Explorer is frozen or very slow, virus scans show nothing

flame2point0 · 14 May 2012

Opening any program is either extremely slow or will crash the computer, but if it works then it works fine any other time you open it. Until the PC goes into sleep mode or is rebooted the problem is non-existent. no error messages are displayed and apparently, its not shown on the task manager's PC usage... also virus and spyware scans have shown nothing. This will stop after about 10 minutes of idol usage

Please help me out!

JMH · 14 May 2012

What Security programs have you installed?

Did your computer have an Anti Virus program preinstalled when you purchased it?
If so what & how did you remove it?

flame2point0 · 15 May 2012

Microsoft security essentials is installed, and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware was pre-installed I think. I can cope with getting another one if this is needed, but my brother who is a professional gamer says I only need those two.

writhziden · 15 May 2012

Those two are fine. I would do some general troubleshooting to determine the explorer issues.

Warning

Before you proceed with the following, answer these two questions: Are you still under warranty? Does your warranty allow you to open up the machine to check hardware? If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, contact your system manufacturer.

WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!

The warning only applies to steps 8, 10, &11.

Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 is a good place to start.

The following may help supplement that link: Event Viewer - Open and Use in Windows 7

JMH · 15 May 2012

What follows are some generic steps that MAY be of help.

* There are many reasons why a PC " behaves" this way.
These annoying " gliches" may be caused by an overloaded hard drive, overworked CPU, Malware, running 2 AV 's, unnecessary data, Browser addons or you may have unnecessary programs running in the background etc....etc...

* Make sure all intake/exhausts vents are clean along with all fans.
Then get some temp monitoring software for cpu, gpu.

* If you are overclocking STOP!

* Try clean-boot troubleshooting to see if something running in the background is the culprit. How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

* Repair Windows 7 System Files with System File Checker {Option 2}
It may need to be run up to three times before successful.
SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

*Also run CheckDisk so we can rule out corruption as much as possible.
How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7
Disk Check

* Event viewer.
Type eventvwr in search and go to the windows log > application tab.
Look for errors that say app hang, or app crash, or anything related to the CURRENT problem.
When you find them take a screenshot and upload them to us.

FYI
Use Advanced Tools to Troubleshoot Performance Problems in Windows 7 - How-To Geek