Computer suddenly stops responding properly and has to be shut down

[wreaver]

This is a really strange problem that has been happening every once in a while lately.

First time it happened was about 4 or 5 months ago, I was browsing the internet and a page wouldn't load, thinking it was a connection problem, I tried right clicking on the network icon on the taskbar and selecting "Troubleshoot problems" but nothing happened. I tried opening task manager, nothing. I tried opening my user folder and it was loading infinitely. Other folders worked, but thumbnails didn't load and the files didn't open. When I tried selecting "All Programs" on the Start menu, the Start menu froze. I tried waiting until maybe the problem fixed itself but nothing happened, so I had to force it to power off by holding down the power button for about 5 seconds.
About 2 months pass since that incident without any problems until it happens again, however, this time I tried going to the Start menu and selecting "Shut Down", nothing again. Same process as before happens, so I have to force it to power off once again. One month ago, it happens again, and thinking that it was probably because I rarely shut down my computer, I should try shutting it down and let it rest every few days. But then it happen again today, and the last time I had shut it down before it happened today was about 2 or 3 days ago.
I have tried scanning the computer with Avast and Malwarebytes but it finds no threats, so malware is not the problem.

Now, my computer is almost a year old (I bought it on December 21, 2015), and it came with Windows 10 pre-installed but I formatted it and installed Windows 7.
What do you guys think? Should I send it in for repairs just before my warranty runs out or do you think it's an issue that I can fix myself?

 

[RolandJS]

Sending it off for repairs might lead to the original OS being reinstalled, and possible loss of some of your data folder and files - then again, maybe not. Before sending it off, let's try software fixes first. Download, install, run MiniToolBox and Piriform's Speccy. Save log files to your hard-drive. Do not "publish"/post logs unless/until those here in the know ask for specifics. Right now, I'm guessing security and/or monitoring background-running programs may be periodically clashing with certain foreground-running programs.

 

[Megahertz07]

Open a CMD and run a System File check: Type sfc /scannow
Then schedule a disk check: type chkdsk c: /f

 

[wreaver]

Sending it off for repairs might lead to the original OS being reinstalled, and possible loss of some of your data folder and files - then again, maybe not. Before sending it off, let's try software fixes first. Download, install, run MiniToolBox and Piriform's Speccy. Save log files to your hard-drive. Do not "publish"/post logs unless/until those here in the know ask for specifics. Right now, I'm guessing security and/or monitoring background-running programs may be periodically clashing with certain foreground-running programs.

Alright, I already did both.

 

[wreaver]

Open a CMD and run a System File check: Type sfc /scannow
Then schedule a disk check: type chkdsk c: /f

I ran chkdsk and, according to the log, it found no problems at all. However, sfc said "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them."

 

[MilesAhead]

Has the problem recurred since you installed W7? If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[wreaver]

Has the problem recurred since you installed W7? If it ain't broke don't fix it.

It definitely never happened when I had Windows 10 installed, but I only had it for little over a month before I installed Windows 7, so I can't say whether it would have happened with Windows 10 too or not.

 

[Megahertz07]

"sfc said "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them."
You can try a windows repair installation, that is, UNDER windows launch setup from your Win 7 SP1 Installation disk. It will reinstall Windows and keep your data and programs.
Repair Install

For the updates MS releases SP2 for Windows 7

 

[MilesAhead]

Has the problem recurred since you installed W7? If it ain't broke don't fix it.

It definitely never happened when I had Windows 10 installed, but I only had it for little over a month before I installed Windows 7, so I can't say whether it would have happened with Windows 10 too or not.

OK, I gotcha'. When I read the first post I got the impression you installed W7 as a fix for the issue. But I guess the downgrade was for its own sake.

Reading the first post again my guess is it is an intermittent problem difficult to troubleshoot. So it is likely a "fix all" solution would be employed by the tech, such as reinstalling the OS wiping out all your original data. If you go that route I would back up to an image with a program that lets you mount the image as a drive to make it easy to get at individual files or folders if you need to copy some back over after the repair.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

As a working PC tech, I see several possible problems.

