Windows 7 64 bit Freezes and cannot boot new programs (DCOM?)

To get straight onto the matter; this is a relatively new PC (built Feb 2014). It freezes on an almost daily basis and I'm rather at the end of my tether. The freeze is unusual in that I can still work the mouse and click around and even sometimes use currently active programs; but not start any new programs, such as that I cannot even get task manager up (not with ALT-CTRL-DEL or CTRL-SHIFT-ESC) in an attempt to see if that can fix anything, and always need a cold reset to bring it to its senses.

As a test, last night I left Task Manager running whilst I was playing Dragon Age and shortly after I finished the freeze recurred. Task Manager itself seemed to work fine. I aborted explorer with it, but couldn't restart it or anything else with Task Manager.

Initially I had thought this error was related to whenever the system was left idle; but it also occurs after use for some time. When checking the Event Viewer, the errors that show up basically every time seem to internet related?

Originally I had: Your computer was not able to renew its address from the network (from the DHCP Server) for the Network Card with network address 0xE03F4911B5C9.

So I configured my router settings to give me a permanent DHCP connection on a set IP address, and that seems to have gone away now; but I still get DCOM 5 errors EVERY TIME when the freeze occurs:

Unable to start a DCOM Server: {1F87137D-0E7C-44D5-8C73-4EFFB68962F2}. The error: "5" Happened while starting this command: C:\Windows\system32\wbem\wmiprvse.exe -secured -Embedding
OR
Unable to start a DCOM Server: {AB8902B4-09CA-4BB6-B78D-A8F59079A8D5}. The error: "5" Happened while starting this command: C:\Windows\system32\DllHost.exe /Processid:{AB8902B4-09CA-4BB6-B78D-A8F59079A8D5}

There is no concrete instructions I can see for fixing this. I read that Error 5 may be something to do with access denied, so I tried to alter the permissions of WmiPRVSE to full control rather than just Read/Read & Execute (as it currently has), but got an access denied when trying to change it (I am logged as an admin and have no UAC enabled).

THINGS TRIED:
>> All of the Windows Sleep Features, and all of the Motherboard Sleep Features have been disabled (EIST etc.)
>> memtestx86 has run 8 passes with no issues.
>> Seatools has done all of its tests on my HD with no issues detected.
>> I've updated all drivers I can, including motherboard ones.
>> Tried using wbemtest. It succeeds on doing default, but fails if using 'virtualization' as the string. Saw this on a thread somewhere as a test.
>> Tried this Event ID 10000 is logged in the Application log on a Windows Server 2003-based computer that has Terminal Server enabled
>> Since the system does not technically crash or BSOD; no minidumps are ever created, rendering things like WhoCrashed useless to me.
>> Have run DriverVerifier using this post Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable for some time with no problems or BSODs.
>> There is no overheating. The system rarely goes above 50 degrees according to Speccy.

No cigars. Anyone else have any ideas? This is technically not a BSOD so if it fits better elsewhere please accept my apologies and move it there. I created a DM Log Collector file but cannot apparently attach the file here (in fact I can't use any of the control panel to even make this post less wall of text... rather odd).

I think I know just the person for this. :)

I have requested his presence so hopefully he should be here shortly.

Hmmm... Your DHCP request errors and the WMIprvse.exe error point to you losing network connectivity during this bizarre hang. How long has this been happening? Is it random at all? If not, are you able to try and replicate the issue in safe mode with networking? If not try and complete a clean boot and see if it hangs at all. If it doesn't then chances are that a third party application is causing this.

Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup

Just as a precaution it would be good to check your IPconfig as it may indicate a potential cause of this issue.

Please follow this tutorial - Basic Requirements Before Posting your Networking Thread. This can help us identify what may be causing your issue.

Many Thanks,
Josh :)

Further details: Wired connection (Ethernet) on Virgin Media Cable Using a Virgin Media Superhub (A Netgear WNDA3200 in disguise I THINK) Using Online Armor (Free) and BitDefender (Free) IPConfig:


Event Viewer recently started getting errors with OAhlp, which is related to Online Armor and the NETGEAR WNDA3200 Device Checking Service. Normally I'd leap on those, but the problem started way before then. It has been present now for about a couple months or so at least, pretty much since I started with this machine, and hits about 2 days in 3. However, it did not do it yesterday evening. I'll try some clean startups but I won't get results for that for some time since I have to wait some time for this error to happen. Also, apologies, I cannot seem to adjust the formatting on this forum (or for the lead post; I didn't post it initially as such a wall of text).

You IP config seems fine to me. Although I could almost guarantee you will still get the DHCP errors if you wait long enough. Windows will try and renew its DHCP lease after the halfway point that it has had it for. If it can't do that then a log is made. Since you gave it a reservation the lease time has gone from about a day to 8 days. If you wait long enough the errors would probably continue.

Try the clean boot. Of course if you don't receive the error with the clean boot then individually turn each service and startup on with consecutive reboots until the culprit is found. This can be a long process.

Note I have notified admins of your issue with the forum posting tools

Josh :)

eharper256 said:

The forum posting seems to be fixed now. Not sure what was going on before. I edited the posts to give them less Wall of Text feelings!

Try the clean boot. Of course if you don't receive the error with the clean boot then individually turn each service and startup on with consecutive reboots until the culprit is found. This can be a long process.

Sorry, not sure if I made it clear, but the DCOM error only shows up JUST before it crashes/freezes (typically 3-5 mins). If I were to say, start up the PC, have a 1 hour session, and then shut down or reboot, it would not show at all. It shows only after the system is active for a time, typically at least 2-3 hours, but sometimes it can go 10+; and that is why it might take awhile to diagnose this way!!

The permanent IP address was set about 4-5 days ago and there have been crashes since then (about 4 of them); so I don't think its related to the lease being renewed, since I also tried the opposite and forced the router to hand out 1 hour long leases only for awhile, but this didn't force crashes.

Driver Verifier has now been running on non-microsoft drivers for about 3 days of use, so I don't think thats an issue. I did the instructions on Event ID 10000 is logged in the Application log on a Windows Server 2003-based computer that has Terminal Server enabled last night. The noted registry subkey in that article did not exist in my registry so I had to add it from scratch. But that may well be because the article is not for Windows 7.

Anyway now that the attachment system works, I have attached the BSOD report zip. The Event Log is pretty huge!!

There were no dump files in the attached ZIP which is to be expected since you don't get any BSODs. How long has this been happening? Was there a particular application or system change that happened around the time the issues started?

Josh :)

If it has happened ever since you installed Windows then we may be looking a faulty hardware device. Particularly if it is random and application unspecific. Since you have issues with launching new applications when it happens and the error logs point to issues starting new program instances then I would begin with testing RAM. Try and follow this tutorial to test you RAM and run until 7 passes to scan all addressable memory.

RAM - Test with Memtest86+

Josh :)