BeerBorg

Hey Borg! I have come to you guys for input, since my searches on other forums have been fruitless and I know there are some serious computer geeks out there (RickBeer?). My desktop computer is having major issues, and I don't know how to fix them. I run Windows 7 and it keeps freezing after startup. It starts up, goes to the desktop, then if I try to open the start menu or an internet browser it freezes. A block comes up that says Windows application has stopped running. If you wait it may start working again. But it does not. Then it usually goes to a white background, and all that works is the mouse able to move around the screen. On a couple of occasions I have gotten the machine to go through shutdown, but it tells me explorer.exe is preventing the shutdown. It boots up and runs in Safe Mode. I have tried many different things, including resetting to an earlier date, and still nothing. If you guys have some suggestions that might help, I am open to anything at this point. If you need more info about some other checks I have done, I can provide, but I didn't want to make this post too long if you guys couldn't help me. Any suggestions would be a huge help.

First thing I would do is to go to another computer and download the free version of Malwarebytes https://www.malwarebytes.org/. Put it on a thumb drive, start your computer in safe mode and run that program and let it remove all the crap that's there and believe me, you have some no matter how careful you are.
Then, run CCLeaner https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner and clear your temp directory and let it check your registry for errors. These both are free programs and are good to use often to check your systems.

You may have a virus, a corrupted Windows file or a dozen other things. If none of these work, you can always try a system restore to an earlier time when the system was running well.....if you had it turned on.

I'm sure other more savy folks have some ideas too.

Thanks Paul. I ran Malwarebytes, and Comodo Internet Security scans. Both came back clean. I run Malwarebytes every couple months, and Comodo seemed to keep everything at bay since I installed it a few months ago.

I haven't tried CCleaner yet, but I think that might be my next step. My worry with that was that it might make the problem worse. I will give it a try though. Thanks for your suggestion, and if you have any other ideas, I am open to anything.

Here's what I did with a work computer recently that helped when it refused to shut down and gave me an explorer.exe problem:
Clean Boot

===========================

1. Click Start, type MSCONFIG in the Search Bar and Press Enter to start the System Configuration Utility.

2. Click the Services tab, check the Hide All Microsoft Services box and click Disable All (if it is not gray).

3. Click the Startup tab, click Disable All and click OK.

4. Restart the computer and test the issue.



Please monitor the system in the Clean Boot environment. If the problem does not occur, it indicates that the problem is related to one application or service we have disabled. You may use the MSCONFIG tool again to re-enable the disabled item one by one to narrow down the problem.

You should google the exact error message you get to see what solutions Microsoft or other forums may have.

If you do need a system restore after you've tried a number of other things, follow these steps:
Follow the below steps:
1).Run System File Checker:
a). Put the Windows-7 CD in the CD/DVD drive.
b). Click on start and type “run” without quotes and hit enter.
b). Type “sfc /scannow” without quotes and hit enter.
It will scan for all the system DLL files and will repair if any system files are missing or corrupted.
2).Repair Windows-7:
a). Set the First boot from CD/DVD and second boot from HDD
b). Insert Windows-7 CD in the CD/DVD drive.
c). Press “Enter” to boot from CD/DVD.
d). Select “System Restore” and select the date when your system was working fine.
e). Let the system restore and restart your computer.
f). Click on the below link for more information about “System Restore”
http://windows.microsoft.com/e.....tup-repair

First, you should check to see what's causing the error you're seeing. While in safe mode, go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, and look at the System and Application logs. Check any error entries - the answer may be there. Post error messages here.

I agree with all the advice so far EXCEPT for the registry cleaner. I've been using PCs since 1983 and I've never run one. They can cause irrepairable damage.

To me, the first thing to determine is whether you have a hardware or software problem. Computers usually have hardware diagnostic programs loaded on their drives - or in bios - that allow you to check all components. Every computer runs them a bit different, you can Google your brand to see how to run them.

If you boot into Safe Mode (F8 as it is booting), and it runs fine, then you've narrowed it down to software or to a driver. Using the Msconfig approach described allows you to enable things, if you go to this site it allows you to see what each thing is and whether you even want them running at all (http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php). Many moons ago I actually contributed a piece or two of info.

If you didn't install or update anything recently, that also narrows it down to something being corrupted. I'd bet it's a software issue.

Rick, I would agree except that CCleaner has worked for me for 6 years now, never a problem though I don't think novices should use it often.

Failing HD?

russki wrote:First, you should check to see what's causing the error you're seeing. While in safe mode, go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, and look at the System and Application logs. Check any error entries - the answer may be there. Post error messages here.

Ok, I got my computer in safe mode, and looking at error messages in the events log. The Service Control Manager has several logs in there.

So, could a failure of Comodo Internet Security cause this? It has given me error messages, outside the windows error I get. I tried uninstalling, but can't because windows does not let me do that in Safe Mode.

I have performed system restore, run the chkdsk, scanned for memory errors, and a startup error check through the windows maintenance utility, and still can't seem to fix it.

I guess, what is the next step? Should I try a CCleaner? I ran a driver check, and a couple were out of date, but most were mouse and keyboard drivers. Should I do the MSConfig?

JimH wrote: Ok, I got my computer in safe mode, and looking at error messages in the events log. The Service Control Manager has several logs in there.

Did you look at the logs to see what services are causing the errors? I doubt it's the security program, but you can always try disabling it via msconfig to see if it makes a difference.

There are quite a few errors, and I am not entirely sure what I should be looking for. The admin logs gave me like 66,000 errors.

I'm one of those guy that knows little to nothing about computers. But I have found that when my computer starts doing things like this it is - IMHO - because the factory installed level of lead has somehow become deficient and needs to be replenished. The best way to do this is to take the computer out to a field of some kind with, preferably, a dirt berm behind it and inject a dose of lead into it. This can be done with several different delivery mechanisms but my personal favorite is a .12 gauge shot gun loaded with No. 6 buckshot. It gets the job done fast.

Now. I have to confess that I've never got my computer to run any better after performing this procedure but MAN!!! did I ever feel better afterwards.

Go into Msconfig and do a Diagnostic Startup and see if things are good. If so, then follow the instructions on the site I specified to see what items you NEED to have running, and pick them off ONE AT A TIME (meaning one program at a time, i.e. there could be 4 things related to one piece of software). In that manner, you may be able to determine which piece of software is causing the issue.

JimH wrote:There are quite a few errors, and I am not entirely sure what I should be looking for. The admin logs gave me like 66,000 errors.

If you sort them by date/time, you should see the ones occurring during the last boot. Or, follow Rick's msconfig recommendations first to see you can get it to boot normally. If it's one of the programs causing the issue, msconfig will help, but if it's a corrupted driver, it won't.

Had an Acer brand acting that way, bought a new one from Best Buy and with the geek squad deal I brought that one in for free evaluation/repair minus parts, it ended up being the hard drive but didn't have the rescue disc to replace and repair. Then found out Acer had problems like this after about 1.5-2 years.