First, you didn't buy a Server so it should not be left run 24x7. It's made out of hobby grade components, never designed for 100% duty cycle. There ARE special PC's, called Servers, that ARE made for that use. They will also run a special OS called ".....Server".

Your own computer should be turned off when not in use, , , at least once a day.
There are things that Windows needs to do, that can only be done during a hard shut-down,
like copy your registry, which changes every day, back to the hard drive.

Next, you bought a PC with Windows 10 factory installed on it and you should have left it at that, possibly using the Classic Shell if you wanted a Windows 7 type of program menu, etc. Also, Win-10 needs lots of tweaking and tuning to close up all the security holes. Once the security holes are plugged and the Classic Shell is installed and tweaked, your PC would look and run just like a Windows 7 PC.
I've done it dozens of times on many brands of PCs, and my customers love it.

The motherboards, etc., onto which Windows 10 is factory installed, have been specifically created to accommodate Win-10, and may not be 100% compatible with Win-7, and specific drivers for those motherboards may not even be available, for Win-7. Going backwards can always be a little bit iffy.

Good Luck to you, and Merry Christmas,

TechnoMage

 

[Barman58]

This is a really strange problem that has been happening every once in a while lately.

First time it happened was about 4 or 5 months ago, I was browsing the internet and a page wouldn't load, thinking it was a connection problem, I tried right clicking on the network icon on the taskbar and selecting "Troubleshoot problems" but nothing happened. I tried opening task manager, nothing. I tried opening my user folder and it was loading infinitely. Other folders worked, but thumbnails didn't load and the files didn't open. When I tried selecting "All Programs" on the Start menu, the Start menu froze. I tried waiting until maybe the problem fixed itself but nothing happened, so I had to force it to power off by holding down the power button for about 5 seconds.
About 2 months pass since that incident without any problems until it happens again, however, this time I tried going to the Start menu and selecting "Shut Down", nothing again. Same process as before happens, so I have to force it to power off once again. One month ago, it happens again, and thinking that it was probably because I rarely shut down my computer, I should try shutting it down and let it rest every few days. But then it happen again today, and the last time I had shut it down before it happened today was about 2 or 3 days ago.
I have tried scanning the computer with Avast and Malwarebytes but it finds no threats, so malware is not the problem.

Now, my computer is almost a year old (I bought it on December 21, 2015), and it came with Windows 10 pre-installed but I formatted it and installed Windows 7.
What do you guys think? Should I send it in for repairs just before my warranty runs out or do you think it's an issue that I can fix myself?

Have you tried creating another new user? corruptions in the user profile causing freezes and other glitches was not unknown on Win 7. the clue here is the issues you have experienced accessing folders in your personal user area.

Unless this device was at some time marketed as a windows 7 system, and so has the correctly written drivers available as a set, you will at best be using generic drivers for the components of the system and thus likely to see the occasional issue.

Freezes are often due to issues with the graphics divers - may be worth completely uninstalling the drivers and installing the latest available for the card (or on-board chip), installed.

Returning to supplier will not likely be met with any assistance unless you restore the original windows ten that is an integral part of the warranty agreement, so would probably not be a lot of help in your situation.

 

[wreaver]

As a working PC tech, I see several possible problems.

First, you didn't buy a Server so it should not be left run 24x7. It's made out of hobby grade components, never designed for 100% duty cycle. There ARE special PC's, called Servers, that ARE made for that use. They will also run a special OS called ".....Server".

Your own computer should be turned off when not in use, , , at least once a day.
There are things that Windows needs to do, that can only be done during a hard shut-down,
like copy your registry, which changes every day, back to the hard drive.

Next, you bought a PC with Windows 10 factory installed on it and you should have left it at that, possibly using the Classic Shell if you wanted a Windows 7 type of program menu, etc. Also, Win-10 needs lots of tweaking and tuning to close up all the security holes. Once the security holes are plugged and the Classic Shell is installed and tweaked, your PC would look and run just like a Windows 7 PC.
I've done it dozens of times on many brands of PCs, and my customers love it.

The motherboards, etc., onto which Windows 10 is factory installed, have been specifically created to accommodate Win-10, and may not be 100% compatible with Win-7, and specific drivers for those motherboards may not even be available, for Win-7. Going backwards can always be a little bit iffy.

