Please help diagnose random freezing.

Jacee · 08 Jul 2015

Let's flush the DNS cache and restore MS's Hosts file:

Copy and paste these lines in Note pad.

@Echo on
pushd\windows\system32\drivers\etc
attrib -h -s -r hosts
echo 127.0.0.1 localhost>HOSTS
attrib +r +h +s hosts
popd
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset all
netsh int ip reset all
shutdown -r -t 1
del %0

Save as flush.bat to your desktop. Right click the .bat file and choose to run as Administrator. Your computer will reboot itself.

Surf for a bit, normally .... let me know how it goes.

caligrown · 08 Jul 2015

Thanks again Jacee, I just ran flush.bat and will report back.

I was looking into what other issues might be causing this, and came across a few threads on Crucial's forums regarding this same issue with m4 SSDs. Granted, it was an issue with the earliest firmwares for the m4, and my firmware is newer and supposedly with a fix for this.

However, my SSD is getting a bit old, (installed May of 2012), could the freezing be SSD related? I downloaded a diagnostic tool recommended on the Crucial forums, CrystalDiskMark & CrystalDiskInfo, however I don't really know how to interpret most of the information

GokAy · 09 Jul 2015

Did you even try my suggestions in post #7? You have become fixated with the idea of a possible malware ignoring all other possible causes.

To add to my suggestions did you try Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Networking. What are your temps (check with HWInfo). When was the last time you cleaned insides of PC? Check heatsinks for dust build-up, whether fans are working etc.

caligrown · 09 Jul 2015

Thanks for the suggestions Gokay.

The problem with trying to rule out an application or service in a clean startup is that the freezing issue I'm experiencing is extremely random. Sometimes it will be days with no issues, then randomly it will freeze. The other day was a bit of an anomaly where it froze multiple times, hence prompting me to create this topic. Being that it doesn't seem possible to recreate this issue, and it might not freeze on me for who-knows-how-long, I don't know how I can determine which app/service might be causing it.

With that being said, this weekend when I have some free time I will attempt a clean startup & safe mode and see what I can do.

I never even brought up that it might be malware or virus related, I was just following steps recommended to me regarding my issue. In fact in the last post I made I mentioned how I discovered threads of similar issues regarding my specific SSD, and was wondering if this whole thing could be related to an aging SSD drive.

I clean my case regularly and temps are all fine.

I haven't had my PC freeze on me since the DNS flush yesterday, so I'll just have to wait and see. I'll update this thread later on with any news.