed the RAM modules, a common mistake is to not push down hard enough to fully seat them.
When you say it didn't start, did any lights come on ?
When it is a RAM problem like that, nothing will light up, but it may just have been a connector.
Did you take it into a repair shop and tell them about your original problem ?
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My son-in-law repairs all the machines in a whole school system. He should have it ready tomorrow.
It was dead. Wouldn't even take a charge.
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OK, I got the machine back. He said there was a connection that was not completely plugged in. He said once he saw it, there was no question that that was the problem. He said the machine is clean. After I got it home, I found it to still freeze. I ran the Computer Repair program. I let it go for a few hours and it had not frozen. It rebooted last night. I am going to start it up today and let it run to see if it now operates without any problems.
I do realize that the current Windows installation could be the problem. I was hoping that the Computer Repair program would correct any program issue.
From a hardware standpoint, is there any piece of hardware that would cause this situation that could be changed??
I will report on the condition of the system after letting it run for a few hours.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.
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If there was a problem with the HDD then I would expect the problems to more than intermittent, but can you open a Command Prompt (Admin) and enter chkdsk /r
Type and enter y for it to execute on the next reboot then enter shutdown /r /t 00 and wait for it to do its thing which will take a while to run.
When it has rebooted after completion, open Event Viewer and ensure Event Viewer (Local) is highlighted in the left pane - if it isn't then just click on it.
When it has read the data, expand Windows Logs - click on Application/Action/Find and type chkdsk or wininit into the find box and press enter.
Cancel the Find box and read the report in the scrollable window.
Other than whatever else it reports, check to see if it reports any KBs in bad sectors.
Memory can also be another cause of freezing.
Go Start - type memory and press enter when Windows Memory Diagnostic comes up then click on the Restart now box.
You will be able to follow its progress as it scans and if it finds any problems.
Drivers can be another problem and updating those can help if they are the cause.
I would expect something to be in Event Viewer if any of those were causing services to terminate.
In Event Viewer click on Errors then on Show All Instances of This Event in the lower right pane.
You'll be looking for errors with the date and time stamp for when the freezes occurred.
However, I would have thought that your son-in-law would have already done these checks.
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He only did the cleaning. He had to get back into it to find out why it wouldn't start. He never even checked that.
Look in the quote area for my comments. I don't know how to break up the quote.
If there was a problem with the HDD then I would expect the problems to more than intermittent, but can you open a Command Prompt (Admin) and enter chkdsk /r
Type and enter y for it to execute on the next reboot then enter shutdown /r /t 00 and wait for it to do its thing which will take a while to run.
When it has rebooted after completion, open Event Viewer and ensure Event Viewer (Local) is highlighted in the left pane - if it isn't then just click on it.
When it has read the data, expand Windows Logs - click on Application/Action/Find and type chkdsk or wininit into the find box and press enter.
Cancel the Find box and read the report in the scrollable window.
Other than whatever else it reports, check to see if it reports any KBs in bad sectors.
Nothing was found when the chkdsk command was ran.
Memory can also be another cause of freezing.
Go Start - type memory and press enter when Windows Memory Diagnostic comes up then click on the Restart now box.
You will be able to follow its progress as it scans and if it finds any problems.
Memory was OK also.
Drivers can be another problem and updating those can help if they are the cause.
There were probably 7 drivers that needed updated.
I would expect something to be in Event Viewer if any of those were causing services to terminate.
In Event Viewer click on Errors then on Show All Instances of This Event in the lower right pane.
You'll be looking for errors with the date and time stamp for when the freezes occurred.
However, I would have thought that your son-in-law would have already done these checks.
I tried to look into the event viewer and it froze on me.
I have no idea what to look at now, except for maybe reloading the entire windows installation.
Thanks for all your ideas. This is a legal installation of Windows 10. It was an online update when it had Windows 7 on it. She upgraded it for free before the offer ran out. I have to find the write up I have to do a reload without having a new serial number.
Thanks again,
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I don't know how to split the quotes up either :) but you could have just answered my questions which would have followed my post without the need to cross reference.
You can still get Win 10 free, so that isn't a problem and it will auto activate.
You can download the ISO to create bootable media using the Download tool now button from - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10 after reading how to create install media.
With the install media you can either perform a repair or a clean install, but with a repair install, if the freeze is because of what you have installed, then you'll still have the problem.
A repair install doesn't affect your personal stuff or installed programs.
Shane doesn't like Avast at all, although there are others who will swear by it.
I don't think it would be practical to run the machine in Safe Mode with Networking given that it is an intermittent problem, so use the Avast Uninstaller and see how the machine runs with the default Windows Defender.
https://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility
That may just have been one of its freezes when you tried to view Event Viewer, so you could try that again.
Another source of info can be the reliability history.
Go Start - start to type reliability and press enter when View reliability history comes up.
If that doesn't get you it, you can access it through the Control Panel - System and Security/Review your computer's status > expand Maintenance then click on its link.
In Maintenance, it will also tell you if there are any problems.
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Thank you, sir. I will try the upgrade asap.
I have been using Avast for many, many years. I have had no problems with it. But I will try deleting it and going with Windows Defender.
Thanks again. I will get back to you as soon as I get through all this.