Good Luck to you, and Merry Christmas,

TechnoMage

Alright I got you, I will try to shut it down daily from now on. I actually installed Windows 7 because I think it's a better OS overall, it has a much more pleasing and easier to use interface than Windows 10 (Although I did have Classic Shell installed with Windows 10), and also because some games I had either didn't ran on Windows 10 or just ran better on Windows 7.
My original plan is to just wait until security updates for Windows 7 stopped and then move back to Windows 10. By then, I imagine Windows 10 will also be a much better OS thanks to all the updates it will receive.

 

[wreaver]

This is a really strange problem that has been happening every once in a while lately.

First time it happened was about 4 or 5 months ago, I was browsing the internet and a page wouldn't load, thinking it was a connection problem, I tried right clicking on the network icon on the taskbar and selecting "Troubleshoot problems" but nothing happened. I tried opening task manager, nothing. I tried opening my user folder and it was loading infinitely. Other folders worked, but thumbnails didn't load and the files didn't open. When I tried selecting "All Programs" on the Start menu, the Start menu froze. I tried waiting until maybe the problem fixed itself but nothing happened, so I had to force it to power off by holding down the power button for about 5 seconds.
About 2 months pass since that incident without any problems until it happens again, however, this time I tried going to the Start menu and selecting "Shut Down", nothing again. Same process as before happens, so I have to force it to power off once again. One month ago, it happens again, and thinking that it was probably because I rarely shut down my computer, I should try shutting it down and let it rest every few days. But then it happen again today, and the last time I had shut it down before it happened today was about 2 or 3 days ago.
I have tried scanning the computer with Avast and Malwarebytes but it finds no threats, so malware is not the problem.

Now, my computer is almost a year old (I bought it on December 21, 2015), and it came with Windows 10 pre-installed but I formatted it and installed Windows 7.
What do you guys think? Should I send it in for repairs just before my warranty runs out or do you think it's an issue that I can fix myself?

Have you tried creating another new user? corruptions in the user profile causing freezes and other glitches was not unknown on Win 7. the clue here is the issues you have experienced accessing folders in your personal user area.

Unless this device was at some time marketed as a windows 7 system, and so has the correctly written drivers available as a set, you will at best be using generic drivers for the components of the system and thus likely to see the occasional issue.

Freezes are often due to issues with the graphics divers - may be worth completely uninstalling the drivers and installing the latest available for the card (or on-board chip), installed.

Returning to supplier will not likely be met with any assistance unless you restore the original windows ten that is an integral part of the warranty agreement, so would probably not be a lot of help in your situation.

No, I have not tried that. It could actually be related to that now that you mention it, since I did some "modifications" to my user folder a few months ago... now that I think about it, it was around the same time the problem started to happened, so it may actually be related to that. I will look into making a new user, see how it works.

 

[wreaver]

Thank you so much for your replies everyone, you have been really kind and helpful
But I have one last question, should I send the computer for repairs then? I'm guessing the answer will be "no" from what I'm seeing, but I just want to be sure. Sorry for the trouble!

 

[Barman58]

If you wish you can contact the supplier about a return, but you have to "Come Clean" in the way of informing the supplier that you are no longer using the OS they supplied.
The other way would be to re-install the original OS, which may cure the issues you have, both due to having the tuned drivers but also by the mere act of re-install.

 

[Megahertz07]

"It could actually be related to that now that you mention it, since I did some "modifications" to my user folder a few months ago... now that I think about it, it was around the same time the problem started to happened, so it may actually be related to that."

First I would try to create a new user to see if it works without issues.

If it's not related to the user, I would reinstall win 7 from scratch. A clean install deleting all partitions.
- If don't have the Factory Recover disks and still have the Factory Recover partition, generate them by BIOS.
- Make a data backup.
- Review your BIOS settings.
- Do a clean install Clean Install Windows 7

To send it back you will have to reinstall Win 10 anyway.

 

[wreaver]

Alright everyone, I'm gonna try some of the solutions you provided. Thank you so much for you help!