Startup crashing PC, common fault?
David (2)
Posts: 20,632 Forum Member
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over the last month or so I have seen 2 older XP based PC's do this, and now a much more modern Win7 PC is starting to go the same way - identical things happening.
When you start up, when the fault first starts you get all the way to the desktop, before things slow to a crawl, with the Anitivirus firstly switching on normally then switching its self off, plus a windows pop up saying the Firewall as been turned off. Later as the fault develops, in the following weeks the startup gets stuck in the early stages of startup - the monitor logo appears, goes away, but then reappears, and this repeats until you power off at the mains.
In the early stages, the problem goes away after a while (typically after a Safe Startup, followed by Shutdown, then normal Starup) and the pc can be used normally for some time (days or a week) before returning.
Kspersky internet sec is/was used on all 3 PC's. The first PC to develop this prob got to the point where it would never startup, and had to be replaced.
And this happens on XP (SP3) and Win7 (SP1) - this one having 4gb Ram fitted.
Anyone else seen the same thing? Is this a problem with software, or hard disc, or ram failue, or other?
Hope someone can help as this looks to be getting very expensive!
When you start up, when the fault first starts you get all the way to the desktop, before things slow to a crawl, with the Anitivirus firstly switching on normally then switching its self off, plus a windows pop up saying the Firewall as been turned off. Later as the fault develops, in the following weeks the startup gets stuck in the early stages of startup - the monitor logo appears, goes away, but then reappears, and this repeats until you power off at the mains.
In the early stages, the problem goes away after a while (typically after a Safe Startup, followed by Shutdown, then normal Starup) and the pc can be used normally for some time (days or a week) before returning.
Kspersky internet sec is/was used on all 3 PC's. The first PC to develop this prob got to the point where it would never startup, and had to be replaced.
And this happens on XP (SP3) and Win7 (SP1) - this one having 4gb Ram fitted.
Anyone else seen the same thing? Is this a problem with software, or hard disc, or ram failue, or other?
Hope someone can help as this looks to be getting very expensive!
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Comments
The machine that was replaced, wasn't it possible to re-install windows ?.
Are the problems on each machine absolutely 'identical' or just a bit similar?
What exactly is happening with the new PC? Is it having problems booting or just slow?
Kaspersky is one obvious common factor and, like all security software, it can certainly cause slowdowns and various issues, so start by removing it from the new PC. One of the free AVs like Avast will do as a replacement for the time being.
Are there any other common factors between the machines (same monitor, wireless USB, software etc, etc.)?
Did you try restoring the older machines back to factory settings?
When the problem happens the first few times, Windows after startup will slow down, way beyond what it does normally, to the point where click an icon and wait 3mins for that to open. Sometimes it wont respond at all, and require manual power down using the power button. I usually select the SafeMode (no networking) option when I next startup, then shutdown from within Safe mode.
The problem will go away after a few goes, and the pc will appear to be "fixed", but it doesn't last - to begin with, a good few days or a week, and then it happens again.
This pattern repeats over a long period of time (many weeks or months), and during this period the effect gets worse when it does happen. For example, Kaspersky will appear to auto start normally but then switch its self off, followed by a windows warning that a Firewall is switched off.
Eventually, it gets to a serious point where the pc fails to even reach the desktop. It gets stuck at the early stages of startup, with the black screen and monitor logo just appearing and disappearing, over and over again. Quite often if you manually power down using the pc power button or mains switch at the wall (if the power button doesn't respond, which is often the case), it will boot next time. But as the days pass, it eventually will never get to that point, no matter how often you power off and on.
All 3 PC's are on different hardware, different disc drives, different graphics, different ram, etc etc. There are no shared devices like USB hubs, printers, scanners, etc.
After reading another thread, I have on my PC (the Win7 laptop which is effected) removed Adobe Flash through the Windows7 removal feature. I also removed the Adobe Reader in this way, along with the Adobe PDF and Flash Plug ins, as well as the Chrome browser that came down the shoot with the last Adobe update (and which I didn't ask for). I have re-installed just the latest Reader software, directly from the Adobe UK site. If nothing else, IE10 is running faster now. I also cleared my internet history, and ran Disc Cleanup, and cleared the Cache in QuickTime control panel. Windows defender also ran with nothing found. At the moment, its running very nicely, but this is no indication of a cure - the problem goes away on its own, so its fingers crossed time for at least another week to find out.
And yes, the effects I describe are indeed identical over all 3 PC's, even though one of them is Win7 and the other 2 on XP.
My advice would be to remove Kaspersky from one of the XP machines and use a freebie (Avira, Avast or MSE) and see how it goes.
common denominator = the owner
whatever you're doing, stop doing it
I'd bet a week's wages that if he bought a new pc, it would have the same fault