I have reinstalled Windows 7 and will bump this thread if the issue persists. For now, all my problems look to have been resolved. Please don't waste time on the below post(s).
So, here's my story. I built my own computer. I've had it for around 3 years now, while giving it hardware and OS upgrades during that time. This past January/February, I decided it was time to get Windows 7. I backed up the files I wanted, formatted my HDD, and bam, new copy of Windows 7. Installed the drivers I needed and it's been working fine ever since...until around July. My last piece of major hardware installed was my second 2 TB HDD, but it was installed pre-Windows 7. I've had BSOD's about once per week to two times per week to once every two weeks. This week was different. It's been happening more often(once per day or more) and now I need help.
Recently(the past week, maybe past 2-3), it would BSOD and go to a "Configure Windows for Updates" screen on startup. Afterwards, it would restart and do this AGAIN. Now, here's a part I don't understand. Sometimes, it would let me login after configuring again. Sometimes it wouldn't. Since then, I've simply deleted the pending.xml and reboot.xml files in my Windows/Winsxs folder to prevent this from happening. I have Windows Auto Updates turned off. I install them manually, and I hadn't downloaded any recently, so this was very weird to me.
Sometimes, after a BSOD, it takes a while for my BIOS screen itself to load up, which is scary, and makes me wonder what the problem seriously could be. At times, like now, my computer is perfectly fine. However, when I first got BSOD's, back when they appeared once a week, they would make my computer slow upon restart. I found that shutting off power to it, flipping the power switch on my case off for 5-10 seconds, then back on, fixed this slowness caused by the BSOD's. Now, it's happening more often. Sometimes I restart and it isn't slow. Sometimes it is. It doesn't really help if I cycle the power like I used to. It's very random. Sometimes it will be fast and the "Configuring Updates for Windows" screen will make it slow. When it's slow, it loads up like it normally would, just at a very slow pace, especially for my computer, which usually has a 10-15 second startup time. It remains this way until it's restarted. Once restarted, I just cross my fingers and hope it won't be slow.
I tried to debug these BSOD's myself using windbg.exe, however I lack the knowledge and think this problem has been set aside by myself far too long so Im giving it full attention knowing it needs to be fixed immediately. windbg.exe told me that the probable cause of the BSOD was csrss.exe, which is weird, but makes sense, considering my GUI is the part that seems to be slow. The rest I couldn't make out, because I messed up when setting up Symbols.
These BSOD's occur both when my computer is under heavy load and when it is under very slight load. Whether it be during a video game, while using my web browsers (Opera/Chrome), playing music on foobar, watching video files, etc., the computer has BSOD'd. I've already ran all types of Startup Repair programs. It seems all forms of System Recovery were erased or just didn't register even though I scheduled them to occur regularly when I installed Windows 7. During the first 5-10 BSOD's, my computer asked if I'd like to run chkdsk. That actually helped relieve it of the slow effect it was going through and solved it the first couple times. Now it doesn't ask me to run chkdsk at all. I'm not sure what effect that might be having on this entire situation. I ran the built-in Windows memtest from the disc. I only did 2 passes, though. I have memtest86+ ready to be put on a USB stick if needed.
I'm willing to do anything. I've even got files backed up onto my second HDD in case I need to reinstall or install Windows 7 to that disk and boot from it instead. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the wall. I just thought this was big enough that details and my own troubleshooting might give more info and make it easier to identify and solve the problem.
P.S.
Ah, I might as well point out that I doubt this is a virus. I've run Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, and have checked out all of the running processes and services. None of them are abnormal and neither of the 2 programs has picked anything up.
So, here's my story. I built my own computer. I've had it for around 3 years now, while giving it hardware and OS upgrades during that time. This past January/February, I decided it was time to get Windows 7. I backed up the files I wanted, formatted my HDD, and bam, new copy of Windows 7. Installed the drivers I needed and it's been working fine ever since...until around July. My last piece of major hardware installed was my second 2 TB HDD, but it was installed pre-Windows 7. I've had BSOD's about once per week to two times per week to once every two weeks. This week was different. It's been happening more often(once per day or more) and now I need help.
