Windows 10 progressively unstable and then fine

[JasonCoder]

My Windows 10 started locking up a few days ago. Frozen computer - sometimes I could move the mouse for a few more seconds but then that's it. First thought it was isolated incident. Then it started doing it a couple times a day until I had 4 crashes in one day.

This downward spiral finally bottomed out after I installed Samsung Magician. This stopped it from booting altogether. I had to back up to a system restore point several days old. About this time I also ran memtest86+ (passed) and changed my memory to run at the exact specs it is rated for (was 1333, rated 1600).

When I got it to boot again it froze twice more and then... nothing. No more freezing. I didn't install or update anything other than diagnostics. I ran crystaldisk (green/good all disks), OCCT Power supply test (nothing).

Anyone with any ideas? Did Windows self heal something?

 

[VirtualLarry]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=38099117#post38099117

 

[Ketchup]

So are you saying you moved your memory speed up or down?

 

[JasonCoder]

So are you saying you moved your memory speed up or down?

I moved it from 1333 to 1600. 1600 is what the memory package said... I was looking for answers anywhere.

 

[JasonCoder]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=38099117#post38099117

Thanks, man but I should have been clearer. My freezes were permanent. Reset button was the only fix.

 

[Ketchup]

My thought would be that you may have encountered something since that last restore point that made you computer unstable. Maybe a bad driver. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[JasonCoder]

So my problem is back. I notice it the most shortly after I first boot up in the morning. Once she's been running awhile it's pretty stable.

Sounds like an old component that is flaky until it warms up. How the hell do I tell which one tho? Arrggghh!

 

[Ketchup]

So my problem is back. I notice it the most shortly after I first boot up in the morning. Once she's been running awhile it's pretty stable.

Sounds like an old component that is flaky until it warms up. How the hell do I tell which one tho? Arrggghh!

This is what I thought might happen. My best guess at this point is that this is being causing by something installed on your computer. This would be something that was previously installed after the restore point you went back to, and of course re-installed. My first guess would be one of the automatic driver installs that Windows 10 does, since that is a "thing" now. Look at your update history and see what is shows.

 

[JasonCoder]

Good call ketchup, I have those pesky driver updates disabled. I even checked to make sure windows 10 hadn't decided I really should be getting them

At this point I'm wondering if it's a worn capacitor thing. At least that's something I can maybe visually inspect. Have to crack open the case and have a look...

 

[Ketchup]

Good call ketchup, I have those pesky driver updates disabled. I even checked to make sure windows 10 hadn't decided I really should be getting them

At this point I'm wondering if it's a worn capacitor thing. At least that's something I can maybe visually inspect. Have to crack open the case and have a look...

One way to narrow it down would be to roll back to the same restore point you used in post #1. If the machine returns to normal, you'll know it isn't hardware.

 

[JasonCoder]

So the adventure continues. Lately it's been whenever I resume from sleep. One time I actually got a bsod with an error code. Turned out to be some nebulous code that was completely unhelpful.

Anyways, anyone have any ideas on the best way to isolate a fubar'd piece of hardware or driver? I feel like it's my sound card but it's merely an educated guess at this point.

 

[William Gaatjes]

So the adventure continues. Lately it's been whenever I resume from sleep. One time I actually got a bsod with an error code. Turned out to be some nebulous code that was completely unhelpful.

Anyways, anyone have any ideas on the best way to isolate a fubar'd piece of hardware or driver? I feel like it's my sound card but it's merely an educated guess at this point.

Do you have an nvidia video card ?
Colleague of mine has an nvidia video card and he updated to windows 10. Ever since, when his pc goes to sleep, it cannot be woken up again anymore. So, there can be an issue with your video card drivers and the build version of windows 10 that you have.

 

[XavierMace]

Do you have an nvidia video card ?
Colleague of mine has an nvidia video card and he updated to windows 10. Ever since, when his pc goes to sleep, it cannot be woken up again anymore. So, there can be an issue with your video card drivers and the build version of windows 10 that you have.

How was that determined to be an nvidia issue?

 

[nerp]

My machine with an nvidia card wakes up from sleep happily, no issues.

OP - could be PSU. Symptoms fit the description. Or as other has pointed at, a driver.

 

[JasonCoder]

In fact I do have an Nvidia card... 660GTX. I'm nervous about updating those drivers due to recent shenanigans from Nvidia (drivers sucking ass in various ways).

I left my comp running constantly so I could remote into it and it randomly froze one day... I'm about to replace a PSU.

 

[UsandThem]

You can read through this post (specifically page 2 and the Windows Update 1511) and see if your system began having problems after that update.

I swapped out every component on my son's computer thinking it was a component with intermittent issues, but in the end it was that buggy update (at least for some). It cost me a week of my time, and a lot of reading/searching.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2471989&page=2

Not saying this is your issue for sure, but who knows.

 

[William Gaatjes]

How was that determined to be an nvidia issue?

I will write what he told me:
Well, as it turns out it was a specific problem. Not caused by windows 10.
What happened is the following. He would game for a while, stop and let the pc go to sleep mode. When he would wake it up by moving the mouse, he would have a picture, then a black screen and windows 10 would restart the driver and the picture would be restored again after some time.

The problem was that his heat sink compound from the nvidia chip (connecting to the heatsink)was dried up. This caused his card to overheat. And for some reason when the pc went into sleep mode and then come out of it, the driver would fail.
At least that is what he told me. because since he removed the old heat sink compound and applied new heat sink compound, he has not had such a problem.
I asked him to check the windows logs, but he is not really a person who likes to get to the bottom of it. When it works, he is happy and he does not care why or how.

 

[XavierMace]

So it wasn't an nVidia problem, it was a hardware problem.

 

[nerp]

Do you have an nvidia video card ?
Colleague of mine has an nvidia video card and he updated to windows 10. Ever since, when his pc goes to sleep, it cannot be woken up again anymore. So, there can be an issue with your video card drivers and the build version of windows 10 that you have.

I had the reverse problem. I had issues resuming from sleep on my skylake's iGPU. Problems vanished when I installed a GTX950.

 

[William Gaatjes]

So it wasn't an nVidia problem, it was a hardware problem.

No. I was misinformed.
But what was interesting is that the problem would not occur during gaming but only while in sleep ?
But we will never know, unless someone is willing to remove the heatsink compound of the card (A 980ti) and see if it has problems when windows 10 goes to sleep.

 

[JasonCoder]

My machine with an nvidia card wakes up from sleep happily, no issues.

OP - could be PSU. Symptoms fit the description. Or as other has pointed at, a driver.

I think you win the chicken dinner. I replaced my PSU a couple of weeks ago and haven't had a crash since. Nothing. Rock solid.

My guess is that it was getting old (5 or 6 years old).

 

[VirtualLarry]

I think you win the chicken dinner. I replaced my PSU a couple of weeks ago and haven't had a crash since. Nothing. Rock solid.

My guess is that it was getting old (5 or 6 years old).

Yeah, they often "get old" and need to be replaced around then. (Unless they have Japanese or solid caps, then they might be good for 7-10 years.)