Various programs "have stopped working" + other probs

[Pacific]

Hi all. I'm pretty much at my wits end with this problem now, and it seems, bizarrely, to have followed me from one machine to another. Here's a rundown:

My old machine(emachines e3042 - 2GB ram - Celeron D 3.2ghz - ATI Radeon X300) was running just fine with XP up until a few months ago. Then i noticed that all of a sudden certain programs would not open, and when i booted up all i would see is my wallpaper and no icons or taskbar. So after several formats and fresh installs(onto several different hard-drives) of XP, virus and spy/malware checks(avg & Spybot), i decided to see if upgrading to Win 7 would help me. Whilst it certainly erased the missing taskbar and icon problem, i slowly started to have the same problem come back, certain programs would not open, and this time on Windows 7, I would get an error message. The programs would work once and function perfectly after they installed, then would not open thereafter.

The programs it would do this on were:
Google Earth
Chrome
Firefox
Games for Windows Live applet
Tinker, solitaire and all other pre-installed games

So having tried several more fresh installs of Win 7, i eventually broke down and bought a new system and just chalked it down to the other system being quite old and probably dying slowly. I wanted something a little faster anyways.

My new machine: Zoostorm Pentium dual core E6300 2.8GHz - 4GB ram. I removed the Radeon X300 from my old machine and placed it in this new machine as i wanted the DVI port and it seemed to cope well with Windows aero. This machine came with no OS, so i installed Windows 7 straight on. All installed fine, and finally i was able to use the programs which gave me so much grief. All was going fine until after a few hours: Windows 7 would freeze completely, forcing me to power off at the mains. This happened several times last night, and i tried all manner of fixes and driver updates, but no joy. This morning after the first freeze up, i popped out the graphics card and reverted to the on board graphics to see if it made a difference. An hour went by, then all of a sudden while surfing i get the blue screen with some message that i did not get a chance to read. The PC reboots itself, so I then go to open google chrome(one of the problem programs) and to my disbelief, i get the error message "Google Chrome has stopped working" that i had been plagued with on my old system!

So right now, i cannot do anything on this system, as after so long, it will randomly blue screen and reboot. I'm back to where i was with my old machine, only this time it's worse with the random crashing, and I probably didn't even need to buy this new machine.

How is this possible for a problem to follow me from one machine to another, on separate OS', and separate hard drives?

 

[richc46]

I do not know what the answer is but I can suggest some tests.

Check the event viewer for potential errors
Go to the device manager check for outdated drivers
Review the perfomance monitor.
Using the task manager check that all your memory is recognized.
Troubleshoot by clikcing on the white flag by the clock, in the notification area
Make sure that all the programs are compatible with your ver and platform (bit) of 7
Reseat the memory and all the cards.

With your windows 7 DVD boot up. Then chose the repair option

Report back

 

[1Bowtie]

To add to what richc46 said, the x300 video card is pretty old and make sure the drivers are up to date, second on fresh install don't install any new programs for awhile, then install one at a time seeing which one creates the problem, could be a conflict with the three browsers so try one at a time. Hope this helps.

Smitty

 

[richc46]

To add to what richc46 said, the x300 video card is pretty old and make sure the drivers are up to date, second on fresh install don't install any new programs for awhile, then install one at a time seeing which one creates the problem, could be a conflict with the three browsers so try one at a time. Hope this helps.

Smitty

TY Bowtie, the great thing about this forum is that one member answers and gives ideas to the next poster. Do a clean boot, this may help.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

You can see what is causing the problem.

Bowtie rep for your ideas.

 

[1Bowtie]

Thanks Richard you are the man and always give good advice. Your right about this forum being the PLACE TO BE

Smitty

 

[Pacific]

Thanks for the responses guys...

I've been reading that the Radeon X300 is no longer supported and thus, there are no dedicated Win 7 drivers for it.

Is it possible that installing with the x300 card inserted, which is obviously incompatible, has done some damage?

 

[richc46]

I doubt if there is any damage to the hardware. Most damage to the software can be checked and corrected by going to an administrator account. Type cmd in search. In cmd type sfc /scannow. This will correct most corruption. If some are found run the command seveal times.

Also check the performace monitor. Just type that term in search, to find it.

 

[1Bowtie]

Thanks for the responses guys...

I've been reading that the Radeon X300 is no longer supported and thus, there are no dedicated Win 7 drivers for it.

Is it possible that installing with the x300 card inserted, which is obviously incompatible, has done some damage?

Quick answer is no, you may have to use a driver in the Cat 8.xx era, and install in compatibility mode. I think the prob is conflict of browsers or google earth, something in that area. As stated before clean install os, install drivers as needed, see if it works, then add a program one at a time, see which one is causing the problem.

Smitty

Richard your to fast at typing for me

 

[Pacific]

Will do that, Smitty.

richc46, what am i looking for in performance monitor please?

 

[richc46]

My apologies I meant resource monitor. It will show what process are working correctly. You can go to help and support and type resource monitor, to learn how to use and monitor various processes. Among other things it will show cpu utilization, which is very important.

From Help and support, regarding CPU. Check that area.


A high percentage means that the programs or processes that are running require a lot of CPU resources, which can slow your computer. If the percentage appears frozen at or near 100%, then a program might not be responding. For more information, see Exit a program that isn't responding.