Recently(the past week, maybe past 2-3), it would BSOD and go to a "Configure Windows for Updates" screen on startup. Afterwards, it would restart and do this AGAIN. Now, here's a part I don't understand. Sometimes, it would let me login after configuring again. Sometimes it wouldn't. Since then, I've simply deleted the pending.xml and reboot.xml files in my Windows/Winsxs folder to prevent this from happening. I have Windows Auto Updates turned off. I install them manually, and I hadn't downloaded any recently, so this was very weird to me.
Sometimes, after a BSOD, it takes a while for my BIOS screen itself to load up, which is scary, and makes me wonder what the problem seriously could be. At times, like now, my computer is perfectly fine. However, when I first got BSOD's, back when they appeared once a week, they would make my computer slow upon restart. I found that shutting off power to it, flipping the power switch on my case off for 5-10 seconds, then back on, fixed this slowness caused by the BSOD's. Now, it's happening more often. Sometimes I restart and it isn't slow. Sometimes it is. It doesn't really help if I cycle the power like I used to. It's very random. Sometimes it will be fast and the "Configuring Updates for Windows" screen will make it slow. When it's slow, it loads up like it normally would, just at a very slow pace, especially for my computer, which usually has a 10-15 second startup time. It remains this way until it's restarted. Once restarted, I just cross my fingers and hope it won't be slow.
I tried to debug these BSOD's myself using windbg.exe, however I lack the knowledge and think this problem has been set aside by myself far too long so Im giving it full attention knowing it needs to be fixed immediately. windbg.exe told me that the probable cause of the BSOD was csrss.exe, which is weird, but makes sense, considering my GUI is the part that seems to be slow. The rest I couldn't make out, because I messed up when setting up Symbols.
These BSOD's occur both when my computer is under heavy load and when it is under very slight load. Whether it be during a video game, while using my web browsers (Opera/Chrome), playing music on foobar, watching video files, etc., the computer has BSOD'd. I've already ran all types of Startup Repair programs. It seems all forms of System Recovery were erased or just didn't register even though I scheduled them to occur regularly when I installed Windows 7. During the first 5-10 BSOD's, my computer asked if I'd like to run chkdsk. That actually helped relieve it of the slow effect it was going through and solved it the first couple times. Now it doesn't ask me to run chkdsk at all. I'm not sure what effect that might be having on this entire situation. I ran the built-in Windows memtest from the disc. I only did 2 passes, though. I have memtest86+ ready to be put on a USB stick if needed.
I'm willing to do anything. I've even got files backed up onto my second HDD in case I need to reinstall or install Windows 7 to that disk and boot from it instead. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the wall. I just thought this was big enough that details and my own troubleshooting might give more info and make it easier to identify and solve the problem.
P.S.
Ah, I might as well point out that I doubt this is a virus. I've run Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, and have checked out all of the running processes and services. None of them are abnormal and neither of the 2 programs has picked anything up.
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My Computer
- Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
- N/A
- OS
- Windows 7 Home Premium x64
- CPU
- AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core ~3.0GHz
- Motherboard
- ASRock A780GXH/128m
- Memory
- 6144MB RAM
- Graphics Card(s)
- Nvidia Geforce 9400 GT(Occasionally a Nvidia GTX 550 TI)
- Sound Card
- Integrated
- Monitor(s) Displays
- Samsung 51-inch 1080p TV, Hyundai 17-inch LCD
- Screen Resolution
- 1920x1080,1280x1024
- Hard Drives
- WD Caviar Black 1.0TB 7200RPB SATA 3.0Gb/s
Seagate Barracuda 2.0TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
- PSU
- 500w Integrated
- Case
- N/A
- Cooling
- Packaged Heatsink + Case Fans
- Keyboard
- Razer Blackwidow Stealth
- Mouse
- Razer Imperator